PARIS -- For 16 days, Australia's athletes dazzled, wowed, and mystified the world, amassing the nation's greatest Olympic gold medal haul and proving, unequivocally, no country punches above its weight more on the international sporting stage.
By the end of competition in Paris, Australia had tallied 18 gold medals, 19 silver, and 16 bronze, also enough for a remarkable fourth place finish on the overall medal tally -- the real one.
READ: Who won Australia's gold medals in Paris?
Here's what Australia will remember most from a mesmerising 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
5. The Patty Mills buzzer beater
Okay, the Boomers ended up losing to Serbia in an overtime heartbreaker, but that Patty Mills bucket over the top of two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic will live long in the memory banks of Australians.
Down two points with 9.8 seconds remaining in regulation, Mills was inbounded the ball, danced his way inside the three-point line, and hit the purest of jumpers over the Serbian superstar. It tied the game up at 82-82 with just 1.4 seconds on the clock, and sent his teammates into an absolute frenzy.
And if it was one of the final plays of Mills' international career, then it was fitting. The 35-year-old is without question one of the greatest Boomers of all time, always raising his game in FIBA play and thriving in the green and gold jersey.
Mills was scorching hot against Serbia, dropping 26 points to help the Australians open up what appeared to be a game-winning 24-point lead in the second quarter. It's a shame it ended how it did, but hey, we'll always have those Tokyo memories.
4. Sweet, sweet Olympic redemption
Redemption was the theme of these Games for many Australian athletes. We witnessed resiliency and the heart of champions as they fought back from their lowest of lows to capture that elusive Olympic gold.
The first of which was flag bearer Jess Fox. Nobody will ever forget those heartbreaking scenes in Tokyo when she missed out on gold in the traditional K1. It was utter despair. But that would all become a distant memory -- at least temporarily -- after a jaw-dropping run at the Vaires-sur-Marne rapids in east Paris. Fox blitzed the field to finally grab that gold medal before backing it up in the C1 three days later.
And then there's Cameron McEvoy. Having flunked his only individual Olympic final -- the 100m freestyle in Rio eight years ago -- the star sprinter was out to make amends in the 50m dash in Paris. McEvoy powered his way to gold in a stacked field, and, like Fox, erased those past demons in an instant.
Completing the redemption trifecta was the men's pursuit squad of Sam Welsford, Kelland O'Brien, Conor Leahy, and Oliver Bleddyn. The Australians had famously crashed out of this race in Tokyo three years ago at the qualification stage, and not many gave the new-look line-up much of a chance of making the podium in Paris. Yet they walked away from the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome with gold and a new world record in the event. You couldn't make this stuff up.
3. The 'Raygun' that failed to fire
Unfortunately, this soon-to-be memory is for all of the wrong reasons. Australian break dancer Rachael Gunn, aka 'Raygun', became somewhat of an online meme after flopping -- literally and figuratively -- in the Olympic debut of breaking.
The 36-year-old university lecturer from New South Wales failed to impress the judges (and just about all of those watching) with her dance routines, losing all three round-robin battles by a combined score of 54-0. Not to be deterred, Gunn took the criticism and mockery in her stride.
"All of my moves are original," she told reporters. "Creativity is really important to me. I go out there and I show my artistry. Sometimes it speaks to the judges, and sometimes it doesn't. I do my thing, and it represents art. That is what it is about."
With breaking not confirmed on the Los Angeles 2028 bill, it may be the last we see of Raygun. But hey, once an Olympian, always an Olympian. Right? And you feel in time, Raygun will be viewed as a national treasure ... in a weird sort of way.
2. Champions becoming legends
Ariarne Titmus, Kaylee McKeown, and Jess Fox were all Australian sporting stars before the Olympic flame was lit in Paris, but they each departed the French capital on the shortlist of greatest athletes the country has ever produced.
Titmus defended her 400m Olympic title in dominant fashion on night one at La Défense Arena, and while she was pipped in the 200m by teammate Mollie O'Callaghan, her Olympic resume of four gold medals and six individual medals has cemented her as one of Australia's most decorated Olympians.
For McKeown, she became the first Australian to ever win four individual Olympic gold medals when she successfully defended her 100m and 200m backstroke titles from Tokyo. She also added a silver and a pair of bronze medals over the final days of competition to take her Olympic medal tally to nine at just 23 years of age. Astonishing.
And then there's Fox. We already spoke about her redemption in the K1, and that victory ticked off the only major accolade missing from her resume. Now there's simply no denying she is the greatest paddler to ever live.
1. Nina Kennedy vaults herself, and Australia, into history
Legendary Australian sports commentator Bruce McAvaney said it best, moments after Kennedy soared over the 4.90m bar to become an Olympic champion.
"We're all in rare air. All of us," McAvaney said on ABC radio. "We've never had a Games like it. Forever and a day, Nina Kennedy will be the athlete that took us to 18 gold medals."
August 7, 2024 wasn't just Australia's greatest day at the Olympic Games, it may have been the nation's best day in sports. Period.
Kennedy's vault, along with the exploits of Keegan Palmer in the bowl, Matt Wearn on the southern French waters, and the men's pursuit team at the velodrome, put four gold medals on Australia's tally in the space of just five hours. And in doing so, propelled Australia to third on the medal tally.
It was historic. It was magnificent. It was, and will always be, unforgettable. And we may never see anything like it ever again.