PARIS: Well, that’s that – after 16 days of competition, this marvellous edition of the Olympic Games is over.
The final day of competition in Paris saw Australia win two silvers and a bronze within a matter of minutes.
It means Australia will finish fourth on the medal tally with 18 gold, 19 silver and 16 bronze for 53 total medals.
MEDAL TALLY: Where every country finished
It’s our most successful Olympics by gold medals and second most overall, just behind Sydney 2000’s 58 medals.
With gold in the women’s basketball, the final event of the Games, the USA topped the tally – despite some curious reporting – with China a close second.
Both countries finished with 40 gold medals, with the Americans ahead in the minor placings.
This is the last of our daily recaps from Paris before the Paralympic Games, which will air live and free on Channel 9, 9Gem and 9Now from August 28.
We hope you’ve enjoyed following along – it’s time to get some sleep!
Silver and bronze after keirin carnage
Matthew Richardson’s brilliant campaign on the velodrome was capped with another silver medal as teammate Matthew Glaetzer won bronze after a massive crash in the keirin final.
Richardson pushed hard in the final sprint to the line but was pipped again by Dutch weapon Harrie Lavreysen.
Glaetzer avoided the carnage of a crash that wiped out half of the field to slide through for bronze, later telling his wife he “did a Bradbury” – a reference, of course, to Australia’s most famous Winter Olympics moment.
Richardson leaves Paris with two silver medals and a bronze.
Opals secure bronze in Jackson’s farewell
The Opals are back on the Olympic podium for the first time since 2012 after edging Belgium in a 85-81 thriller.
Ezi Magbegor was dominant on both ends of the floor with 30 points as Australia’s greatest-ever Lauren Jackson played cheerleader in what is likely her final appearance for Australia at 43.
A massive block from Steph Talbot snuffed out what would have been the game-tying three-pointer in the final minute to secure the bronze and trigger wild celebrations.
Marathon disaster for Australian
Australian record holder Sinead Diver was forced to withdraw from the women’s marathon just 1.2km into the race in distressing scenes.
An upset Diver, 47, leaned on a barrier and decided against continuing after coming to a halt in the early stages of the run.
The AOC later said Diver was “experiencing bilateral cramping in both quadriceps” but backed her decision to compete.
Australian teammates Jessica Stenson and Genevieve Gregson finished 13th and 24th respectively.
More than two hours later, Ethiopian-born Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan kicked to victory in a thrilling sprint finish against Ethiopian world record holder Tigst Assefa, setting a new Olympic record.
Eight straight gold medals – just
The USA women’s basketball team survived the biggest scare of its unprecedented run to eight straight gold medals with a 67-66 win over France to top the medal tally.
Down by three points with seconds remaining, a heave by French star Gabby Williams banked its way in on the buzzer – but with her foot on the line, the shot only counted for two.
US star told to hand back medal
American gymnast Jordan Chiles has been told to give back her bronze medal after an appeal to sport’s highest court.
The IOC confirmed on Sunday it would reallocate the bronze to Romanian Ana Barbosu after the Court of Arbitration threw out an earlier US appeal on the day of the women’s floor final that elevated Chiles to bronze.
