A Great Conclusion To These Winter Olympics

Welcome to your past regular reappraisal of this year’s Milan-Cortina Olympics. My sanction is John Cherwa and I was your circuit head for nan Games, wherever nan U.S. group a grounds for golds and had nan third-most full medals.

It’s difficult to ideate a amended lucky tournament, truthful it was to nary one’s astonishment erstwhile nan men’s golden badge crippled went to overtime. The U.S., conscionable for illustration it did connected nan women’ s side, beat Canada, 2-1. It was nan first Olympic men’s lucky golden successful 46 years, going backmost to Lake Placid and nan “Miracle connected Ice.”

It was a awesome conclusion to nan Games, successful which nan United States did very good pinch a grounds 12 golden medals. The U.S.came up short of its apical full badge count, which we mistakenly said earlier was group astatine nan 2002 Salt Lake City Games pinch 34. The grounds is 37 group successful 2010 successful Vancouver. But, astatine 33, this was nan third-best haul for a Winter Games.

Norway was nan large victor pinch 18 golds and 41 medals.

Before we get retired of here, we’ll time off you pinch a fewer awards and thoughts:

Gold infinitesimal of nan Games: It remains nan badge ceremonial of Elana Meyers Taylor arsenic her family watches aft she won nan monobob. It touches your bosom arsenic Taylor’s husband, Nic, signs nan ceremonial to their son, Noah. The Taylors person 2 deaf children. Relive it here.

Silver infinitesimal of nan Games: Everyone loved it erstwhile Nazgul, nan 2-year-old Czech wolf dog, joined nan women’s cross-country title astatine nan extremity and ran, without use of skis, crossed nan decorativeness line. He was returned safely to his proprietor and became nan biggest personage of nan day. Relive it here.

Bronze infinitesimal of nan Games: Down 1-0 pinch astir 2 minutes to play, Hilary Knight of nan U.S. women’s lucky squad deflected successful nan puck to necktie nan people against Canada successful nan golden badge game. The U.S. won successful overtime, 2-1. If I had stake nan game, which I didn’t, pinch astir 5 minutes to play successful regularisation I would person been looking for 1 of those blackjack surrender bets wherever you springiness up and get half your money back. Once they scored nan tying gold, I would person doubled down, for sure. Relive it here.

Class enactment of nan Games: Ilia Malinin, nan apical fig skater successful nan world, blew a definite badge pinch a unspeakable capacity successful nan men’s agelong program. But yet, he dodged nary interviews and was ace accessible. Then he went connected surviving his Olympic life and was everywhere. It would person been easy to curl up into a shot and hide. He did nan opposite.

Best contention of Games: The champion controversy, of which location were a few, was crotch-gate, successful which it was alleged that Norway skis jumpers were injecting worldly into their privates to create a bigger bulge successful their jumping clothes, which leads to amended assistance and aerodynamics. Norway won 5 skis jumping medals including 2 golds.

Now immoderate random closing thoughts connected nan Games:

Fireworks detonate during nan closing ceremony.

(Natacha Pisarenko / Associated Press)

—I understood conscionable arsenic galore words successful nan operatic closing ceremonial arsenic I did successful nan Bad Bunny Super Bowl halftime show. But loved Bad Bunny measurement more.

—Still for illustration really each nan athletes travel into nan closing ceremonial not needfully down their flags. The athletes’ colony is surely nan apical hook-up spot successful nan world for two-plus weeks, truthful a batch of nan athletes cognize each different well. In fact, they ran retired of condoms aft nan first week.

—The Olympic lucky tourney is amended pinch NHL players. And emotion nan three-on-three overtimes.

—Ski mountaineering is simply a nosy athletics to watch and equals nan Summer Games stone climbing events for thing that becomes addictive.

—Kirsty Coventry, nan caller IOC main and overseeing her first Games, did not person a bully Olympics from denying nan Ukrainian jock who wanted to grant fallen teammates to snapping astatine her PR group because she “wasn’t aware” of events.

—Whoever thought we would telephone nan Thomas Bach era nan bully ol’ days?

—Anybody who doesn’t for illustration Alysa Liu doesn’t for illustration people.

—Jordan Stolz was really bully but expectations for him were higher. Still, 2 golds and a metallic successful speedskating is thing to beryllium very proud of.

—Did you ever wonderment really a state of 5.65 cardinal group and 250,000 reindeer (Norway) kicks everybody’s butt successful nan Winter Olympics?

Elsewhere connected Sunday

Jessie Diggins competes.

(Kirsty Wigglesworth / Associated Press)

—Sweden won nan golden successful nan transverse state women’s 50km wide start. Norway sewage silver, it’s 41st badge of nan Games. Jessie Diggins of nan U.S. was fifth, 6.46 seconds down nan winner.

—Sweden was nan victor of nan women’s curling tournament, beating Switzerland successful nan golden game, 6-5. The U.S. was fourth.

—China picked up golden and metallic successful nan last freestyle skiing event, nan women’s halfpipe. Kate Greg and Savea Irving vanished 11th and 12th for nan U.S. Eileen Gu, who grew up successful Southern California but chose to compete for China, was nan golden winner.

—Germany picked up its 3rd bobsled golden of nan Games, winning nan four-man. Germany besides was 2nd pinch Switzerland third. The 2 U.S. sleds vanished 11th and 12th.

—Favorite closing promo, now that nan occurrence is retired and L.A. is up next, was having Kate Hudson singing “California Dreamin’.”

Finally

Lastly, acknowledgment to each of you who stuck pinch america done this 17-day journey. We dream we mostly informed you, gave you immoderate thought of what to watch connected TV, gave you immoderate things to deliberation astir and possibly sewage an occasional chuckle. Also, acknowledgment to each nan thoughts and ideas from readers and to Ron Flatter, who was sleuthing retired absorbing tidbits while I was doing different things. And, arsenic always, to Mr. Google and nan Milan-Cortina Olympic accusation strategy — without them I couldn’t do immoderate of this.

In lawsuit you missed it ...

Check retired nan pursuing Milan-Cortina Olympics dispatches from nan L.A. Times squad connected nan crushed successful Italy:

U.S. defeats Canada for its first golden successful Olympic men’s lucky since ‘Miracle connected Ice’

Records, proposals and controversy: The bequest of nan 2026 Milan-Cortina Games

U.S. could make Olympic medals history connected last time of Milan-Cortina Games

2026 Winter Olympics unrecorded updates: Final results, badge count arsenic Winter Games close

Until adjacent time...

That concludes today’s Sports Report Olympic Edition newsletter. If you person immoderate feedback, ideas for betterment aliases things you’d for illustration to see, email newsletter editor Houston Mitchell astatine houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter successful your inbox, click here and prime nan Sports Report.