Each day during the Winter Games, THE DAILY offers our take on the business performances of some of the people, sponsors, broadcasters and other entities around Sochi.
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GOLD: SOCHI 2014 -- The Sochi Games defied expectations. Security was thorough and efficient. Transportation was smooth and punctual. Venues were stunning and vibrant. Sure, there were some hotel issues at the start, but most people found rooms that worked for them. Organizing an Olympics is filled with challenges, and building a host city from scratch only added to the difficulties that Sochi organizers faced. But, political controversies aside, they pulled off a remarkable Games.
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SILVER: UKRAINE -- The Ukrainian biathlon team's surprise Gold Medal at the end of the Games underscored what makes the Olympics so much greater than any other sports event. At a time when their countrymen's protest of the Ukrainian government was met with a violent and deadly crackdown, the underdog team managed to win an event and give the country its first Gold of the Sochi Games. They then asked all the media to stand and observe a moment of silence to honor the lives that had been lost in Kiev that week.
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BRONZE: DUTCH SPEEDSKATING -- What the Dutch speedskating team achieved in Sochi is nothing short of amazing. The team won 23 medals and swept the podium four times. It was one of the most dominating team performances in the history of an Olympic Games. There was a reason Heineken House (the Dutch home away from home) was the most fun place to be in Sochi.
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TIN: $51 BILLION -- As everyone knows by now, that was the exorbitant cost of these Games. There was plenty to show for it -- trains, highways, resorts -- but no one knows if those will be used. And the cost has alarmed bid cities of the future and caused citizens to question the value of spending so much to host an Olympics. Good bid cities give the IOC good host cities, and good host cities keep the Olympics brand healthy.
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