SOCHI, Russia — Questions about Sochi's suitability to host the Winter Olympics will not go away once the flame has been extinguished but in the expensively-built stadiums and snow resorts the athletes put on a dazzling show. Whether skiing, sliding, jumping or somersaulting, their performances ensured a captivating couple of weeks in the Caucasus and for TV viewers around the world. Here is a selection of highlights. No Shaun, but sunshine After weeks of negativity about security and costs, the Games made a flying start as American snowboarder Sage Kotsenburg won the first-ever Olympic slopestyle gold. Shaun White's withdrawal over safety fears was forgotten as, with the sun shining and not a cloud in the sky, Kotsenburg produced a spectacular run down the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park obstacle course to whoops and hollers from the large crowd reveling in the eye-catching new discipline. Russia gets a new ice darling With President Vladimir Putin watching on in the Iceberg Stadium, pint-sized Russian teenager Julia Lipnitskaya melted hearts with a breathtaking performance as the host won the figure skating team event gold. It was an ice-breaking moment which reverberated around a skeptical world and filled Russians with pride. Lipnitskaya failed to shine in the individual final, but teammate Adelina Sotnikova stepped forward to win gold instead. First woman to fly Teenage American ski jumper Sarah Hendrickson soared through the air to become the first woman to perform a competitive jump in the Olympic Games, going on to finish 21st. Germany's Carina Vogt flew 104.5 meters to win the milestone event, the culmination of a 13-year fight by female athletes to be allowed to take part. First tie for gold in Alpine Skiing After a muscle-burning descent down Rosa Khutor's 2,713 meters Olympic women's downhill run Slovenia's Tina Maze and Swiss Dominique Gisin could not be separated, both clocking one minute 41.57 seconds to share the top of the podium. There were gasps from a stunned crowd as the scoreboard flashed up identical times, the first occasion an Olympic skiing race had seen joint winners. Lucky 13 for Bjoerndalen Ole Einar Bjoerndalen earned a record 13th Winter Games medal as he helped Norway to the biathlon team mixed relay title. The 40-year-old edged ahead of former cross-country skier Bjorn Daehlie and moved alongside his compatriot as the leading all-time Winter Olympics gold medalist with eight. Cologna shows Olympics spirit Switzerland's Dario Cologna proved there is time for losers as he waited nearly half an hour after winning gold in the men's 15km cross-country to congratulate Peru's Roberto Carcelen who finished last, 27.59 minutes behind. Carcelen, 43, crossed the line with the Peruvian flag in his hand and applause ringing in his ears. Golden hour for Ahn Viktor Ahn, an adopted Russian after switching allegiance from South Korea, won two gold medals in an hour at the Iceberg. He confirmed himself amongst the Olympic greats with victory in the 500 meters individual and 45 minutes later returned to help Russia win the 5,000m relay. Japanese veteran shines Japan's 41-year-old Noriaki Kasai, flying against athletes not even born when he started competing in ski jumping, produced two monster leaps to snatch a silver medal in the men's long hill. Kasai had appeared at every Winter Games since Albertville in 1992 and finally won an individual medal. With only one man left to fly he was in first place, only for Poland's Kamil Stoch to move ahead by the narrowest margin. Controversy and conspiracy Figure skating often conjures sub-plots, finger-pointing and general bitchiness and these Games proved no different. First Russia's glamor boy Yevgeny Plushenko pulled out of the men's competition, having been controversially selected. Then Russian teenager Adelina Sotnikova won the women's individual title amidst accusations from South Korea of biased judges. — Reuters
