Vancouver: What we learned

The 2010 Vancouver Games have drawn to a close, and the spotlight will showly shift toward Sochi, Russia, the site of the 2014 Games. Some of the skaters will compete in next month's world championships in Torino, Italy, but for now, here are five things we learned from these Olympic Games.

1. Kim really is the queen
South Korea's Kim Yu-Nacame to Vancouver with arguably more pressure than any other athlete - along the lines of Canadian men's hockey team or Dutch speed skater Sven Kramer. Back at home, a nation literally stopped when she skated. Commuters crowded around televisions in train stations during her skates, and a Korean newspaper reported that trading volume on the Seoul stock market dropped by half during her skates. Despite the weight of a nation, she delivered two world record programs and easily won the gold medal. It wasn't even close.

2. You can come back from retirement
Both Yevgeny Plushenkoof Russia and China's Shen Xueand Zhao Hongbostepped back onto competitive ice this season after several years away. For both, you'd never know. Plushenko took silver in an close duel with American Evan Lysacek, landing quadruple jumps like they were easy, while Shen and Zhao won the gold medal that had eluded them for so long. And not to mention Switzerland's Stephane Lambiel, who placed fourth.

3. No one is more [insert your own adjective here] than Joannie Rochette
Just after arriving in Vancouver and days before her short program, Joannie Rochette'smother, Therese, 55, unexpectedly passed away due to a heart attack. Rochette was on the ice for practice the day the news broke and delivered a two strong programs to earn the bronze medal.

4. Never count out the American ladies
The talk about the U.S. ladies before the Vancouver Games cetenred around how difficult it would be for either Mirai Nagasuor Rachael Flattto make the final warm-up group. But they both did - easily - and Nagasu ended up fourth overall. Two (questionable) underotation calls on Flatt's flips dropped her to seventh, but it was a career-best free skate. Both Flatt and Nagasu plan to compete in next month's world championships, and at 16 and 17, they were among the youngest ladies in the entire competition. They may not have won a medal, but they certainly showed their critics.

5. The judging system can work
For all its controversy and criticism it's had in the past, this time it worked. All of the gold medalists showed the blend of artistry and athleticism that makes figure skating so popular to begin with. Most notably, South Korea's Kim Yu-Na, who shattered the world record for total points earned in a program but did it in a way that left many in tears. Canada's Tessa Virtueand Scott Moirturned in programs many compared to those of Great Britain's Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean. And earlier in the Games, China's Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo and American Evan Lysacek won golds with inspired, athletic performances that were nearly flawless.

Bonus: You don't need a quadruple toe loop, a throw quadruple Salchow or a triple Axel to win an Olympic title.