The sound of the pounding of thousands of athletes’ feet has been silenced. Throbbing heartbeats have slowed a little.

The flame has gone out. The world came together in Vancouver for 10 glorious days here for the 2009 World Police and Fire Games. Now that the games are over, the athletes are trickling home.

OK, New York City. Now it’s your turn.

That is where the next world police and fire games will be held in 2011.

Now that Vancouver has wrapped the largest games in the event’s 24-year history with very few gaffes, NYC will have a tough act to follow.

Almost anyone you talk to will tell you that that the world is a better place for these games.  They sent thousands of police officers, firefighters, corrections and border guards off to the gym and the track to get in shape, forged ties and showed that language and culture cannot divide the everyday heroes who work to keep their communities safe.

Athletes came here from 55 countries from around the world for 10 days of running, jumping, swimming, skating, climbing, shooting, sailing, bowling, boxing, wrestling, waterskiing and wakeboarding.

Just about every sport under the sun was on the menu during the games that ended here Sunday. There was even angling and archery on the list of 66 sports.

The curtain came down with a splashy closing ceremony at Swanguard Stadium in Burnaby Sunday evening. And there it was again, that bond that exists among those who are on the front lines of danger everywhere. It was palpable even in the cool evening air.  

The parade was a multi-coloured extravaganza of athletes bearing the colours of their countries and flags flapping in the wind. There was the bright yellow of Germany, the bright blue of Russia, the orange of the Netherlands and the most colorful group of all, the contingent from Wales who wore bright yellow hats  and green shirts.

There were cheers, chants, songs and a few tears too as the athletes paraded past the packed stadium in a precursor to what Vancouver will see roughly six months from now in the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Throughout the games, 6,000 medals were handed out, 26 bus passes were lost, 3,500 people volunteered, much beer was consumed, sweat poured, muscles ached, friendships were made and there were reportedly no arrests among the athletes. And then there was the bravery shown by those off-duty Finnish police officers who came to the rescue here.

Athletes from India demonstrated their prowess in the boxing ring, the Peruvians showed they know how to wrestle and  the Sri Lankans excelled in badminton. There was plenty of homegrown talent, too. Roughly half the athletes were from Canada and third of those were from B.C.

There were surprisingly few glitches given the magnitude of the event. CEO Stu Ballantyne admitted in an interview that at the start of the games, organizers were slow to get some of the events up and running. The heat had something to do with it.

But for him, a highlight was experiencing the various delegations coming into the convention centre to become accredited, with those like the one from South Africa singing, dancing and chanting.

The event brought in roughly triple the number of athletes who will be landing on Vancouver’s doorstep for the 2010 Olympics but Ballantyne pointed out the two games are very different. These have a much more fraternal, friendly feel.

Each of the police and fire games, which are held biennially, is unique. Ballantyne said these games will stand out in the way that they showcased the Vancouver area’s natural beauty.

He was really happy with the way that organizers were able to cluster events so that spectators were able to take in several and with the way the accreditation system worked, quickly processing thousands of athletes without a glitch. “Our accreditation system has left a legacy for future games.”

He said hockey drew the most spectators with more than 100 teams, several coming from as far away as Russia, competing on home ice.

Because 80 per cent of the athletes spoke some English, language barriers weren’t that much of a problem although Ballantyne said the games had a translation unit that was able to help when necessary.

He was gratified as an event organizer to see everything clicking so smoothly. Last Wednesday, for example, there were 30 odd sporting events going on. Everything went well.

He estimates the games created over $50 million in economic benefits and provided “great exposure for both B.C. and Canada.” 

Ballantyne, who ran the Molson Indy here for six years and who has run junior world hockey tournaments, has plenty of experience as an event manager but he said this one was different in that there wasn’t just one sport but more than 60 to contend with.

With more than 10,600 athletes registered, these games squeaked past Barcelona which previously held the record with 10,576 athletes in attendance there.

The athletes were quick to praise the games at the closing ceremonies. “Everything was fantastic,” said Piotr Chrzeszczyk, who works for the forest service in Poland. The athletes showed a great deal of ambition and the competition was great, he added.

Alain Crombet, a Paris police officer who specializes in counter-terrorism and who competed in beach volleyball at the games, said in French that his time here was very agreeable. “Terrorism is a huge problem around the world. Everybody here has a hard job. It’s great for us to meet together from all over the world and to have fun. I think it’s great.”

With firefighters, police officers, border and prison guards looking on, the games flag was passed to a delegation from New York City.

The flame that burned so brightly here over the past 10 days was extinguished on an event that fired up 44 sporting venues from Chilliwack to Whistler.

There was a ceremonial fly-by by the Snowbirds. The stadium rocked to the sound of the rock and roll band Trooper.

Then silence. The memories linger.

Over to you, New York City.

yzacharias@vancouversun.com