SOCHI, Russia (AP) — The world’s athletes and visitors are rolling toward Sochi’s airport and taking off for home. They’re fresh from a Winter Games experience that many Russians pronounce a smashing success and that the head of the Olympic movement enthusiastically labels a victory for the region and the host nation.

After 17 days of global sport and spotlight, Sochi is starting to clean up.

It’s predicted to be the heaviest Olympic-related travel day, but travelers through the region’s airport are reporting briskly moving security lines and check-in times of anywhere from 10 minutes to three hours.

Olympic Park has cleared out except for volunteers in multicolored patchwork jackets. Most security barriers remain in place in anticipation of the Paralympic Games, but security is noticeably more relaxed.

SOCHI, Russia (AP) — Fast five, Sunday edition: Five things to know about the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

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CLOSING CEREMONY: The chief creative director of the opening and closing ceremonies in Sochi poked fun at the festivities ahead of the curtain-setting bash, wearing a white T-shirt with a depiction of the opener’s four Olympic ring flub. Asked whether organizers would feature the rings glitch at the closing ceremony Sunday night, Konstantin Ernst said: “I’m not going to tell you!”

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RUSSIAN VICTORY: The host nation is finishing strong at the Sochi Games. The Russians swept the podium in the men’s 50-kilometer cross-country race and also won gold in the four-man bobsled on the final day of the games. The performances helped the Russians finish with the most gold medals (13) and most total medals (33) of any nation four years after the country’s worst Winter Games performance ever.

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BACH’S IMPRESSION: IOC President Thomas Bach says the Sochi Olympics have showcased the “amazing” transformation of the city from a fading resort to a modern Winter Games wonderland. Bach says Sochi has staged excellent games that prove it was a sound decision to award Russia the games seven years ago. He says Sochi used to be an “old, Stalinist-style sanatorium city where you entered the room and you were looking at the roof so you would not be hit by something falling down. It was terrible.”

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GOLD MEDAL HOCKEY: The final medals of the Sochi Games were awarded at a men’s hockey final between Canada and Sweden, with Canada winning gold after beating Sweden 3-0. Sweden took home silver. The game lacked the excited atmosphere of games played by Russia, the hockey-loving host nation.

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DUERR DOPING CASE: Austrian cross-country skier Johannes Duerr was kicked out of the games after testing positive for the blood booster EPO. It is the fifth doping case — and most serious so far — at the Olympics. Austrian Olympic Committee President Karl Stoss called it a “black day” for the country’s sports program. Duerr finished eighth in the men’s skiathlon Feb. 9 and was tested seven days later in Austria, where he had flown back for training.

SOCHI, Russia (AP) — Flushed with pride after a spectacular showing at the costliest Olympics ever, Russia is preparing to celebrate 17 days of sport-driven global unity with a farewell show that hands off the Winter Games to their next host: Pyeongchang, South Korea.

The closing ceremony starts at 20:14 local time precisely (11:14 a.m. ET). The time is a nod to the year that President Vladimir Putin seized upon to remake Russia’s image with the Olympics’ power to wow and concentrate global attention and massive resources.

IOC President Thomas Bach is expected to use the closing ceremony to deliver an upbeat verdict on the games, his first as International Olympic Committee president.

One of Sochi’s big successes was security. Feared attacks by Islamic militants who had threatened to target the games didn’t materialize.

SOCHI, Russia (AP) — Fast five, Friday edition: five things to know about the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

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MEN’S HOCKEY SHOWDOWN: One day after the Canadians beat the Americans in a thrilling gold medal game in women’s hockey, the men from both hockey powers square off in a semifinal. It’s a rematch of the gold medal game in Vancouver in which the hometown Canadians beat the Americans on an overtime goal from Sidney Crosby. Team USA captain Zach Parise says they aren’t looking for revenge, just a victory that would give them another crack at the gold.

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GERMAN DOPING: An unidentified German athlete has failed a drug test in the first announced doping case of the Sochi Olympics. The German Olympic Committee said Friday it was notified by the IOC late Thursday that one of its athletes had tested positive on an “A” sample. The backup “B” sample will be analyzed Friday, the German committee said. The Germans did not name the athlete, the sport or the substance involved. Any athlete found guilty of a doping violation faces disqualification and removal of results and medals.

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KIM FANS REACT: South Koreans still love Yuna Kim, known as the “Queen” in her home country. The judges, however? Not so much. Most South Korean newspaper front pages Friday focused on Kim’s silver medal performance over other news items, like tearful reunions of war-divided families from the Koreas. The result left many South Koreans furious over what they saw as questionable judging

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IOC LAUGHS WOLF: Olympic organizers laughed off the prank by a U.S. luger involving a wolf supposedly prowling the athletes’ village, and they said Friday that no disciplinary action is being taken. American talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel said Thursday he cooperated with luger Kate Hansen to post a fake video of a wolf wandering the hall outside the athlete’s room in Sochi.

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MEDAL MOVERS: A French sweep in men’s freestyle ski cross plus a silver in the women’s halfpipe in the same sport made France the biggest medal mover of the day for Thursday, moving to ninth in the medal standings after 81 events. Norway kept its position atop the medal standings with 10 golds and 21 total medals as Friday’s competition began.

Nation	G	S	B	Tot
United States	8	6	11	25
Russia	7	9	7	23
Canada	8	10	4	22
Netherlands	6	7	9	22
Norway	10	4	7	21
Germany	8	4	4	16
France	4	4	7	15
Sweden	2	6	5	13
Switzerland	6	3	2	11
Austria	2	6	2	10
Czech Republic	2	4	2	8
Japan	1	4	3	8
Italy	0	2	6	8
Slovenia	2	1	4	7
Belarus	5	0	1	6
China	3	2	1	6
South Korea	2	2	1	5
Poland	4	0	0	4
Finland	1	3	0	4
Britain	1	0	2	3
Australia	0	2	1	3
Latvia	0	1	2	3
Slovakia	1	0	0	1
Croatia	0	1	0	1
Kazakhstan	0	0	1	1
Ukraine	0	0	1	1

SOCHI, Russia (AP) — Fast five, Thursday edition: Five things you’ll want to know about the 2014 Winter Olympics.

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PUSSY RIOT LEAVES: Russian punk band Pussy Riot on Thursday ended their stay in Sochi by posting a video criticizing the Winter Games and President Vladimir Putin. The band had violent run-ins with authorities since arriving on Sunday. Band members say they are returning to Moscow to attend the verdicts in a trial of 20 people arrested after clashes on the eve of Putin’s inauguration to a third term in 2012.

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UKRAINIAN WITHDRAWS: Ukrainian skier Bogdana Matsotska has withdrawn from the Sochi Games in response to the violence in her country. Her father and coach says he and his daughter are “extremely angry at President Viktor Yanukovych” after a clash between anti-government protesters and police ended with 25 people dead and hundreds injured.

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WOMEN’S HOCKEY SHOWDOWN: The game everyone knew was coming is finally here. The Canadians and the Americans play for the gold medal in women’s hockey on Thursday in a matchup of the two dominant powers in the sport. It’s the fourth time in five Winter Games they’ve met for the Olympic championship.

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AMERICAN NIGHTMARE: Maria Lamb is ripping U.S. Speedskating after a disappointing run for the Americans in Sochi. Lamb, who finished last in the women’s 5,000 meters, says “Over the last few years, a few of us have raced better in spite of the organization rather than because of it.” The U.S. has yet to medal in Sochi.

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MEDAL MOVERS: Norway is back atop the medal standings after winning two golds for the second day in a row — the fourth time it has won two golds in a day during the Sochi Games. Norway’s two golds in cross-country skiing and the mixed relay biathlon on Wednesday moved it ahead of Germany in the overall medal standings, with 20 medals total.