Swimming legend Phelps, Bolt, and an array of others helped the Games rise above the taint of scandal following the exposure of state-sponsored doping in Russian Federation.
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Security fears, concerns over Zika, off-field scandals and organizational gaffes were relegated to the background as South America’s first Olympics ended in a blaze of color late Sunday with an exuberant closing ceremony.
The city handed over the Olympic flag to Tokyo, site of the 2020 Summer Games, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appeared in the stadium dressed as popular video game character Mario, tunneling from Tokyo to Rio.
Super-heavyweight boxer Joe Joyce had earlier won Britain’s final medal of Rio 2016 – a silver – as they finished second in the medal table to the United States, ahead of China.
The Rio Games welcomed the debut of a refugees team.
Russia’s Olympic Committee chief Alexander Zhukov told the R-Sport agency that Rio was a success “despite the circumstances”.
But for Brazilians, harsh reality dawned on Monday with the Senate readying the next stage of impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff, suspended from office in May amid allegations of accounting irregularities.
Booed at the opening ceremony and harangued wherever he went, he stayed out of sight for Sunday’s closing celebrations.
Despite the glitz and glamour and Bach’s upbeat comments, the Olympics brought no relief for the two million residents of Rio who live below the poverty line amid political deadlock and economic meltdown.
“History will talk about a Rio de Janeiro before and a much better Rio de Janeiro after the Olympic Games”.
This was the final Olympic outing for American legend Phelps and his counterpart on the track, Jamaican great Usain Bolt, signalling the end of an era for two of the greatest athletes of this or any generation.
The US were dominant in athletics, winning 31 medals (13 of which were gold) – 20 more than second-placed Jamaica, who won six golds.
Gold medallist Anita Wlodarczyk broke her own world record in the women’s hammer, setting a new distance of 82.29m – the sixth time the Pole has set a new record in the event. The American added the 4x200m relay gold as a bonus.
Host Brazil captured seven gold medals and 19 overall to finish in 13th place. Singapore swimmer Joseph Schooling’s sensational victory in the 100m butterfly, beating 23-time Olympic champion Michael Phelps, was a major highlight for the Republic and the region.
Her official spokeswoman said the “honours are there to recognise and reward people” such as the country’s Olympic athletes.
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Britain’s Mo Farah became the first man to complete the 5,000m and 10,000m double at back-to-back Games since Finland’s Lasse Viren at the Munich 1972 and Montreal 1976.
