1. Olympians of all shapes and sizes

Photograph: Ragan Smith/Instagram

Simone Biles, at 4ft 8ins, is the shortest participating contestant, but Ragan Smith, 16, a reserve for the US gymnastic team, is just 4ft 6ins. The picture of Smith with US basketball player DeAndre Jordan, 6ft 11ins, is one of the best of the games. Neither is age any barrier: there are 48 years separating the youngest competitor, Gaurika Singh, 13, a swimmer from Nepal, and Australian equestrian Mary Hanna, 61.

2. Olympic heartbreak

Photograph: Ashley McKenzie/Twitter

If any picture can sum up true Olympic heartbreak, surely that which Team GB judo star Ashley McKenzie posted immediately after his defeat in the second round of the men’s under-60kg succeeds. He is seen curled up in abject misery on the floor next to bins after being taken out by world champion Kazakh Yeldos Smetov. On his Instagram account McKenzie writes: “This explain a lot of things!! I don’t think I need to say much more about how I feel, thank you all for the support!”.

3. Simon Biles defying gravity

Everyone has run out of superlatives to describe showstopper Simone Biles, whose status as star of the 2016 games seems assured. The pocket-rocket Texan gymnast, aged 19, who has won 10 world championship medals since 2013, dominated to win the all-around gold. The 4ft 8ins athlete has been described as perhaps the greatest ever gymnast, with gravity-defying moves on the vault, uneven bars, beam and floor.

4. Dressed for the beach

Photograph: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images

Uniform rules were changed before the London 2012 Olympics to open women’s beach volleyball up culturally. Some competitors – including a number of Egypt’s women’s team, pictured here – match tops and leggings with the hijab.

5. The shocking crash of Annemiek van Vleuten

Photograph: Bryn Lennon/AFP/Getty Images

Dutch cyclist Annemiek van Vleuten, leading the women’s road race, crashed during a downhill attack and was rushed to intensive care with fractures to her lower spine. She later tweeted that she was OK and would be fine. But one-time Olympic champion Chris Boardman is among those critical of organisers, claiming not enough barriers were protecting the riders and arguing the race was not safe . The course edges were “way past being technical”, Boardman said.

6. Giving the finger

Photograph: YouTube

US swimmer Lilly King makes plain her views after Russian rival Yulia Efimova shoots her finger up to declare herself number one on winning her semi-final heat. As Efimova, who was suspended for 16 months after testing positive for banned DHEA in 2013, and earlier this year tested positive for meldonium – since also banned – was shown on the monitor, King wagged her index finger in return. She subsequently beat the Russian in the women’s 100m breaststroke final to take gold.

7. Poolgate

Photograph: Larry W Smith/EPA

From clear azure blue to cloudy pea green. Divers at the outdoor aquatics centre seemed unperturbed, but theories abound over a dramatic overnight change in colour. Algae due to drop in chlorine levels? Ink leaking from poolside mats? Organisers eventually blamed high alkaline levels due to incorrect chemical treatment. It was catching. A second pool, used by polo players and synchronised swimmers, followed suit.

8. Michael Phelps’ cupping therapy

Photograph: Michael Dalder/Reuters

Millions were bemused by the strange skin discolouration that seemed to be afflicting several Olympians, including Michael Phelps. The cause of the large purple circular mark was non-contagious cupping. Cupping, an ancient Chinese healing practice, involves placing specialised cups on the skin, then using heat or an air pump to create suction and separate the skin from the muscle. Phelps is a fan, posting a picture of himself undergoing the procedure on Instagram. “I’ve done it before meets, pretty much every meet I go to,” he said.

9. Rainy Rio

Photograph: Carlos Barria/Reuters

Grey skies, choppy waters and crosswinds are not usual August fare in Rio. Mopping up inside the stadia became a regular occurrence during the opening days and the regatta faced rough conditions. One Serbian rowing boat capsized and others came perilously close as they claimed Rio’s weather was the worst they had encountered. Heavy rain hit the tennis, kayaking and beach volleyball as well.

10. Move over Eric the Eel!

Photograph: Dominic Ebenbichler/Reuters

Ethiopian Robel Kiros Habte, 24, who sports a physique a little more rotund than his super-honed rivals, got the biggest cheer at the aquatics stadium. Ranked 59 out of 59 in the men’s 100m freestyle, he predictably finished half a lap behind everyone else in a performance reminiscent of Equatorial Guinea’s Eric “the Eel” Moussambani in the 100m freestyle at Sydney’s 2000 Olympics.

10. Olympic Nan

Photograph: Chris Radburn/PA

Mavis Williams, 74, earned herself the title and a large following when she tweeted to share pride in Team GB grandson Adam Peaty after his gold medal win in the men’s 100m breaststroke.

11. Bronzed divers

Photograph: Matt Dunham/AP

Tom Daley and Daniel Goodfellow, Team GB synchronised divers celebrated securing bronze in the 10m men’s synchronised platform dive.

12. Most inspiring Olympian

Photograph: Christophe Simon/AFP/Getty Images

The award for most inspiring Olympian goes to Syrian refugee Yusra Mardini. A year after battling the sea to survive when the dingy she and fellow asylum seekers were in overturned, Mardini won the opening heat of 100m butterfly. The 18-year-old, helped drag the dinghy to safety for three hours. “I thought it would be a real shame if I drowned in the sea because I am a swimmer,” she said before the Games. Now living and training in Germany, Mardini is competing under the banner of the refugee team, made up of 43 athletes who have been forced to flee their homelands.

13. Something on the air

Photograph: Clive Rose/Getty Images

TV viewers detected something in the air between Olympian swimmers and BBC co-presenters Rebecca Adlington, 27, and Mark Foster during a live broadcast. Foster, 46, dismissed any flirtatious meaning behind Adlington touching his knee beneath the BBC Sport desk. “The reality is that Becky does that simply to get my attention either when she has something to say or else she wants me to butt in,” he explained.

14. The opening ceremony

Photograph: Clive Mason/Getty Images

Rio’s opening ceremony was always going to be colourful, being the home of Carnival. However, it received mixed reviews from world press: the Sydney Globe said it “made Danny Boyle’s bold salute to the NHS at the London opener … look like a polite ahem”. The Washington Post remarked London and Beijing had “ruined opening ceremonies for everyone” and Rio could not compete with the budget “or the artistic and cultural firepower”. Brazil’s Globo newspaper hailed it as “beyond beauty” and “a moment of pride for a troubled country”.

15. Andy Murray flops with flag

Photograph: Youtube

Andy Murray suffered an uncharacteristic lack of coordination as flag bearer for Team GB. The two-times Wimbledon champion’s wrestling with the union flag, blocking the Princess Royal out of the team shot, prompted the group to dissolve into giggles. “Hold it at an angle,” the photoshoot director yelled through a megaphone. “To the left, so Her Royal Highness can be seen.” Then, a few minutes later, as Princess Anne rolled her eyes at Sebastian Coe: “Just drop it a little bit Andy, because you’re blocking HRH.”

16. Michael Phelps’ death stare

Photograph: YouTube

The look that launched a thousand memes: US Olympian Michael Phelps directed a furious glare at South African rival Chad le Clos as he warmed up for the 200 metre butterfly semi-final. As Le Clos – who beat Phelps in the 2012 final – stood in front of the 26-times Olympic medallist and started shadow boxing, Phelps deployed his best death stare. Phelps would later go on to reclaim the title he lost to Le Clos in London.

17. Missing out on the podium

Photograph: David Rogers/Getty Images

The most disappointing place to finish at an Olympics? Just short of the podium. Team GB has clocked up a fair few near-misses: the women’s rugby sevens team (pictured), swimmer Hannah Miley in the 400m individual medley, James Guy in the 200m freestyle and the men’s gymnastic team to name a few.

18. The Russian revelations

Photograph: David Ramos/Getty Images

The Russian team were met with a mixed response of cheers and boos at the Rio opening ceremony. The International Olympic Committee ruled that 70% of the federation’s team could compete, despite revelations about state-sponsored doping.

19. Fiji’s first gold

Photograph: Feroz Khalil/AFP/Getty Images

Celebrations erupted inside ANZ stadium in Suva, flares were set off and there was dancing in the streets following Fiji’s rugby sevens win against Team GB, which secured the South Pacific nation’s first ever Olympic medal, a gold.

20. Katinka Hosszo sets a new record

Photograph: Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images

The Hungarian swimmer, nicknamed ‘the Iron Lady’ won gold in the 400m individual medley on Saturday night, beating the previous world record by nearly two seconds.