Topping the gold medal tally in Birmingham is wonderful recognition of Australia's collective success at these Commonwealth Games.
But the real stories of success, and why these medals matter so much, have been told by every single moment of human triumph over this past fortnight. Inspiration was everywhere.
Swimmer Emma McKeon has now won more Commonwealth Games medals than any athlete in history, 20, including 14 gold. She is beyond extraordinary. So too, track and field star Madison de Rozario , now Australia's most decorated Para-athlete with four gold from two Games.
New champions emerged. Ollie Hoare overtook two world champions down the stretch to set a Games record and become our first 1500m track and field champion since legendary Herb Elliott. Eighteen-year-old swimmer Mollie O'Callaghan eclipsed McKeon and others in the women's 100m, giving us a glimpse of the new generation that is coming ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games.
How incredible that our youngest Australian team member, 14-year-old Charli Petrov, won gold in the synchronised diving, alongside a mentor in Melissa Wu. Melissa , rewarded as flagbearer in the closing ceremony, was only 13 when she made her Commonwealth Games debut in 2006, before Charli was even born.
Resilience was rewarded. Track cyclist Matt Glaetzer returned from thyroid cancer, not to mention a heavy crash earlier in competition, to take two gold in Birmingham. Gymnast Georgia Godwin almost didn't make it to the Games because of complications from double-ankle surgery 12 months earlier, instead she emerged with two gold, among her bag of five medals.
