10 Magical Moments From Rio Olympics 2016

The true Olympic spirit shone through when the USA's Abbey D'Agostino and Nikki Hamblin of New Zealand fell to the ground during their 5000m heat. D’Agostino managed to get up, but rather than speeding off, she stopped and helped Hamblin to her feet. But the American was injured and had difficulty completing the race, so Hamblin supported her and the pair finished the together. They were awarded the Pierre de Courbertin prize for sporting behaviour.

Anyone who doubted the value of Olympic football just needed to look at Neymar's face after he scored the winning penalty in the final against Germany. The Barcelona star had delivered a national obsession and helped, in some small way, avenge the terrible 7-1 defeat at the 2014 World Cup.

Mo Farah was one of the stars of the London 2012 Games, when he won the 5000m and 10,000m titles. He went on to triumph in the same events in two successive world championships and repeated the feat in Rio, emulating Finnish great Lasse Viren at the 1972 Munich and 1976 Montreal Games.

The US artistic gymnast came to Rio as one of the most popular stars, with a huge social media following, and left with five medals – four gold and one bronze – from her first Olympic Games, to confirm her place among the greatest names of her sport.

When Marjorie Enya, manager at Deodoro Stadium, proposed to her partner, Brazil player Isadora Cerullo, at the end of the women's rugby sevens tournament, their celebratory kiss became a symbol for the Rio 2016 Games, which always stressed love and inclusion among their key elements.

Michael Phelps cemented his status as the most successful Olympian of all time by winning five golds and one silver at Rio 2016, taking his tally to 28 medals (23 gold). The one that seemed to mean the most to the great American swimmer was the 200m butterfly. It allowed him to avenge his London 2012 defeat by Chad le Clos, who had since said he would break Phelps's world records in Rio, and Phelps's celebrations afterwards suggested he had enjoyed putting the younger man in his place

He was the man of the Games, from the moment he touched down at Rio International Airport, until he completed an unprecedented 'triple-triple' by winning the 100m, 200m and 4x100m titles at a third successive Olympics. He charmed Brazil and its people, and when he said "I'm the greatest" it was impossible to disagree.

After the lighting of the Olympic cauldron in the Maracanã at the opening ceremony, the flame was transported to the second cauldron, in Rio's rejuvenated port zone, where it became the jewel of the 'Olympic Boulevard' live site. An extraordinary artistic creation by American sculptor Anthony Howe, it became a star of social media and selfies in its own right.

Japanese wrestler Kaori Icho become the first woman to win an individual gold medal in four straight Olympic Games in any sport, when she took the 58kg women's freestyle title. She also became the first wrestler in Olympic history to win four gold medals, and afterwards it was lumps in throat time as she honoured the memory of her late mother.

The host nation's first gold is always a key moment, but the victory of Silva, who was born in the infamous City of God favela community and fought against poverty and prejudice, was particularly poignant. It prompted ecstatic scenes at Carioca Arena 2 and across Brazil.