THE WOW FACTOR!

The City of Lights held the world spellbound with all the glory, drama and eye candy it dished up at the Olympic Games

- NASIFA SULAIMAN

FOR just over two weeks the world watched in awe as athletes did what they'd trained for years to do: go faster, soar higher and be stronger than everyone else.

And what a spectacle it was. The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, the camaraderie of competition, the sheer spectacle of performance at its peak - all this and more went down in Paris.

The City of Lights pulled out all the stops, living up to its motto of "Games Wide Open" by taking sports into the streets, across the countryside and into suburbs.

More than 10 000 athletes in 32 disciplines took part - and as we get used to the fact that it's all over until Los Angeles 2028, we look back at the extravaganza that had us glued to our screens. As one commentator put it, "If it could last forever it wouldn't be special."

TATJANA SMITH

Our golden girl won gold in the 100m breaststroke and silver in the 200m breaststroke, becoming the most-decorated South African Olympian of all time.

The 27-year-old Joburger announced her retirement after the 200m swim, exiting the world stage on the ultimate high.

"I'm just grateful to have the opportunity to end off my career in this way,' she said.

"I'm excited to in the future tell my kids I used to swim there [at the Olympics] once.

I'm just grateful that I can walk away with medals. It's any athlete's dream"

SIMONE BILES

The pint-sized powerhouse proved she was the greatest gymnast the world has ever seen when she won four medals - three gold and a silver to bring her Olympic medal tally to 11.

Simone (27) put the drama of the Tokyo Games-where she crashed out after experiencing the "twisties"-behind her and turned on the razzle dazzle in a gruelling competition.

"To see where I've grown from Tokyo and even the 19-year-old from Rio is amazing" she said.

"I'm proud of myself for putting in the work and never giving up"