From the time, the elegant figure of Gustavo Kuerten carried the Olympic torch to the Maracana, to the time the cauldron was lit off and the flame ceased to glisten the metal rings encircling it, the biggest sporting festival of the world lived up to its billing as the most decorated event to transcend human emotions.
Each day churned new stories. Some stories began from where they were earlier left off, while some were newly scripted, others were rewritten in emphatic style. Each dream was lived if not fulfilled.
Here’s an attempt to live some of the moments.
10) The Olympic refugee team
One of the loudest cheers of the opening night was reserved for the Olympic refugee team and rightly so. The flag stood as a symbol of hope in the times of despair for millions around the world. They had crossed many borders and swam many miles to reach Rio and no medal, not even a gold, would be good enough to garland their unmatched spirit.
9) Djokovic vs Del Potro
At the centre of the court, two shoulders drooped as the two athletes hugged each other in tears in a moment of sporting excellence; one in the disappointment of the loss and the other in disbelief of his victory. At that one moment, it was Sport that was the winner.
World No 1, Novak Djokovic had come to win gold for Serbia, but then he ran into a resurgent Argentine, in Juan Martin Del Potro in the 1st round.
8) Brazilian gymnasts shine the floor
They could hardly believe what they had achieved, they could hardly wait any longer to celebrate. Tears had begun to roll like a river even before a silver and a bronze was affirmed. The two Brazilian floor gymnasts, Diego Hypolito and Arthur Mariano, lived a dream.
The whole emotional saga ran for so long that the gold medallist, Max Whitlock from Britain, took a backstage amidst all this.
7) Fu Yuanhui breaks the shackles
If one has to break shackles then no stage is bigger than the Olympics to do it. In one such daring moment, the Chinese swimmer, Fu Yuanhui, so openly celebrated her womanhood that the world was taken aback when she put out that her menstrual cycle had prevented her from giving the best.
Though it is about speaking the obvious it takes tremendous amount of courage and Fu had it in her.
6) The wait is finally over
The Samba boys had never done it before and they didn’t look likely to achieve the feet even this time around with the kind of start they had. It seemed the expectation would once again submerge the dream of an entire nation. But then destiny smiled.
It was all left to the golden boy’s golden foot. Could Brazil overcome the Germans at the Maracana? Neymar nets it to the right top corner and the whole of Brazil turns into a sea of joy!
5) Thiago Braz da Silva scales new height
He held the world record, he had till then scaled the highest height without even faltering once. Lavilennie looked all set to defend his pole vault gold. The Brazilian, da Silva, with nothing to lose, pulled a rabbit out of a hat. He skipped 5.98 which the French had cleared, raised the bar to 6.03, and cleared it in his last attempt.
The French, to his belief, couldn’t scale the height despite coming alarmingly close. In a matter of minutes, Silva stunned the world with a leap of his lifetime.
4) Michael Phelps phenomena
Michael Phelps breaking his retirement to come to Rio was reason enough to celebrate. But then Phelps arrives to conquer, he swims to win. He kick starts with a gold. It’s routine. But thanks to Le Clos for lighting fire in the water. He was once again on the face of Phelps after having swum past him in the 200 butterfly at London.
There was enough heat in the pool and off it too. When the race finished, there was only one man signalling his numero uno position and it was Michael Phelps.
3) Lee Chong Wei vs Lin Dan
At Beijing, he finished 2nd best, at London he finished 2nd best. Here again at Rio Lee Chong Wei was up against his nemesis Lin Dan - the double Olympic champion, but this time in the semis. It was a hurdle he had failed to clear. In an oscillating battle, Lee finally emerged victorious.
What transpired next is to be treasured for long. Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan exchanged jerseys and hugged each other elevating Sport to the highest level. Humility and respect.
2) Ayana Almaz’s moment in history
She was one among them, running smoothly. The 10000m journey was hardly past its halfway mark as she decided to break lose, she decided to fly. In a flash, Ayana was away. She never stopped, never turned back. When she finished, she had broken the world record that had stood for 23 years. But it’s not the gold medal or the record that brought in the joy. It was her stunning run that was a joy to behold.
1) Usain Bolt’s tryst with time
He has run past a decade of everyone’s life in the quickest possible time that a human could. What in Sport matches his speed and what in life matches the joy his long legs have gifted us! One gets a sense of voyeurism when Usain Bolt aligns his body with the air surrounding him and fiddles with the time around him.
It’s his space - both time and air, we are intruders. Be it in Beijing, in London or in Rio.
How did Novak Djokovic meet Jelena Ristic? All about the most admired couples in tennis
