For many Japanese, an air of unreality hung over the Tokyo Olympics, held under the shadow of a once-in-a-century global pandemic.
With no overseas fans and even domestic spectators banned from almost all events, many felt physically disconnected from what they could only follow on TV or online.
Local enthusiasm did build to some extent despite widespread hostility to the Games before they started, with Japan's Olympians putting in strong performances and expressing just what participating in the global sporting showpiece had meant to them.