It’s not often that one’s most memorable experience of an Olympics is the Closing Ceremony.
Triathlete Katie Zaferes arrived in Rio more than halfway through the Games. Her event was on the 15th of 16 days of medal competition. Zaferes, a podium contender in her Olympic debut, finished a disappointing 18th on Copacabana Beach.
She stayed for the Closing Ceremony the next night, the flame extinguished at the Maracanã.
“Leading up to the race I didn’t do anything Olympic oriented,” Zaferes said by phone Wednesday. “Once our race was over, basically the only event left was the marathon.