
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, February 28, 1994                   TAG: 9402280016
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LILLEHAMMER, NORWAY                                LENGTH: Medium

`MAGIC GAMES' END - RELUCTANTLY

PRAISED AS THE HOST, Norway closes the Winter Olympic Games with a sense of hope, and regret that the event is over.

They were declared the "Magic Games," and few would disagree.

Trolls and sprites from Norway's folklore and skiers and skaters from across the world took one last curtain call in the Lillehammer snow as the Olympics came to a dazzling end at closing ceremonies Sunday night.

Fireworks burst over the illuminated ski jumps, torches lit up the hillsides, and 40,000 spectators held aloft a twinkling sea of tiny flashlights honoring Bosnia, compensating for the snuffing out of the Olympic flame.

Juan Antonio Samaranch, president of the International Olympic Committee, called the people of Norway "the real winners of these magic Games. . . . You have presented to the entire world the best Olympic Winter Games ever."

The crowd cheered lustily at Samaranch's praise, then booed when he pronounced the Games over: No one wanted them to end. The Norwegians sang one last impromptu round of "Victory Is Ours," the chant with which they feted their medalists during the 16 days of competition.

The ceremonies ended with a portrayal of Norwegian tales of good prevailing over evil. There were video clips of the Games' most memorable moments, a look ahead to 1998 and a remembrance of Sarajevo - the war-ravaged host of the 1984 Games.

Gold medal winners mingled with also-rans as the athletes streamed informally into the arena. Some danced with the children who formed Olympic rings on the ski jump hill, then danced with organizers who tried to usher them away.

Dan Jansen carried the U.S. flag, still savoring the gold medal he won after failures in three previous Olympics. "The people here were unbelievable toward all the athletes from all the countries," he said.

His medal helped boost the United States to its highest winter medal total ever, 13. Italy's 20 and Canada's 13 broke team records. More countries won medals than ever before: 22.

The festiveness was muted briefly when Samaranch evoked the sufferings of Sarajevo. He visited the Bosnian capital during the first week of the Games, just as prospects for an end to its siege were brightening. "After many horrors, the situation now seems to be improving," he said.

by CNB