“It was just very emotional being up there on stage there as the flag is being raised and sitting there singing the national anthem,” he explained.

Then there’s Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, who contested the men’s tennis final at Roland Garros.

They both cried after the final, with Serbia’s Djokovic winning 7-6, 7-6 – just a month after Spain’s Alcaraz had beaten him in straight sets at Wimbledon.

“Everything I felt in that moment when I won surpassed everything I thought or hoped that it would,” Djokovic said. “Being on that court with the Serbian flag raising, singing the Serbian anthem, with the gold around my neck, I think nothing can beat that in terms of professional sport. It definitely stands out as the biggest sporting achievement I have had.”

A reminder: Djokovic has won a record 24 grand slam titles.

The visceral response from superstar athletes who are so famous and successful they are global brands in their own right underlines an important point: that the Olympics still means a lot of things to a lot of people.

Loading

If this is how they feel about the Olympics, what of those who compete in sports for which this is their greatest measure of success? In which they earn very little money in comparison to basketball, golf and tennis icons?

When it was revealed that the Rio Olympics had cost $US13.2 billion – a huge burden for a country weighed down by poverty and struggling with crime – the debate cranked up about whether the over-hyped sports carnival was still worth it.

The good folk of Brisbane are still arguing about whether hosting the Games in 2032 is a good thing and will be for the next eight years.

Fair enough, but the chat about whether the modern Olympics still carries enough interest with the people of world can stop now.

And if you’re still not convinced, consider Cindy Ngamba, who competed in the 75-kilogram division in women’s boxing.

Ngamba, 25, came out as gay in 2018 and didn’t want to return to her native Cameroon where homosexuality is illegal. She feared persecution.

Here she was on Thursday night, at a packed Roland Garros, with the crowd chanting her name, fighting Panamanian veteran Atheyna Bylon.

She looked overawed in the first round but came storming home only to lose via a controversial split points decision.

But her bronze medal is the first for the IOC refugee team, which has competed at the last three Olympics.

“I want to tell the refugees around the world to keep on working hard, keep on pushing yourself and you can accomplish anything,” she said.

Tell me again the Olympics don’t matter.

Dogg with a Boney

When the wonderful Channel Nine reporter Brooke Boney turned up to the breaking event at La Concorde, she noticed the heavy security detail and said to her cameraman that either French President Emmanuel Macron or US rapper Snoop Dogg was in the house.

Turned out it was Snoop, who has been everywhere at these Games.

“When we got to the press zone there was a bit of movement in one of the tunnels and I was like, ‘He’s gonna pull up here so get your camera ready,’” she recalled. “Then it all happened so quickly so I just walked over as soon as I saw his car pull up and started talking to him.”

They chatted for five minutes before one of his peeps said it was time for Snoop, who is here for US broadcaster NBC, to leave.

Boney snuck in a quick photo and then asked if he’ll come to Brisbane in 2032. He said he would before adding: “Alright baby. Be sweet.”

THE QUOTE

“You have to live with it and file a complaint, show that you won’t let yourself be pushed around or intimidated.” — Closing ceremony executive director Thierry Reboul on the death threats directed at him since the controversial opening ceremony.

THUMBS UP

Perth’s Maddison Keeney became the first Australian diver ever to win an individual Olympic three-metre springboard medal, a well-deserved silver. When she received her medal from one her heroes, Oscar-winning actress and IOC member Michelle Yeoh, she told her “I love you!” She admitted later: “I probably embarrassed myself.” Not at all.

THUMBS DOWN

USA sprinter Noah Lyles had me on board all the way up until he finished third in the men’s 200m, hugged everyone then dramatically collapsed and required a wheelchair to leave the track. He later declared he had COVID. He stole the moment from Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo.

Loading

It’s a big day in Paris for … Kenya’s Benson Kipruto, who will line up in the men’s marathon as one of the favourites and will be running in the memory for countryman Kelvin Kiptum, who died in car accident earlier this year.

It’s an even bigger day in Paris for … Australia’s women’s water polo team as it takes on Spain for the gold medal. Sitting in the stands will be former Wallaby Phil Kearns and Canterbury Bulldogs goalkicker Daryl Halligan cheering on their daughters Matilda and Bronte.