American gymnast Simone Biles asserted her dominance with four golds, swimmer Michael Phelps added five more to up his staggering total to 23 and the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt, put on his usual show with three golds just days before turning 30 years old.
Advertisement
Usain Bolt did it again, making him nine for nine.
“These were a marvellous Olympics, in a marvellous city”, said International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach.
But at times it was hard to focus on the sporting triumphs taking place across the sprawling city.
Then came Rio standout Katie Ledecky. That ignited further security concerns after a series of assaults against government ministers, athletes and tourists. “Nothing too bad happened and I’d say it was better than expected”, said Nivea Araujo, a Rio resident attending the closing ceremony.
The Games had many memorable moments, both for Brazilian competitors at home and athletes from around the world.
“We are in a hard moment as a country right now, we can’t hide that, but the Games were scheduled and I’m glad we could enjoy them”, said Alessandro Freitas, also from Rio.
Recalled that after the 2012 London Games, Phelps announced that he would retire but came back in April of 2014.
Interim head of state Michel Temer, booed at the opening ceremony and harangued wherever he went, kept a low profile during Sunday’s closing celebrations.
Simone Biles, Gabrielle Douglas, Lauren Hernandez, Madison Kocian and Alexandra Raisman celebrate at the medal ceremony for the Gymnastics Women’s Team at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on August 9, 2016. The Americans also led the pack with the most gold: a total of 46, compared to Great Britain’s 27 and China’s 26.
Advertisement
Earlier, the glory belonged to Bolt, 29, who made history when he sealed the sprint “triple triple” in his final Games, reaching a record-equalling nine gold medals with his third consecutive 100m, 200m and 4x100m sweep.
