Kovacevic: For all that Rio overcame, these Games might have been most extraordinary

RIO DE JANEIRO -- "We are not London. We are only what we are."

Those were the words one month ago of Eduardo Paes, mayor of Rio de Janeiro, and they were voiced without apology, without regret.

Which, magnificently, is how the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ended Sunday night.

Without apology. Without regret. With righteous pride.

There never will be a universal way to evaluate an Olympics, and I'll argue, now more than ever after my two weeks in Rio at the fifth Games I've covered, that there never should be. Every setting is different. Every security challenge is different. Every economic scenario is different. Even in pure athletics, every scope is different.

On the latter count, of course, the Brazilans got big-time lucky.

One after the other, Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt bade fantastic farewells to the Olympics as arguably the greatest participants in history. The 1-2 order makes for fun debate, but it ultimately isn't nearly as important as the fact we all got to see them show us, one final time, what's made both who they are. And that includes away from competition. Phelps had been a bit immature in previous Games, but I was blown away by his poise and class throughout. In the huddle after his final gold, he told his fellow relay swimmers, "It's an honor to have been part of this team for my last race." On the deck, he held a sign that read, "THANK YOU RIO!" while others panned the place. And Bolt, naturally, was Bolt, ever the beloved braggart. He'd boast that he'd win the race, but then when he'd do precisely that, he'd follow up by racing further around the track to pose for pictures with fans, particularly children. As if each victory were not his last, but his first.

Those two alone would have carried these Olympics, but there was more.

There was Katie Ledecky lapping the pool by Phelps-ian distances. There was Simone Biles performing at a bar higher than any gymnast has known. There was Neymar burying the penalty in the only event that, to hear them tell it, really mattered to the Brazilians. There were superpowers achieving or exceeding the most ambitious goals with the U.S. men's and women's basketball, U.S. women's rowing and, in a shamefully personal favorite founded on heritage, Serbia reclaiming its rightful throne atop water polo.

Yeah, I went there, Croatia. I did.

From the perspective of the only place I've ever lived, the Pittsburgh region produced five Olympians, all women, and three of them flew home clutching gold: Ginny Thrasher in shooting, Leah Smith in swimming, Amanda Polk in rowing. Some folks say the Olympics aren't local. These were as local as it gets. By my count, that's four local championships covered in a single summer.

The athletics were brilliant across the board.