MILAN, Italy (AFP) — International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Kirsty Coventry lauded Milan-Cortina 2026 as a "new kind of Winter Games" as she declared them closed on Sunday.

These Olympics used mainly existing venues for 16 days of medal-filled action spread over hundreds of kilometers across the Italian Alps.

"You delivered a new kind of Winter Games and set a new standard for the future," Coventry told her Italian hosts at the closing ceremony in the Verona Arena, an ancient Roman amphitheater.

After Coventry spoke, the two cauldrons in Milan and in Cortina d'Ampezzo, the chic mountain resort that hosted the women's alpine skiing, were extinguished to formally signal the end of the Olympics.

Earlier, the Olympic flag was handed over to the leaders of the two regions that will host the next Winter Olympics in the French Alps in 2030.

Fittingly, Norwegian cross-country skier Johannes Klaebo was awarded one of the six gold medals he won at the Games during the closing ceremony.

Klaebo made history by winning all six races in which he was entered — and his 11 career golds are a Winter Olympics record.

In the final events, Chinese freestyle skier Eileen Gu won the gold that had eluded her at these Games, while the USA beat Canada in an overtime thriller to win the men's ice hockey title for the first time in 46 years.

Gu had won two silver medals in Italy, but her favored halfpipe event always looked the likeliest to deliver the third gold of her career.

The 22-year-old delivered a stunning performance, soaring high above the lip of the halfpipe and executing her tricks with precision.

She edged out her Chinese teammate Li Fanghui, while Britain's Zoe Atkin took bronze.

In doing so, Gu became the most decorated freestyle skier in the history of the Winter Games.