GLASGOW, Scotland - A Commonwealth Games that began with an oft-injured Kirsten Sweetland racing to silver in the triathlon ended with Michelle Li capturing an historic badminton gold medal on Sunday. And in between, Canada racked up more medals than it did four years ago in New Delhi, India, and climbed back onto its traditional place on the Commonwealth medal podium. "Mission accomplished," said the Canadian teams general manager Scott Stevenson. Canada finished a solid third at the Games behind traditional powerhouses England and Australia, winning 82 medals — 32 gold, 16 silver, 34 bronze. Four years ago in India, Canada claimed 76 medals to finish fourth, kept off the medal podium for the first time since 1962. "What we were really pleased with is that we closed the gap a little bit (on England and Australia)," Stevenson said. "Not just us, some of the other nations as well. We all took a little bite out of those two big guns, and were pretty proud of that. Not just in total medals but also in gold medals." England topped the medal table with 174, while the Aussies wound up second with 137. Sultana Frizell of Perth, Ont., was chosen to carry Canadas flag into Sunday nights closing ceremonies, days after she won gold in the hammer throw, breaking the Commonwealth record three times in the process. Frizell led a strong Canadian track and field team that claimed 17 medals at storied Hampden Park, highlighted by Damian Warners victory in the decathlon, Derek Drouins high jump gold medal, and Brianne Theisen-Eaton and Jessica Zelinka finishing 1-2 in the heptathlon. Cam Levins won bronze in a thrilling 10,000-metre race, and the picture of the 25-year-old powering down the homestretch in the lead will be one of the enduring images of these Games. Canada sent its A team in every sport except judo, and 265 athletes in all — its largest team for a Commonwealth Games not on home soil. Sweetland, a 25-year-old from Victoria, started Canadas run to the medal podium in the Games first event, racing to silver to put all the frustration of six years of injuries behind her. "It was a gutsy performance by someone whos gone through some challenges. . . a great start to the Games," Stevenson said. There would be numerous other memorable moments over the ensuing 10 days of competition, including Patricia Bezzoubenko nabbing five of the six rhythmic gymnastics gold medals. "An absolutely spectacular performance," Stevenson said. In mountain biking, Catharine Pendrel pulled away in the first of six laps and never looked back to lead Canada to a 1-2 finish, crossing the finish line waving the Maple Leaf. Emily Batty won the silver. "Incredible, a very dominant performance by those two. Fantastic day when you see someone riding across with no hands, holding the flag over their head," Stevenson said. Ryan Cochrane set a personal best in winning the 400-metre freestyle, and then successfully defended his gold medal in the 1,500 freestyle. "This is not someone whos a young athlete," Stevenson said of the 25-year-old swimmer. "Many look at him and say hes still in his prime, but some say hes winding it down. I hope hes not." Ryan Bester won lawn bowling silver — Canadas first medal in the sport in 80 years. Twelve of Canadas 14 wrestlers won medals, and womens boxing made its Commonwealth Games debut, with Ariane Fortin taking silver at 75 kilograms and Mandy Bujold winning bronze at 51 kg. Canadas tag line for these Games was: the road to Rio goes through Glasgow and Toronto, and that was a talking point at the teams closing news conference on Sunday. "Were really pleased with what was accomplished here going forward, to the next Commonwealth games, but before that, going into Toronto next summer (the 2015 Pan American Games)," Stevenson said. "I think things are going in the right direction, and also towards Rio in two years. These are the people youre going to see going forward, and for obviously winning medals for Canada down the road." Chantal Petitclerc, Canadas chef de mission in Glasgow, said the Games were crucial in Canadas preparation for Rio. It was a chance for athletes to get a taste of the multi-sport Games experience before the bright lights shine on them at the Olympics. "I leave Glasgow convinced even more than ever before that these Games are important, we need them in the sports system," said Petitclerc. "You cant take athletes from their own specific sport to multi-sports Games and expect them to perform the first time." It was a chance for athletes to compete in front of a crowd. "For many sports you do that once every four years, so you cant expect athletes to go from performing in front of their family to a major Olympic stadium and have no impact. You cant prepare for it by visualization, thats not realistic." Glasgow was an enthusiastic host, rolling out the red carpet for the worlds 71 teams from the former British Empire. Fans packed the venues for virtually every session of every sport. "What was most impressive was the fact that you could go to a preliminary session and it was full. You dont always see that," Stevenson said. Finals: exciting, fantastic. But you go to preliminaries at 9 oclock on a mid-week and you get a full house." Nearly 5,000 athletes competed in 261 events in 18 different sports in the largest multi-sport event ever held in Scotland. Halifax bid to host the 2014 Games but dropped out of the Commonwealth race after the municipal and government withdrew its funding for what would have been $1.7 billion project. Gold Coast, north of Brisbane, Australia, will host the Games in 2018. Edmonton will bid to host the 2022 Games. So far, Durban, South Africa is the only other city to express interest in bidding. 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The mood in Seattle was electrified as the parade featuring the NFL champions began near the Space Needle and made its way to CenturyLink Field, the home of the team. At a ceremony inside the stadium, the team thanked its loyal followers -- the 12th Man -- capping a day of boisterous celebration that drew an estimated 700,000 revelers to Seattle.The crowd may want to look ahead. And my friends in the media are already asking That Question. But Graham DeLaet isnt ready to look beyond his first tee shot on Saturday. After equaling the course record on Friday, you can forgive everyone for getting a little excited about the possibilities. You know, the chance that this damn 60-year drought can come to an end. It would be a great moment for Canadian golf, a great moment for DeLaet and, selfishly, a great moment for the keyboard tappers and microphone holders who would no longer have to ask That Question any longer. But lets back up just a bit here. Its not Sunday, yet. DeLaet ignited everyones imagination of just what the coronation might look like by posting a smooth 63. For the first time in a while, his putter behaved as he used his flat stick just 25 times when on the green. That, he said, was the result of some work he did earlier in the week with short game coach Gabriel Hjertstedt. The two of them came up with one small change that, as it often does with something as confounding as putting, made a big difference. "My putting coach was here Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday," said DeLaet. "We put in some good work and changed a little bit of how I was seeing lines. I was picking spots in front of the ball instead of picking spots at the hole. Just something a little bit different and it was nice to see some putts rolling in." To a certain extent, DeLaet will always live and die with his putting. Its his Achilles heel in an otherwise bulletproof golf game. Just look at the stats for this year – hes second in greens in regulation, 11th in driving distance, fifth in total driving and – wait for it – 137th in strokes gained, putting, the key indicator of how a player performs on the greens. But on this day, he was pure. He drained a 30-footer on 14 for a birdie, another one from 21 feet on the first hole and sunk a 20-footer to save a bogey on the 18th hole. That last one might be the most vital of the mmany that found the bottom of the cup.dddddddddddd Playing his ninth hole of the day and already four under for the round, DeLaet drove his ball into the water, took a drop then hit his next shot up the fairway. From there he lofted a wedge onto the green. "I was kind of counting a double when I was walking up to the 18th green," he said, "so to hole that putt was a nice bonus." Its been a while since DeLaet has enjoyed such a good day with his putter, but he wasnt alone in getting the balls to drop. "It was definitely fun to see some putts roll in," he said. "All of us were kind of making putts all day." All of us would be his group of Matt Kuchar and Jim Furyk; the trio combined for 22 birdies. Furyk also tied the course record, held by Scott Verplank and David Morland IV. "There was just so much momentum," he stated. "The crowd was getting behind us. Even Matt and Jim, the crowd was starting to get behind them. They were just seeing such good golf all day. You definitely start feeding off each other and you almost expect to hole putts just to keep up." While DeLaet loved the emotion displayed by the fans at Royal Montreal – the vast majority on the property seemed to be following his group – and the way he played, he was careful not to start thinking about buying any silver polish just yet. The player who has yet to win a tournament on the PGA Tour is savvy enough to realize that it might take two more course records to get his name on the trophy. "I know theres going to be a little bit of added pressure because Im in good position heading into the weekend," said DeLaet. "But at the same time were only half way through this thing and if I can put something together like this [Saturday] then maybe we can start talking about that." Maybe for him. But in the brasseries and bistros and the dix-neuf holes, theyre already chatting. As they have been for oh, about 60 years. ' ' '