As records tumbled at Paris Olympics, I watched with joy and trepidation

One of the videos I enjoyed watching most this Olympic season is a clip of American swimmer Katie Ledecky luxuriating in the end of a pool.

- Danson Cheong

She had just finished a 1,500m freestyle race 20 seconds ahead of her closest rival.

Ledecky took that time to relax.

She took off her swim cap and goggles, and bobbed about in the water while waiting for the other swimmers to splash home.

It was an example of "Katie Ledecky doing Katie Ledecky-things in the 1,500m", read the caption by Team USA, underscoring the 27-year-old swimmer's casual dominance.

On TikTok, there are several versions of this clip, which was actually taken from the US swim team's Olympic trials in June. My favourite is the one with kooky elevator music playing in the background.

The videos started getting shared after Ledecky crushed her rivals in similar fashion at the Olympics.

She won two gold medals in Paris, one of which is for the 1,500m freestyle, where she also broke her existing Olympic record and finished more than 10 seconds ahead of her closest competitor.

Ledecky was among the many athletes who put in world-beating performances at the Olympics.

Some others I enjoyed watching include Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle, who finished a whole body length ahead of his rivals in the 100m freestyle - an epic margin at that distance.

Likewise, American track star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who was strides ahead in the 400m hurdles. It almost seemed that the rest were running a different race.

And how can I forget Belgian cyclist Remco Evenepoel, who left everyone so far behind in the cycling road race that he had enough time to suffer a puncture, change bikes and still finish a minute ahead of the field? That these men and women can so soundly thrash a world-class field is extraordinary.

And watching it happen, even through a screen miles away in Singapore, felt joyous and inspiring.