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Whistler's Janyk 16th in final Olympic race

Three-time Olympian says Sochi will be his last Winter Games
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Olympic swan song Whistler's Mike Janyk finished 16th in the Olympic men's slalom on Feb. 22, then announced it was his final trip to the Winter Games. Photo by pentaphoto / courtesy of alpine canada

Whistler's Mike Janyk says the 16th-place finish he posted in Sochi on Saturday, Feb. 22 was the last time he'll be racing in an Olympics.

After posting the top Canadian finish in the men's slalom at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center, the three-time Olympian announced that he's not planning to go to Pyeongchang in 2018.

"This will be my last Games," Janyk said in a quote released by Alpine Canada right after the race. "I knew that going in and that emotion was special, and also a challenge to deal with.

"Everything, but the result, was everything I thought a Games could be."

The result was actually his second-best finish of the season, and also his second-best finish at an Olympic Games, following his 13th-place showing on his home mountain in 2010.

Though the 31-year-old was visibly frustrated with his time after completing his second run on Saturday — three-tenths of a second quicker would have put him in the top 10 — just making it to the bottom was an accomplishment in the second session. Croatian coach Ante Kostelic's second-run set baffled many of the world's best, and only 17 of the top 30 starters were able to reach the finish for a result.

Janyk sat 22nd after the opening run and posted the 12th-fastest time on the second run to help move himself up the leaderboard.

Attempts to contact Janyk for further comment were unsuccessful.

Brad Spence and Trevor Philp were tied for 29th after Run 1, but holding the first two start positions for the tricky Run 2 course put the Canadians at a bit of a disadvantage. Spence was disqualified and Philp didn't finish. Phil Brown, however, turned in a solid 20th-place finish.

Mario Matt won the race, becoming the oldest Olympic alpine champion ever at age 35. He edged Austrian teammate Marcel Hirscher for top spot, and Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway, 19, took bronze.

Kritoffersen was the second teenager on a slalom podium in as many days, as U.S. phenom Mikaela Shiffrin won the women's race on Friday, Feb. 21. Less than four years ago, the 18-year-old was racing in the Whistler Cup; now she is the reigning Olympic, World Cup and world champion.

Austria had two medallists in that race as well, with Marlies Schild and Kathrin Zettel taking silver and bronze.

The slalom was Marie-Michele Gagnon's chance for some redemption after the Canadian failed to finish her first three races in Sochi, and she wound up ninth. She sat 10th after the first run but wasn't able to improve her standing much on the Run 2 course set by Whistler's Jim Pollock.

Rounding out the Canadian results, Britt Phelan finished 15th, while Erin Mielzynski and Elli Terwiel weren't able to finish the first run.

The slalom results powered Austria to the top of the medal table for alpine events, as the country earned the most golds (three) and total medals (nine). The American team captured five alpine medals, even without Lindsey Vonn on hand, while Switzerland, Germany and Norway each claimed three.

The 31 medals handed out in alpine events were divided among just 10 countries, but Canada was one of them for the first time in 20 years thanks to Jan Hudec's super-G bronze on the second weekend of the Games.