Beijing Olympics showed sharp contrast of success and safety, shortcomings and controversy

BEIJING – At Sunday's Closing Ceremony for the Beijing Olympics, the keynote speeches were stuffed with words like unity and togetherness and solidarity. While that wasn't surprising at an event that promotes shared ideals, it didn't reflect what made these Winter Games unique.

The Beijing Games were ushered out the same way they began: from a safe distance and behind a mask. Like the Opening Ceremony 16 days earlier, the Closing Ceremony ended with a barrage of fireworks at the Bird's Nest stadium. The mood was just as celebratory, but this time, it felt more like a sigh of relief.

The highly restrictive "closed loop'' functioned as intended, with 1.8 million COVID tests producing only 437 positive results. It also left these Olympics feeling strangely isolated, separated from the rest of this massive city by concrete barricades and metal fencing.

The athletes, as always, did their part to make it a memorable two weeks. There were breakout stars like Eileen Gu, an American-born freeskier who competed for China and became an international sensation. Speedskater Erin Jackson of the U.S. became the first Black woman to win an individual event at the Winter Games. Snowboarder Shaun White said a tearful goodbye to his sport, and China delighted the home crowd with nine gold medals, its best-ever showing at a Winter Games.

The controversies didn't go away. In fact, they multiplied. Another Russian doping scandal overtook the women's figure skating competition, joining the outcry over China's authoritarian policies and human rights record.

Sunday, when the athletes walked into the Bird's Nest for the last time, they were just grateful the Games made it over the finish line.

"It's fortunate we were able to have an Olympic Games,'' U.S. hockey player Hilary Knight said. "It's scary to wake up every day thinking, 'Am I going to test positive, from something I can't see?'

"It was devastating living with that anxiety. But it's wonderful we were able to have this as safely as we did, and be able to represent our country on a world stage.''

Not all athletes were able to attend the Closing Ceremony. U.S. figure skater Vincent Zhou was barred after being identified as a close contact of someone who tested positive for COVID, making him perhaps the hardest of hard-luck stories of the Beijing Games. Zhou wasn't able to compete, either, after a positive test earlier this month.

Other athletes got the sweetest of parting gifts Sunday. Afton's Jessie Diggins, who won a silver medal in the women's 30-kilometer cross-country skiing race, received her prize in a special ceremony within the ceremony.

Diggins also earned a bronze in the freestyle sprint, putting her among six American athletes to win multiple medals in Beijing. The U.S. surpassed its medal count from 2018, ranking fourth in golds (eight) and fifth in total medals (25). Norway topped the medal table as it often does at the Winter Games, with 16 golds and 37 total medals.

The host nation had 15 total medals, its biggest Winter Games haul. China had promised a "simple, safe and splendid'' event, and organizers beamed Sunday as International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach heaped superlatives on the Beijing Games.

Officials of the Beijing Olympics and the Chinese government worked overtime to minimize discussion of human rights abuses, suppression of free speech and the welfare of tennis star Peng Shuai, who temporarily vanished from public life after accusing a senior government official of sexual assault. Another scandal elbowed its way to the forefront midway through the Games, when Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva was briefly suspended after failing a drug test.

Valieva was allowed to skate in the women's competition and finished fourth, but the case is not over. She helped the Russians win gold in the team event, and officials decided not to award those medals in Beijing, withholding them while it investigates. The U.S., which earned silver in the team event, appealed that decision Saturday but lost, leaving them without those medals as they marched in the Closing Ceremony.

Though very few people were allowed to attend Olympic events, there seemed to be public enthusiasm for the Games. Chubby panda mascot Bing Dwen Dwen was massively popular, with stuffed versions selling out instantly.

Volunteers were welcoming and friendly, and eager to hear what international guests thought of the venues and organization. It wasn't always easy to communicate, since hazmat suits and face shields were the unofficial uniform.

The Closing Ceremony always concludes with flowery speeches just before the fireworks. Sunday, Bach's remarks focused on the Olympics' favorite tropes of harmony and unity.

"If we want to overcome this pandemic, we must be faster, we must aim higher, we must be stronger,'' he said. "We must stand together.''

In spirit, perhaps. Inside the Beijing bubble, his audience stood six feet apart from one another, in the snow globe of the Winter Games.