OLYMPIC FLAME OUT

American bravado met reality in Turin. Bravado didn’t fare so well. After 17 days of sports on snow and ice, these Olympic Games should be remembered for the quiet champions who worked hard and brought home the gold – without hype and hubris.

Seth Wescott of Farmington was one such winner. So much attention was focused on fellow Carrabassett Valley Academy attendee skier Bode Miller that many people, even here in Maine, hadn’t heard of Mr. Wescott, a world champion snowboardcross racer. The sport, in which four competitors race side-by-side down the mountain, sometimes crashing into one another, made its Olympic debut in Italy. Its first gold medal went to Mr. Wescott, who was honored Saturday at Sugarloaf, where he honed his skills as a snowboarder.

Another athlete, speedskater Joey Cheek, didn’t get much attention but personified the Olympic spirit. While two of his teammates, Chad Hedrick and Shani Davis, engaged in a public feud over who was more selfish, Mr. Cheek quietly donated the $40,000 he received for winning a gold and a silver medal to Right to Play, a charity that helps children in impoverished, war-torn areas. Other athletes and the U.S. Olympic Committee also pledged donations and Mr. Cheek had spurred $500,000 in donations as the Games ended Sunday.

The biggest flop was the U.S. ski team, which billed itself at the best in the world. Two 21-year-olds, Ted Ligety and Julia Mancuso, won unexpected gold medals, while their more highly touted teammates, in many cases, didn’t even finish their races. Mr. Miller, the racer raised by counter-culture parents in New Hampshire, was billed a potential five gold medal winner. He finished only two races with fifth place his best showing.

Austrian skier Benjamin Raich, who is so unknown that he posts his home address and phone number on his Web page, took home two gold medals. The Austrian team won a record 14 medals.

If there was a medal for guts it would have gone to U.S. skier Lindsey Kildow, who finished four races after a horrific training crash that sent her to the hospital and left her in so much pain she had trouble turning her skis.

There were lots of golden moments at the Turin Olympics, they just didn’t come in the expected places and they didn’t all involve medals.