Mat Belcher and Will Ryan returned from Rio de Janeiro with, perhaps, the strangest memory of any athlete at the Olympic Games; even Ryan Lochte.
The silver medal winners in the men's 470 two-person dinghy, behind Croatia's Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic, saw a dead dog "wearing a football jumper" during the competition in Guanabara Bay.
"We're not sure if it was the losing team or the winning team," Belcher told ESPN.
The photos of couches in the water and pollution taking over the bay showed the substance behind the never-ending stories concerning the quality of the water hosting the sailing events off Marina da Glória, but Belcher and Taylor were unfazed.
"The water obviously wasn't great, there was two main concerns. One was the general quality of the water and the other component was the debris and rubbish that was in the water that really can have a direct impact on the race," Belcher said.
"On our first trip over we saw a 5m dead whale floating along inside the bay, so that was a bit different."
Away from the pollution, reports of robberies, both real and fake, and the disappointing return of the Australian team, Chef de Mission Kitty Chiller attracted more press than perhaps even she wanted - much of it critical. Boomers star Andrew Bogut has fired up again this week, but Belcher and Ryan are unabashed fans of Chiller, saying she "did an amazing job".
"It's pretty difficult for her at the moment but she really cared and gave us athletes' great support. She created an amazing environment and it was a privilege to have her lead us. Unfortunately the press and some of the things that are coming out of it don't reflect what it was like to be a part of that time. I really think she's done an amazing job."
Having spent the vast majority of their lives sailing and living on boats, the duo are looking forward to taking time off before seeing what the future holds.
"We both feel we can be better and we really enjoy it so we'll give it some time to rest and have a look at what opportunities are around," Ryan said.
Belcher, a gold medal winner with Malcolm Page at London 2012, meanwhile, said "we both feel we can be better and we really enjoy it, but we'll give it some time to rest and then see what the future holds."
Coach Victor Kovalenko has stated that Rio will be his last Olympic campaign, but Ryan will do what he can to get the team back together for another gold medal tilt.
"Mat's easy; I can just bribe him with a few coffees. But Victor could take some more time to come around."
The door for Tokyo hasn't been closed, even Belcher is leaving questions open.
"You might see us again in four years."