A Marathon on Skis and the Final Slide: Sochi Day 18

     Well, we've finally hit it.  The final day of competition at the 2014 Winter Olympics.  All the effort, all the drive, all the glory, it all comes down to this.  The first event of the day took us to the Laura Complex in Krasnaya Polyana for the Men's 50k Freestyle.  This race is just what it sounds like, and has the athletes going 50 Kilometers(just over 31 Miles) on skis.  This is the longest event in the Games, with the skiers taking well over an hour and a half to cross the finish line.  Some of the skiers in the heat had been heard of before in these games, such as Dario Cologna, who after winning the 15k race, stuck around to congratulate the last place finisher, a true display of the Olympic Spirit.  Other skiers had come to Sochi specifically for this event and had not competed at all in the past 2 weeks.  Either way, the race presented a strong field, which made it all the more compelling.  After the first 90 minutes of racing, the athletes started to pick up speed as they entered the final stretch.  The competition became hotter and hotter, and the home crowd was on its feet cheering on Alexander Legkov as he captured the Gold.  And then 2 more Russians finished behind him, setting up a Russian sweep on the Final day of the Games.

     Leaving the Russian victory at Laura behind, we take one final trip to the Sanki Sliding Center for the final event of the Games: 4-Man Bobsled.  After Saturday's heats, Team USA stood in 3rd Place, with the Russians on top, poised to win their first ever 4-Man Gold.  As the heats started going, the times started getting faster.  Team USA and Russia both completed their 3rd runs, and then all the sleds took their final run.  At one point, the Canada 3 team took their turn.  This was all the more remarkable since their sled had just been in a rough crash the day before.  But they walked away from the crash, and they were able to give it one more go.  After Canada's valiant effort, the focus returned to the chase for Gold.  The USA turned in a solid performance on their final run, but then Russia came in and bested it.  When it was all over, the team lead by Aleksander Zubkov had succeeded in winning Russia's first ever Olympic Gold in 4-Man Bobsled.  What a way to wrap up the Games, winning the Gold on home turf.