LONDON — The “Blade Runner” did not win a medal, but that doesn't mean these Olympics were any less important. Oscar Pistorius set a precedent with his journey to and through the London Games, and he can add one more accomplishment: He was a finalist. A double-amputee who runs on carbon-fiber blades, Pistorius anchored the South Africa team in the 4x400-meter relay final Friday, bringing the 80,000-strong crowd to a crescendo. It didn't matter that he finished eighth. He can proudly add “Olympic finalist” to his long list of unprecedented achievements. “This whole experience was amazing ... to step out here in an Olympic final is more than I could have ever hoped for,” Pistorius said. “That opportunity to come here once again and finish today and not yesterday is a dream come true.” Pistorius said the atmosphere, the crowd, the competition, the experience were all “far beyond my expectations.” “If I took all the positive things I thought might come out of this and multiply it by 10, it still couldn't come close.” Love is in the air It brings a whole new meaning to Olympic rings. Love is in the air during the 2012 Games, it seems. The question has been popped an estimated 25 times under the large, multi-colored rings inside Olympic Park. Bram Lobeek, from Utrecht in the Netherlands, finally found the moment he had been looking for all year. After watching the Dutch men's hockey team beat South Korea this week, he convinced his reluctant girlfriend of almost 10 years to line up for a photo by the rings. He didn't explain his motive — and fretted as she started to look bored. His girlfriend, Hetty van der Pennen, recalled wondering why she was wasting her time there. “So I was standing and I said ‘what is he doing?' and he was pointing at the Olympic rings and he said ‘well, these are yours,'” she said Friday. “I said: ‘What?' Then he went down on his knees.” Staines fired the gun Track official Gordon Staines has two special words for Usain Bolt: Thank you! Staines is the guy who fired the gun to start the men's 200 meters final, and he's downright thrilled that Bolt and his other competitors stayed “steady” at the start of the race and that no one had to be disqualified. “You only get one false start,” he said Friday. “I know I breathed a big, big sigh of relief when the gun went and they went and there was no recall.” Staines is one of the thousands of people who perform those anonymous tasks that make the Olympics happen. But who would want the job of potentially disqualifying Bolt? He's been doing this for 25 years, though, and the nerves were steady. And to take part, in London no less, was “the icing on the cake.” “You can't get any higher than the Olympics,” he said. 1948 gold medalist returns Ray Lumpp, 89, has been to the London Olympics twice. The first time he won gold on the USA men's basketball team in 1948. This time he's here as a special guest of the USA Basketball team. Lumpp said: “In those days we came over on the USS America and went home on the USS Washington. Today, you fly over. It's completely different.” That boat ride took 7 days in 1948. His flight here took 7 hours. Talent on a joyride On Friday morning, the USOC loaded a double-decker bus with American medalists for a television appearance. Aboard the bus were the gold medal women's soccer and water polo teams, decathletes Ashton Eaton and Trey Hardee and swimmers Ryan Lochte and Conor Dwyer. In otherwards, lots and lots of American talent. “It's crazy being here with all these medalists. And being with guys like Ryan, who has five, it makes it seem like one isn't all that much. But it's been such an experience. It's just been a joyride,” said Dwyer, a member of Michael Phelps' record-breaking gold medalist relay team. Rio getting ready Rio de Janeiro will soon try to give the world a taste of what to expect at the 2016 Olympics. Organizers will use 250 dancers and musicians in an eight-minute section of the closing ceremony at the London Games Sunday night for a performance designed to illustrate “multicultural embrace.” Daniela Thomas, one of the art directors for Rio's role in the closing, said the performance will “show you how sophisticated we mix things.” Officials from Rio will also receive the Olympic flag during the ceremony. Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes praised London Friday for an “outstanding” Olympics. Rio will host the first Olympics in South America, two years after Brazil stages the 2014 World Cup. — Agencies
