Russian greats light cauldron
— -- SOCHI, Russia -- Russia gave its highest Olympic honor to two of its greatest champions.
Hockey legend Vladislav Tretiak and figure skater Irina Rodnina used the torch to light the Olympic cauldron Friday and conclude the opening ceremony of the Sochi Games.
The identity of the cauldron lighter was the great mystery heading into the evening, as it is at many Olympics. Some even thought Russian President Vladimir Putin would do the honors.
The tension built in the closing moments as huge skeletal figurines representing all the Winter Games competitions lit up in the stadium and Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" was sprinkled in with a frenetic soundtrack.
Tennis star Maria Sharapova jogged the torch into the arena and started one last relay that ended with the torch in Tretiak's hands. The goaltender and Rodnina ran out of the stadium, up the ramp and lit the cauldron together.
Tretiak and Rodnina both won three gold medals for the former USSR, and Tretiak also has a silver medal, won in 1980 in Lake Placid after the Soviets lost to the United States in the "Miracle on Ice" game.
Rodnina was known for pioneering moves that made her the dominant female pairs skater of her era. She moved to the United States in 1990 to work as a coach and guided a Czech pair to a world title. Today she is a member of parliament as a member of Vladimir Putin's United Russia party and an outspoken critic of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
A tweet of Rodnina's from last year -- a photo of President Barack Obama doctored to include a banana -- drew new attention online Friday. She didn't explain the tweet at the time and later took down the photo, but later defended it with another tweet, saying "Freedom of speech is freedom!"
The Winter Games ceremony is generally a more low-key event than the summer opener. Ernst said organizers tried to keep it from dragging out too long, since most viewers only care to watch their own nations and their key rivals enter the stadium. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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