A joie de vivre in Paris revived the Olympic spirit to leave Tokyo Games in alternative universe | Kieran Pender

One of the many privileges of covering the Olympics is the opportunity to speak with athletes in the immediate aftermath of their performances. Australia’s best sportspeople train for years, decades even, for a handful of moments on the sporting world’s grandest stage. And then, win or lose, they are required to chat with us.

It is a real privilege because of the raw humanity one witnesses in those moments. I have always believed that sport both reflects and refracts society. Sport can show us humanity at its best and worst; it has the power to change people and communities.

That is why some of the moments that will remain with me from these Games are not the incredible individual and team performances. From an Australian perspective, many of those performances were truly astonishing – Australia’s greatest ever Games . But the moments that moved me the most over the past two weeks were away from the spotlight, hearing from those performers minutes later as they processed the good, the bad and the ugly in real time.

Related: Australia’s golden Games: pinnacle or new base for nation punching above its weight? | Kieran Pender

Swim star Ariarne Titmus exuberant one evening and in tears two nights later. BMX freestyle sensation Logan Martin finding hope in his young children, after his gold medal aspirations had evaporated. Matthew Denny choking back emotion after becoming the first Australian man to win a medal in any throwing discipline at the Games, hailing the friends and family back in Allora, a Queensland town of barely 1,000 people. “They’ve always been there for me, no matter what,” he said, tears welling in the eyes of the burly discus thrower.

Or Nina Kennedy, having flown over the bar to win the women’s pole vault and Australia’s historic 18th gold medal in Paris, backing herself to the hilt. She recalled pondering whether, in the event of a tie, she would share gold or go to a tiebreak. “I want the fucking outright gold medal, this is what I want,” she told herself. And rarely do you see a gold medallist as cool, calm and collected as 14-year-old Arisa Trew, having just become Australia’s youngest Olympic champion .

It has undoubtedly been the most successful summer Olympics in recent memory – on par or possibly even surpassing London 2012, and in tight competition with Sydney 2000. The smooth delivery of the Games has helped – despite fears about security, labour strikes and heat waves, the Olympics have been sunny (but not sweltering), safe and straightforward.

Organisers’ focus on bringing the Games to Paris, rather than white elephant stadiums on the city’s outskirts, has been a hit. Covering the beach volleyball in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, or the skateboarding in the heart of Paris at Place de la Concorde, has been surreal. And despite initial scepticism, and the traditional August vacation, Parisians have embraced the Olympics – almost every event has been sold-out, bars with televisions have been heaving and live sites packed with French people and foreigners alike.

Indeed in recent weeks, it often felt that the Tokyo Olympics occurred in an alternative universe, rather than just three years ago. If those were the Covid Games – daily testing, an Olympic bubble, hotel quarantine on return – these were the party Games. Crowds of spectators, no official Covid protocols, minimal mask-wearing. Thirty-eight Australian athletes tested positive for respiratory illnesses during the Games, including 19 cases of Covid. That’s about 5% of the Australian team hit by the virus three years on from the Covid Games where, paradoxically, not a single Australian athlete tested positive.

For the Australian team, it was also very much a caffeinated Games. Following positive feedback on the work of a team barista in Tokyo , the Australian Olympic Committee brought three coffee-makers to Paris. On Saturday, chef de mission Anna Meares confirmed the coffee cart had been “a big hit” with the baristas becoming “beloved members of the team” as they made over 22,000 cups of coffee – about three cups per athlete per day. Unfortunately, journalists had to make do with the press centre coffee, which a broadcaster perhaps not unfairly compared with “ polluted River Seine water .”

But the subpar coffee, and a lack of sleep, will be my only minor gripes from an exhilarating three weeks covering the Olympics. In Paris, I had the immense good fortune to witness some of the medal-winning performances that will go down in history. I was poolside when Titmus defended her 400m freestyle Olympic title , and again 48 hours later when Molly O’Callaghan dethroned her team-mate in the 200m freestyle . I saw Kaylee McKeown defend not one but two Olympic gold medals , an unprecedented feat for an Australian swimmer, and Cameron McEvoy fulfil a four-Games journey with his own gold . All up, I witnessed nine golds in the flesh – and many more silver and bronze medal-winning performances.

Related: That was the Games that was: Australia’s most successful Olympic campaign | Jack Snape

But of course it was not only the gold-rush that made these Olympics so special for Australia. The Matildas’ campaign will go down in history as a disappointment, but being in Nice for their 6-5 comeback win over Zambia , I wondered what bizarre new reality I had entered after leaving Paris. Seeing new Olympic sports assert their place on the schedule was special, whether as a newbie to sport climbing , or a diehard surf fan .

On the last day of the Games, I was at the Bercy Arena as the Opals won bronze – or rather “rose gold” . Lauren Jackson, one of the most remarkable figures in this Australian Olympic team, who debuted at Sydney 2000 (winning silver), played again at Athens 2004 (silver), Beijing 2008 (silver again) and London 2012 (bronze), won yet another Olympic medal. After injuries forced Jackson to retire early, missing Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, she had returned for one last dance.

As Jackson, now 43, pondered her fifth medal in five Olympics, she seemed lost for words, processing an incredible legacy. “It’s been remarkable,” she said. “I never could have imagined it in my wildest dreams.” The same could be said of Paris 2024. A truly remarkable Olympics.