Host nation Russia finished on top of the medal table as the 22nd Winter Olympics came to a close in Sochi on Sunday after 17 days of competition. Norway, Canada, USA and Netherlands completed the chart of top 5 performers of the tournament.

South Korea was given the Olympic flag as Pyeongchang hosts the 2018 Games.

GHN is offering highlights from article published by BBC which summarizes the Sochi event.

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach officially closed the Games during an extravagant 130-minute ceremony.

Bach said Russia and the Black Sea resort city of Sochi had "delivered all that it promised" and risen above the concerns to deliver an impressive Olympics.

"These were excellent Games that may lead to the reversal of some criticism of the Russian organizers that preceded the Olympics," he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who watched the ceremony from the stands and made several appearances at the Games to oversee the nation's investment of £600m in elite sport, did not get his wish of a gold medal in the ice hockey.

The Games cost £30bn, making Sochi the most expensive Olympics ever, and featured a record 2,800 athletes from 88 countries, with 12 new events added to attract young audiences.

But there were also six failed drugs tests - five more than in Vancouver - as the most extensive anti-doping program in Winter Olympics history saw a record 2,453 tests carried out.

South Korea, with a budget of £7bn for the 2018 Games, will become only the second Asian country to host a Winter Olympics after Japan staged the Games at Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in 1998.