RIO DE JANEIRO—Michael Phelps won more medals than anyone else, again. And then he said farewell, also again.
Usain Bolt kissed the finish line good-bye after enhancing his Olympic legacy. Simone Biles and Katie Ledecky delivered under the burden of enormous expectations. Two strangers went from rivals to forever linked by a display of kindness, an entire nation seemed to celebrate a tennis match, and a gold medalist scampered home to avoid legal issues after a robbery story unraveled.
The Rio de Janeiro Olympics were not perfect.
But there were moments — some great, some dreadful and some downright ugly — that will not, and should not, be forgotten.
Here’s a look:
Medal Leaders
The U.S. dominated the medal count, a rare romp in a non-boycotted games (there’s still more medals to win Sunday, but the margin of overall victory could be the most in a fully attended games in 68 years). Phelps won six medals, five of them gold, to increase his career haul to 23 Olympic titles and 28 medals overall. Ledecky and Biles each won five medals, Biles gets to carry the U.S. flag into the closing ceremony, and U.S. shooter Kim Rhode has now won a medal in six consecutive Olympiads — and might not be done, either.
Best Finish
Bolt kissing the finish line after his ninth and final Olympic gold — in nine final races — was a perfect ending. He ran the anchor leg of the 4x100-meter relay for Jamaica, won emphatically to become the third athlete ever with nine golds in track and field, and insists that this will be the end of his Olympic career.
“Nothing left to prove,” Bolt said.
He’s right.
“I am the greatest,” he added.
Right again.
