Vancouver 2010, part 2 of 2
Seventeen days after it began, the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver are now complete. A total of 258 medals were awarded, with the United States, Germany, and Canada collecting the most medals. The second half of the games went much smoother than the glitchy first week, with many memorable performances by athletes from all over the world. Last night, a crowd of 60,000 filled BC Place in Vancouver for the Closing Ceremony, which took place shortly after the final event - a Gold Medal win by host nation Canada's ice hockey team over the U.S. The Olympic flame will next pass to London, England in 2012 for the Summer Games, and to Sochi, Russia in 2014 for the next Winter games. Collected here are photos from the second half of this year's events in Vancouver (see Part 1 for the first half). (45 photos total)
Canada's Joannie Rochette cries after performing in the Ladies' Figure Skating Short Program in Vancouver on February 23, 2010. Although Rochette's mother had passed away from a heart attack in Vancouver only days earlier, she decided to stay in the competition and won a Bronze Medal for her performance. (ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images) #
Sven Kramer of the Netherlands angrily pushes his coach Gerard Kemkers away after his disqualification in the men's 10,000 m speed skating race at the Richmond Olympic Oval during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics February 23, 2010. Kemkers had mistakenly advised Kramer to make an illegal lane change mid-race, which led to the disqualification. (REUTERS/Jerry Lampen) #
American bobsledder Steven Holcomb, pokes his head out of his sled after a training run for the men's four-man bobsled at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010. Holcomb and his teammates went on to win the Gold Medal in the event, the first U.S. win since 1948. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan) #
Silver medallist Shani Davis (right) of the U.S. skates up the track as gold medallist Mark Tuitert of the Netherlands (foreground) celebrates with his country's flag after the men's 1500 meter speed skating race at the Richmond Olympic Oval during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics February 20, 2010. (REUTERS/Dylan Martinez) #
Haley Irwin (left) and Meghan Agosta of the Canadian Women's Ice Hockey team lie on the ice, celebrating their win with bubbly, beer and a cigar following their team's 2-0 victory during the ice hockey women's gold medal game between Canada and USA on day 14 of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics at Canada Hockey Place on February 25, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada. (Alex Livesey/Getty Images) #
Vancouver 2010, part 1 of 2
Today is Day 8 of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver Canada, almost the halfway mark, and it's time to have a look at the activities in British Columbia. Over 100 medals have been awarded so far, with the United States, Germany, Norway and Canada leading the medal race. This year's event has been nicknamed by some as the Glitch Games, with more than its share of problems, from a malfunctioning cauldron on opening night to weather problems and course troubles. VANOC officials said they were working on the issues they could control, and were optimistic as athletes continued to deliver amazing performances in the many venues around Vancouver. Collected here are some photos from Days 1-8, with more to follow in another entry after the closing ceremony. (45 photos total)
A person photographs the Olympic cauldron from behind a chain-link fence that keeps the public away on February 17, 2010. Following a series of complaints that the flame was inaccessible to the public, Olympic officials moved the barrier closer to the cauldron and cut a hole in the fence to allow an more unobstructed view. (REUTERS/Gary Hershorn) #
Scott Niedermayer (left) and Martin Brodeur (right) of Canada look on as Switzerland scores a goal during the ice hockey men's preliminary game between Switzerland and Canada on day 7 of the 2010 Winter Olympics at Canada Hockey Place on February 18, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) #
(L-R) Nick Baumgartner of United States, David Speiser of Germany, Robert Fagan of Canada and Paul-Henri De Le Rue of France compete in heat seven of the 1/8 Final during the Men's Snowboard Cross Finals at Cypress Snowboard & Ski-Cross Stadium on February 15, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) #
Russia's Nikita Kriukov and Alexander Panzhinskiy (right) stretch to cross the finish line first in the men's individual sprint classic cross-country final at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics on February 17, 2010. Kriukov won the gold medal ahead of compatriot Panzhinskiy who took silver and Norway's Petter Northug who took bronze. (REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth (CANADA) #