The good, the bad and the ugly of the Olympics

And another Olympics went into the history books as Rio closed their door with a wild closing ceremony party to wind up 16 days of athletic achievements. More than 200 countries were represented by more than 11,000 athletes across 42 sports and generally the performances from both professionals and amateurs were moments to be proud of as their efforts were rewarded with medals, best-ever moments and pride.
Pages of print and websites galore have focused on this carnival of sports so here's a column to add to that list - the 'Five Ring Circus Na-ville' review.
THE FIRST RING...The Brilliant!
Usain Bolt will always be synonymous with the Olympics as he added to his legacy with what has been called 'the triple triple' - three gold medals in three successive Olympics and called by Sir Peter Snell the greatest!
The awards to Nikki Hamblin of New Zealand and Abbey D'Agostino of the USA for their display of sportsmanship or should that be 'sportswomanship' after their tumbling incident on the track.
The brilliance of many athletes - Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky, Mo Farah, Elaine Thompson, Mahe Drysdale, Penny Oleksiak, Hyejin Chang, Yana Egorian, Jason Kenny, Aisen Chen, Wayde van Niekerk- and so many, many more!
THE SECOND RING ...The Good!
Michael Phelps continued to be a dominant figure in the pool where medals are available by the score - and he now has three more than a score in what 'may' be his last Olympics.
The achievement of Santiago Lange and his partner Cecilia Saroli who won the gold medal in the Nacra 17 mixed catamaran class - Lange is a six-time Olympian and a cancer survivor who has had his left lung removed.
The achievements of the minnows - Hungary with 8 golds and 15 total medals; New Zealand with 4 golds and 18 total medals; Jamaica with 6 golds and 11 total medals; Croatia with 5 golds and 10 total medals; - all achieving far better than the 'biggies' on a per capita basis and of those 'biggies' the UK was by far the greatest achiever with 27 golds and a total medal count of 67! While USA achieved 48 golds and a total 121 medals they did not rank in the top 30 achievers on a per capita basis.
The patriotic Brazilian fans who fanatically cheered on their teams and competitors. Sometimes they 'may' have been overly boisterous but they celebrated victories in 'salsa' fashion!
The Fijian Rugby sevens team on achieving their country's first gold medal, and the gracious way they accepted their medals from Princess Anne. THE THIRD RING...The Sad!
Fourth has to be the 'saddest' finish in an athlete's career when that 1/100th of a second may have been the difference between the bronze medal and no medal. We have to feel for those who trained so hard and for so long to have just missed out on that moment of glory.
Samir Ait Said of France who snapped his leg after his release from the vault - and then to be dropped by the paramedics as they carried him away.
Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas made an incredible and gutsy move as she 'dove' for the line in the women's 400 metre final and then was scorned by certain media outlets for so doing. US athlete Allyson Felix who was 'pipped' by Miller did state that she never thought of doing that or she would have!
Dutch cyclist, Annenick van Vleuten, who crashed when comfortably leading in her event, and suffered severe concussion and three fractures in her lower back.
THE FOURTH RING...The Bad!
The Egyptian judoka athlete, Islam El Shehaby, who was sent home after refusing to shake hands with an Israeli opponent.
The concern prior to the games with crime was well founded regardless of the Lochte incident. The economic crisis in Brazil is part of the problem that the Brazilian government has to face constantly.
The negative treatment of American gymnast Gabby Douglas by the American public when she did not put her hand over her heart during their national anthem and medal ceremony. Hope Solo, the US soccer goalie who called the Swedish team that defeated her and her team a 'bunch of cowards'.
THE FIFTH RING...The Ugly!
The Ryan Lochte saga which went over-the-top in its media coverage when all that had to be said is 'an ass is an ass is an ass!'
The 'WATOTATO' coverage each evening by the American NBC channel who took the approach of 'We Are The Only Team At The Olympics'. Each and every country shows a bias towards their athletes but no one does it as well as this crew - winners of events from other countries ignored when the fifth-placed runner from the US has suffered such trauma when her best friend's third cousin on the mother's side had the hiccups for three hours straight - and gee, sorry, but we have to show the medal winning Singaporean on the stand because Michael finished second!
We all could add to each of the rings and we all will so do depending on our interpretations and views of these, the Rio Olympics.
But by far, the first 'three rings' are the real Olympic moments to be re-lived and remembered - they aimed for higher, longer, and faster - and they achieved so much. Well done, Olympians, well done!
On to PYEONGCHANG 2018 AND TOKYO 2020.