In the end, the athletes delivered

When it comes to the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Luke DeCock of The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., chooses to remember the athletes and not the issues surrounding Rio before the Games.

“We’ll remember [Simone] Biles doing it better than anyone ever has, [Katie] Ledecky and [Michael] Phelps swimming into history, [Usain] Bolt being Bolt, Ibtihaj Muhammad and Simone Manuel destroying both stereotypes, and the competition,” DeCock wrote.

“We’ll remember wrestler Helen Maroulis leaping into her coach’s arms after one of the great upsets in Olympic history over a 13-time world champion and three-time gold medalist, Abbey D’Agostino helping Nikki Hamblin to the finish line after they collided, the utter dominance of decathlete Ashton Eaton and the U.S. women’s basketball team and gymnasts.

“And we’ll remember Ronnie Ash’s grace and poise after tripping over the final hurdle within reach of a medal, Ryan Held’s tears of joy, Mike Krzyzewski returning home with a third gold.

“The legacy of these Games will be that not everyone is equipped to host, no matter how good the intentions. The modern Olympics has become too large to build from scratch every four years. There are cities that can do this well, unfortunately all first-world cities, with the infrastructure already in place. The Summer Games need to go there in the future, and stay there: Tokyo, Beijing, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, London, Paris, Madrid, Sydney, Melbourne, Toronto, Moscow and so on.

“Rio may finally have put an end to the obsolete idea that the Olympics is a movable feast.

“Still, the athletes overcame all of it. They delivered. All you can ask is they give it their best, and they did, unforgettably. So, for that matter, did Rio. Sometimes, your best just isn’t enough for a medal.”