London basks in Olympic glory despite doping case

The London Olympics lost its first medallist to a doping scandal Monday as Belarus shot-putter Nadezhda Ostapchuk was stripped of her gold medal a day after the Games closed in a blaze of music and colour.

Athletes began a mass exodus from London and turned their thoughts to Rio de Janeiro in 2016, as Britain basked in the adulation for a Games that electrified billions of viewers around the globe.

The closing ceremony on Sunday night saw rockers The Who wrapping up a musical extravaganza after The Spice Girls, George Michael and Brazilian football legend Pele entertained a 80,000 crowd at the Olympic Stadium.

But 31-year-old Ostapchuk waved goodbye to her women's shot put title after the International Olympic Committee said she had tested positive for the anabolic steroid metenolone.

Ostapchuk, the 2005 world champion, took a surprise gold medal with a throw of 21.36m but urine samples provided the day before the competition on August 5 and immediately after it both tested positive, it said.

The gold medal will now go to Valerie Adams of New Zealand, with Russia's Yevgeniya Kolodko taking silver and Lijiao Gong of China bronze.

The news failed to dampen the mood in Britain though, with London mayor Boris Johnson saying that for him and many other Londoners the Games had been "the most extraordinary event we can remember in our lifetimes".

International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge praised the Games as "happy and glorious" -- a reference to the lyrics of Britain's national anthem "God Save the Queen".

"Through your commitment to fair play, your respect for opponents, and your grace in defeat as well as in victory, you have earned the right to be called Olympians," Rogge said at the closing ceremony on Sunday.

Record-breaking sprinter Usain Bolt and swimmer Michael Phelps lit up the Olympic Park in east London and heptathlete Jessica Ennis led an unexpectedly high number of British champions who kept fans' excitement at fever pitch.

The United States topped the medals table with 46 golds, eight ahead of China, while Britain had 29 -- their best since 1904. It was the first Games where every team had at least one female competitor.

The ceremony also saw the Olympic flag handed over to the mayor of Rio, a symbolic transfer which launches the four-year countdown to the 2016 Games.

Rio gave a taste of what to expect with a swinging samba section in the London closing ceremony that included Pele and carnival-style dancers.

On Monday, London's Heathrow Airport said it was expecting the busiest day of the Games with 6,000 athletes travelling through a special Games terminal and another 11,000 officials and media due to leave through normal channels.

After 16 full days of competition, 302 Olympic titles were handed out and 46 world records were broken. More than seven million fans came out to watch Olympic events, and Bolt's 200m win generated a record 80,000 tweets a minute

Prime Minister David Cameron received congratulations from US President Barack Obama, who called him to praise the organisation of the Games and the performance of the British team.

Cameron said the Games had reflected the best of Britain's multi-cultural complexion, taking the example of Mo Farah, who won a rare 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres double.

Farah came to Britain as a refugee aged eight after spending his early years in Somalia and Djibouti.

"Over the past couple of weeks, we have looked in the mirror and we like what we have seen as a country," Cameron said.

Britain's newspapers on Monday reflected the country's new-found pride but also betrayed a tinge of sadness that the Games were over.

"Thanks, it's been a blast," said the Daily Telegraph over a picture of the giant Union Jack that covered the floor of the Olympic stadium during the closing ceremony, while the Guardian bade "Goodbye to the Glorious Games".

International media also praised the London Olympics, with Australian newspapers saying it was on a par with the 2000 Sydney Games, which are widely considered one of the best ever.

"London, you didn't half do a decent job," the Sydney Morning Herald said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mayor-rio-receives-olympic-flag-223619814--oly.html

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