U.S. Leads Olympic Medal Count as Games Come to Close

NEWSHOUR CONNECT OLYMPICS -- February 26, 2010 at 4:04 PM EDT

U.S. Leads Olympic Medal Count as Games Come to Close

The Vancouver Olympics wrap up on Sunday after 16 days of winter sports. Heading into Friday's events, the U.S. led the medal count and was tied with Germany for the most gold medals.

One of those gold medal winners is Bill Demong of Vermontville, N.Y, who won the first gold for the U.S. in the Nordic Combined ski event.

"This journey has been a really, really interesting one and an incredible one. We've had all the highs, all the lows. I think it just hit actually today was pretty insane," Demong said after the medal ceremony. North Country Public Radio profiles Demong's win and has more coverage on the long list of athletes from New York and Vermont.

You can also watch a photo slide show of Vancouver from Lake Placid photographer Nancie Battaglia who is shooting for Sports Illustrated and North Country Public Radio.

For more voices from Vancouver, KCTS 9 compiles stories from citizen reporters in Vancouver. Brook Ellingwood of Seattle writes on one post that he used to think "Olympic spirit" was all talk.

"When we stepped onto Georgia Street on Saturday afternoon, Olympic spirit quit being a cliché for me," Ellingwood wrote.

In the Midwest, Chicago Public Radio visits figure skating practice where aspiring young skaters practice for hours a day to pursue their dreams.

"I really think that if I keep working hard I'll make it to the Olympics eventually. I think getting your jumps in and working really hard every single day will help," 15-year-old skater Sara Sarkisian said.

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