olympics closing ceremony

Canada bid adieu to the world Sunday with a rousing closing ceremony just hours after the host country defeated the United States for the gold medal in men's hockey. A party that started on the ice at Canada Place continued steps away at BC Place, where 60,000 people enjoyed performances from an A-list of Canadian entertainers.

But the jubilation was tempered, because the Vancouver Games began 17 days ago with the horrific death of a luger and a barrage of questions about a lack of snow. In genuine Canadian fashion, those issues were not swept away Sunday in a sea of joy as the 2010 Winter Olympics came to a dramatic conclusion.

It was just too painful to forget. A bouquet of flowers rests as a memorial near the spot where Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, 21, suffered a fatal crash at the Whistler Sliding Centre.

"We started the games in very difficult circumstances, which is something the Olympic movement won't forget," vowed Jacques Rogge, International Olympic Committee president.

Despite the promise, issues over safety will continue to be raised as Olympians head for Sochi, Russia, in four years.

"We have a moral responsibility to ensure the safety of the athletes, but we will never be able to eliminate all the risk," Rogge added.

Reflections of death created a bittersweet atmosphere at the closing ceremony, where Canadian hero Joannie Rochette walked
in as Canada's flag-bearer. She won a bronze medal in figure skating the week her mother died of a heart attack, only hours after arriving in Vancouver.

Sunday morning, Canadian medalists talked about how Rochette had inspired them to greatness.

The rest of the world might not forget the domination by Canadian and American athletes over the past 17 days. Their success attracted large television audiences and public interest to sports usually overshadowed by baseball, basketball and football. But it also left most of the world on the outside, a dramatic change from previous Winter Olympics.

The United States won 37 medals — the most for any nation in a Winter Olympics. And Canada, with its "Own the Podium" program, collected a record 14 gold medals.

"It has felt like a home games for us," Seattle short-track star Apolo Ohno said. "I think that's part of the reason why we're doing so well."

They were supported by boisterous crowds, who showered all of the Olympians with applause, no matter where they placed or which country they represented.

"You don't get that from every Olympics," two-time U.S. ski medalist Lindsey Vonn said. "I definitely didn't feel the same energy and the same atmosphere in Torino as I did here in Whistler."