Thanks so much for coming out to my party yesterday. All of the cool kids were there either in person or in spirit. The stadium was absolutely filled and when I came back down toward the finish line everyone was screaming and waving flags! Needless to say, I was a bit overwhelmed! Even President Putin was there, but he had to leave right at the finish, something about a hockey game.
US Anchorman Simi Hamilton, couldn’t stay long as he skied through the stadium area.
The Swedish Women’s Gold Medal Relay Team stopped by.
While I am not a person who typically indulges with selfies several of us where trading cameras to get an image with the rings and the mountains as the background.
How could I not want this shot, what a great place to celebrate a birthday!
Oh yeah, there was some pretty amazing racing as well, here are just a couple snaps from the day. The Men’s 4×10 km relay is probably the biggest race in Nordic Skiing with incredible country pride on the line. This weekend Sweden manage to double up and win both the Women’s 4×5 km relay as well as the Men’s race.
The bright sun and warm weather took it’s toll on every athlete including Erik Bjornsen, whose sister Sadie had raced on Saturday.
Sweden’s Marcus Hellner brought home the win and the flag to repeat their 2010 Gold Medal performance.
Seriously, at least just for a moment – thank you all for the email, texts and Facebook massages on my birthday. One really cool part of celebrating in Sochi is that I get an extra 10 hours of love! An amazing place to celebrate!
More soon.
Paul
Competitive Image 
My best wishes for your birthday–what a place to celebrate! It had to be a truly memorable experience. I’ve enjoyed your posts and fabulous pictures; the selfies are great–the one with the rings will forever be a great memory. Looked for signs of you during the women’s biathlon today.
Thanks for helping us feel more a part of this great event! Margret Lydell