More than just medals — these Olympians also marked some notable firsts
Some countries — and a new sport — saw their 1st ever medals
The gold medallists at the Summer Olympics have lived up to the challenge of being higher, faster and stronger than their competitors.
But some also captured Olympic glory in other ways — beyond being at the top of the podium.
A gold on his own
Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan became the first Olympian from his country to win a gold medal as an individual competitor. (Pakistan won gold in men's field hockey — a team sport — in several prior Games, the most recent coming in 1984.)
The 27-year-old Nadeem won the javelin event, setting an Olympic record with his 92.97-metre throw.
1st Olympic medal for Saint Lucia...
Julien Alfred, 23, won the women's 100-metre dash. It was her first Olympic medal, and the first for Saint Lucia.
She also claimed a silver medal in the 200-metre sprint.
"First Olympics, to go back with gold and silver, I can't ask for more than that," Alfred said, summing up her impressive performance.
… and for Dominica, too
Thea LaFond won the women's triple jump event, winning a gold that was also the first Olympic medal for Dominica.
LaFond, 30, was born in the tiny Caribbean country, but moved to the U.S. as a child.
"It's an understatement to say it's a really big deal," said LaFond, who also won gold at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow earlier this year.
1st gold for Botswana
Letsile Tebogo won the 200-metre men's sprint event.
"It was really a beautiful race for me," he said after his run.
But it was also a victory for Botswana, which had not won a gold at the Olympics before this.
And it was also a big enough deal for Botswana's president to enact a half-day national holiday to "pause and celebrate" the 21-year-old Tebogo and his win.
A medal for the refugee team
Cindy Ngamba won the bronze in the 75-kilogram division of women's boxing.
That accomplishment made the 25-year-old the first athlete to win a medal for the IOC Refugee Olympic Team which, this year, is made up of 37 athletes originally from countries including Syria and Ethiopia competing in 12 sports.
Canadian b-boy takes 1st gold in breaking
Canada's Phil Kim, a.k.a. B-Boy Phil Wizard, secured the inaugural men's breaking gold medal on Saturday, defeating Dany Dann of France 3-0 (23-4) in the final.
On the women's side, Japan's Ami Yuasa — a.k.a. B-Girl Ami — won gold on Friday.
The sport made its Olympic debuted this year in Paris, but it won't be featured at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
With files from The Associated Press and Reuters