Torino - The Penultimate Post

The competition is over, and the Closing Ceremonies are in full swing. There is a presentation from Vancouver 2010, and the Mayor of Vancouver takes the Olympic flag from the Mayor of Torino. Vancover's Mayor is a parapalegic, having broken his neck in a ski accident at age 19. He said, to Jimmy Roberts of NBC, that it was kind of ironic that they sent "Vancouver's worst skier" to represent the city, so he obviously has a sense of humour.

This has been the best Winter Olympics ever for Canada, finishing in third place in the medals with 24 (7 more than in Salt Lake, and only one fewer than the US). We should be in good shape to do our best in Vancouver in 2010.



I've been impressed with the City of Torino, after a kind of dull start, I've come to appreciate what they have to offer. They have been working on developing a tourism industry, and it is obvious that they still have some work to do. There are treasures to be found here, but finding them is difficult, and there is rarely any English signs or literature. They also seem to have missed a large economic opportunity as there is very little merchandise to be found (case in point, going to the hocky game, and finding that there were no flags, T-shirts, or any memorabilia for the teams playing).

Torino is the largest city, at 900,000, to host the Winter Olympics. There are over 2600 atheletes (and an equal number of coaches and officials) from 80 countries, participating in 15 disciplines (a total of 84 events). The media contingent numbers over 10,000 (including about 3000 from NBC alone).

There were some great moments in sport: a Norwegian coach giving a pole to Canadian cross-country skiers, enabling them to stay in the race and get a silver; a Kazakstan skier missing a gate during the slalom, stopping, climbing back up to the gate, and then finishing the race (43 seconds behind the leader), rather than be disqualified; Jeff Bean losing BOTH skis during an aerial run; and of course, American Joey Cheek, donating his speed skating, gold medal, USOC prize money of $25,000 to the Right to Play charity.

And some not so great moments: the American snowboarder who lost the gold by falling during a "hot dog" move when she had a huge lead; the feud between American speed skaters after one pulled out of the team relay to focus on his own race (in which he won gold); plus all the falls, crashes, and injuries in luge, bobsleigh, downhill, and figure skating.



I meant to get this part in earlier, but never really found the right place, so here is a brief history of Torino. Torino was home to Europe's oldest dynast, the House of Savoy, who ruled over the region and expanded their territory through marriage rather than by traditional conquests. The city was once a Roman outpost, guarding the gateway to Gaul (France), and was also the first capital of a united Italy, when the Dukes of Savoy first became Kings of Sicily and Sardinia, an finally all of Italy in 1861, after Vittorio Emanuelle II helped unite all the Italian states into one nation.

My lasting impressions will be of the grand piazzas and glorious churches scattered through the city, oh yeah, and the chocolate, gelato, pastry, pasta, and pizza!