Beijing (AFP) - Mikaela Shiffrin said her United States team-mates got her through a disappointing Beijing Olympics that ended on Sunday with her going home without a medal, but there was a last-gasp gold for Britain.
The 26-year-old Shiffrin came into the Games as one of its biggest stars but leaves it without a medal of any description to add to her golds from 2014 and 2018.
The mixed team parallel was her last opportunity to salvage something from the wreckage of her Games, after she misfired in the individual events over two weeks in Yanqing, skiing out of three races and finishing out of the medals in two others.
Her US team were beaten to bronze by Norway, but Shiffrin said: "I am not disappointed.
"I have had a lot of disappointing moments at these Games, today is not one of them.Today is my favourite memory.
"This was the best possible way that I could imagine ending the Games, skiing with such strong teammates.
"My teammates are what carried me through this Olympics."
Austria won gold by beating Germany, capping a remarkable comeback for Johannes Strolz.
The 29-year-old went back to traffic police duties and even trained with the German team after a string of poor results on the World Cup circuit saw him axed from the Austrian team just seven months ago.
But he roared back to form and went on to win gold in the men's alpine combined and silver in the slalom in the Chinese capital, before rounding it off with more gold.
"I always believed in myself that I am able to compete at the highest level but three medals at the Olympics, two gold, one silver, I have never thought about that, that it would be possible for me just a year after losing the team spot," he said.
"It's just a dream for me."
'In the stars'
There was redemption of sorts too for Team GB, who finally won a gold in Beijing, as their women's curling team thrashed Japan 10-3.
It was just Britain's second medal of the Games in total -- the other being silver for the men's curlers on Saturday.
Led by skipper Eve Muirhead, Britain's women had only just squeezed into the final after roaring from 4-0 down in Friday’s semi-final against Sweden before advancing in a nerve-racking extra-end shoot-out.
"Some things are in the stars, right?They worked so hard and they deserve every moment of this because of the hard work they put in every day, the sacrifices they made, they deserve the moment," said coach David Murdoch.
"It was in their hands today to go out and deliver and show really the skills they have.It was incredible."
The win on Sunday was a triumphant end to a poor Games for Britain, whose small but well-funded Olympic squad fell below expectations.
Cross-country skier Therese Johaug won her third gold medal of this Olympics when she dominated the field in the 30-kilometre women's mass start field.
Johaug was ruled out of the 2018 Winter Games after failing a doping test for a substance in a lip balm,
The Yanqing sliding track has belonged to Germany in this Olympics and Francesco Friedrich made history by repeating his bobsleigh double from four years ago as the Germans signed off having won nine of the ten titles in bobsleigh, luge and skeleton.
With just hours to spare at the Games, Norway will top the medals table for a second Games in a row, on 16 golds.
Germany are second on 12, with hosts China on nine.
The last medal will be the men's ice hockey final between holders the Russian Olympic Committee and Finland, ahead of a closing ceremony starting at 8:00pm (1200 GMT).
