Rio 2016 has been a rollercoaster ride. The build-up to Brazil's Olympic Games was marred by doping controversies, concerns about the Zika virus and the quality of stadiums, as well as civil unrest at the vast sums of money spent on readying the city. 

But in the end, the Olympics have not failed to produce moments of poignancy and inspiration, of hilarity and controversy, that can be looked back upon and savoured. Sport has won through: athletes from across the planet have written their names into the history books by winning medals and – in some cases – smashing world records. Indeed, Team GB added icing to the top of the cake with the successes of Murray, Trott, Peaty and Whitlock and all the rest stirring up a much-needed feeling of national pride.

So, with the Games reaching their conclusion, the Varsity Sports Team have sifted through two weeks’ worth of sporting highlights to select their favourite aspects of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Keir Baker – Sports Editor

Athlete of the Games

Jade Jones – Great Britain – Taekwondo (57kg) – Gold Medal

A softly-spoken twentysomething from a small town in Northern Wales with the nickname ‘The Headhunter’: the juxtaposition is fabulous. Jade Jones is a diminutive figure – small relative to her competitors – but she delivers the most powerful-looking kicks at frightening speed with terrifying accuracy. Her defence of her Olympic title was never in doubt: watching her quite simply destroy her Spanish rival by 16 points to 7 in the final was worth staying up until 2am for.

There was something incredible about the way she went about her business too: under unbelievable amounts of pressure, she more than lived up to her nickname by notching nine head kicks on opponents throughout this Olympic competition. Her fighting spirit, speed of thought and technical skill were a joy to watch and her gold medal well-deserved.

Favourite Commentator/Pundit 

Christine Still and Matt Baker – Gymnastics

All good commentators come in pairs. There was probably two on Noah’s ark, complementing each other perfectly as they described the lions, penguins and sea cucumbers clambering aboard that biblical ship. And the BBC’s combination of Matt Baker and Christine Still made watching the gymnastics one of the most exciting parts of these Olympic Games.

Still brought her years of coaching experience to the fore: she missed absolutely nothing , spotting the athletes' minute mistakes as they pulled off incredible feats. Her non-intrusive but running commentary kept the layman viewer both informed and on the edge of their seat.

Meanwhile, Baker’s youthful enthusiasm and unbottled passion for the sport – stemming from teenage years as a gymnast himself – was infectious: he drew people in and won over even the most ardent anti-gymnastics viewer. Perhaps an element of Northern bias plays a part, but I also loved how he never failed to be astonished by the action in a way that was greatly enhanced by his County Durham accent.

Unexpectedly Good Sport

Fencing

“Stick ‘em with the pointy end” explained Game of Thrones’ Arya Stark to her father. This seems pretty solid advice for Olympic fencers, who wowed me with the speed and precision with which they “stuck” their opponents. The swashbuckling nature of the duels, which were consistently swift and dramatic, brought a taste of the medieval to Rio 2016 – I could not help but envy the athletes who had the honour of fighting for their country, with swords.

The scoring system and the other rules bypassed me – at times, I had no clue what was going on. But there was an intensity and artistry that no other sport of Rio was able to create. Indeed, as the foils and épées danced to create a hypnotically beautiful sight the world has waited years to see: the two members of Daft Punk, moments after having taken up beekeeping, jockeying up and down a track like crabs trying to make coloured lights appear.

Charlie Stone – Deputy Sports Editor

Athlete of the Games

Ed Ling – Great Britain – Men's Trap Shooting – Bronze Medal

Ed Ling is possibly the first ever Olympic medallist to leave the Games more inconspicuously than when he arrived. Low finishes at past Olympiads had left him virtually anonymous and it seemed that Ling was largely content with that state of affairs: he looked entertainingly bemused by his newfound fame after earning Team GB a bronze medal in the men’s trap shooting.

Indeed, when asked how he would be celebrating his success, he replied that he needed to “get back to his farm in Somerset” for the harvest. And later, when asked what Princess Alexandra had said to him during his medal ceremony, he had forgotten: “something about whether it was windy, and maybe there was a well done in there too.”

Either incredibly modest or incredibly shy, Ling is the most hilariously laid-back Olympic athlete I have seen.

Favourite Commentator/Pundit

Leon Taylor – Diving 

There was something infectious about the exceptional enthusiasm of the BBC’s expert analyst for diving. Knowledgeable and witty, he brought an illuminating perspective to a sport that could only come from someone who knows the fine points inside and out. Indeed, it was always an amusing thought that, until he gave his verdict, 99 per cent of the viewing public had absolutely no idea as to actual quality of the dive.

And his analogies have to be some of the greatest pieces of commentary ever: by constantly insisting that “you could drive a bus between divers” who are too far apart, by describing a botched Brazilian dive as a “side banana”, and by observing that one diver looked “like he turned into a frog on his way out of it”, Taylor sublimely managed to make the diving coverage excellent entertainment.

Unexpectedly Good Sport

Trampolining

My dreams of competing as an Olympic trampolinist were shattered after watching the amazing action during the women’s trampolining final in Rio, in which Bryony Page earned Team GB a surprise silver medal. Even during their warm-ups, the athletes jumped to extraordinary heights and their routines were of incredible complexity. Added to this spectacle were their overweight middle-aged coaches (who surely had never set foot on a trampoline in their lives) ready with safety mats in case they were to fall – and one girl did.

It was thus this combination of a real element of danger with Page’s floods of tears after she had completed her routine and was assured of a medal that created a tense, exciting and unexpectedly entertaining Olympic event.

 

Tom Higgins Toon - Deputy Sports Editor

Athlete of the Games

Wayde van Niekerk – South Africa – Athletics (400m) – Gold Medal 

To break any world record is remarkable, and especially so when you’re in the blind outside lane and the previous record has stood for 17 long years. Clocking a time of 43.03 in the men’s 400m final, van Niekerk will go down in history as the man who finally usurped the great Michael Johnson. However, the South African has also carved himself a niche as an all-rounder, becoming the first athlete to defeat the 10, 20 and 44-second barriers in the 100m, 200m and 400m respectively. Though he attributed his success to divine powers, he also has his trainer Ans Botha to thank, a 74-year-old great-grandmother with over 50 years of coaching experience to her name. 

Favourite Commentator/Pundit

Jason Mohammed

Those who keep sensible hours may never have experienced Mohammed’s husky tones, as the Welshman was sadly limited to the early-morning graveyard slot. Yet, he made it as fun as possible, reading out a selection of the day’s best tweets to offset the emptiness of the vast BBC studio, laughing along as if he had more than just cushions for company.

His ebullient manner — no doubt developed from years spent as a radio presenter — made his interviews both entertaining and insightful, with his interview of Jenna Coleman a case in point. Trackside at London 2012, and a regular during the BBCs coverage of Six Nations matches, it was a real shame we did not see more of the current Final Score presenter at Rio.

Unexpectedly Good Sport

Handball

Played in over 150 countries, football’s hipster younger brother has become a surprisingly popular Olympic discipline. The premise is simple — whoever scores more goals over the course of two 30 minute halves wins — and with teams in Rio finding the net roughly 25 times per game, the spectacle is truly absorbing. Athletes must combine strength with agility as players can only shoot while jumping into the D, avoiding hefty challenges from defenders. Spectators have been left tense and short of nails with both women’s semi-finals decided by just one goal and two-time defending

Throughout Rio 2016, handball spectators were left tense and short of nails with both women’s semi-finals decided by just one goal and two-time defending champions du monde France only scraping through the men’s quarter-finals.