Proud China brings curtain down on epic Games

The 16-day sporting extravaganza failed to quell criticism of China's human rights record, although the International Olympic Committee (IOC) gave the organizers the thumbs-up and said the Games would leave a positive legacy for future generations.

Reflecting China's new found confidence, the nation's athletes took their gold medal tally on the final day to 51 after winning their first two Olympic boxing titles, the most any country has won since the Soviet Union in Seoul in 1988.

The United States finished with 36 golds, level with their table-topping haul in 2004, but way behind the host nation.

The U.S. tally got a boost on Sunday when the men's millionaire basketball team beat Spain in a thrilling final.

There was emotion too for the American men's volleyball team, who beat Brazil to take gold and do their coach proud.

The father-in-law of Coach Hugh McCutcheon was stabbed to death by a deranged man in Beijing on the first day of the Games -- a rare assault in the heavily policed Chinese capital.

In the final athletics race, Kenya's Sammy Wanjiru led an African sweep of marathon medals, lifting his arms in triumph as he sped around the Bird's Nest stadium for the last lap.

Hours later, 91,000 spectators poured into the same steel latticed stadium to see a golden crown of fireworks soar above the arena at the beginning of the closing ceremony -- the culmination of the most ambitious and expensive Games ever.

IOC President Jacques Rogge, who will officially close the Games at the ceremony, praised China for an "impeccable" operation that had set the bar very high for 2012 hosts, London.

"The world learned more about China, and China learned more about the rest of the world," Rogge told reporters on Sunday.

U.S. ADMONITION

Rogge said the IOC could not force change on a state "or solve all the ills of the world", but that the Games had promoted a heightened awareness of the environment in China and left an array of venues to nurture future champions.

He had less to say though when confronted with the tale of two women in their seventies, who were sentenced to a year's re-education for applying to stage a protest during the Games.

"The IOC is not a sovereign organization and we have to respect Chinese law," he said.

The United States took a tougher line, pressing for the immediate release of eight Americans detained for staging protests in favor of Tibetan independence during the Games.

"We are disappointed that China has not used the occasion of the Olympics to demonstrate greater tolerance and openness," the U.S. embassy said in a statement.

Rogge, though, had less to say when confronted with the tale of two women in their seventies, who were sentenced to a year's re-education for applying to stage a protest during the Games.

"The reply we received from authorities was that this was an application of Chinese law," he said. "The IOC is not a sovereign organization and we have to respect Chinese law."

CLEARING THE AIR

Beijing's polluted air had been one of the biggest concerns in the run-up, and health concerns led Ethiopian world record holder Haile Gebreselassie to pull out of the men's marathon.

In the end, those fears appeared largely unfounded when the race was held, after the government spent billions to clean the air in recent months and an overnight storm did the rest.

Running under blue skies, Wanjiru crossed himself and sank to his knees after finishing in an Olympic record time of two hours six minutes 32 seconds, looking fresh despite the heat and sealing a fifth gold for his country in athletics.

"I pushed and pushed, I had to, to tire the others," Wanjiru said. "My plan was to push my body to the limits."

Despite their pedigree of distance running and big-city marathon wins, it was Kenya's first Olympic marathon title. Morocco won the silver, Ethiopia the bronze.

The race began in the capital's massive Tiananmen Square, symbol of Communist rule, site of Mao Zedong's mausoleum and of pro-democracy protests in 1989. It ended in the Bird's Nest, symbol of China's modern face.

However, in some parts of the city it was impossible to tell the Games were going on and Olympic veterans said Beijing lacked the international party atmosphere of previous Olympics.

But there was a United Nations feel to the sport, with a record 86 states winning medals against 74 in Athens, including, for the first time, Afghanistan, Mauritius, Tajikistan and Togo.

Showing the sporting extravaganza had lost none of its luster, the Games also looked certain to become the most viewed in their 112-year history, with audience figures up between 20 and 30 percent on 2004 levels.

Photo: Reuters