For about the last 18 months, I had been worried about how the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro would end up being. I had worries about other Games, such as the pollution in Beijing, security in London and just in general about Sochi. For the most part, those Olympics went off without too much trouble for the duration of the event, but Rio was different.

It all started with the issues of pollution. A large part of Rio’s bid revolved around cleaning up the city, with a main point of focus on those areas that were going to host events. The fact that you had athletes getting sick from simply participating in certain areas was not a good sign, and that was a large question mark heading into the opening ceremony.

Add on top of that the outburst of Zika, an illness which scared away a vast majority of the top men golfers, who decided to not compete for a medal in an event making its first return to the Olympics since 1904. If another source of illness wasn’t enough, then security concerns would prove to push this over the edge.

Between the threat of locals’ protests becoming violent, which would not have been without reason for a country in turmoil, and the Games being a prime terrorist target, it could all have been sideways quickly.

But, thankfully, these issues did not define these Olympics as much as most thought they would.

Pollution, while still there, stayed away for the most part. Outside of the diving pool turning green overnight, there were not any newsworthy issues with all of the pollution.

The Zika fear was lessened by a two simple facts. One, that the Summer Olympics technically took place in the Brazilan winter, so the mosquitos were not out in full force. The other is that the athletes were very aware of what they were getting into and seemed to take all the precautions necessary.

As for security, the 80,000+ armed security force did its job keeping issues to a minimum. There were still altercations, but they did a better job than their French counterparts at the Euro soccer tournament in June. Also, a thank you for the protesters, who kept their actions non-violent.

In the end, these Olympics will be defined by the actions of the athletes.

It will be defined by the curtain calls of two of the greatest athletes of a generation. To argue which of the two is the greatest of all-time is pointless, a comparison of apples and oranges.

Michael Phelps is the greatest swimmer in Olympic history, whether he is angry or not. From the start, he said he wanted to end on his terms, and he surely did.

Then there is Usain Bolt. He is the greatest sprinter in Olympic history. It was quite fun to watch the transformation of American fans to Jamaican when it was time for him to run. The triple-triple of golds will go unmatched, possibly forever. What we have seen over the last 12 years with these two athletes is something special, they both will be missed.

These Olympics will also be defined by dominance, starting with Katie Ledecky. It is hard to find the words to describe her performances. Likewise those of the American Basketball teams, and gymnastics. I truly hope that Simone Biles comes back for Tokyo in 2020, because it feels like there is more to her story in the Olympics.

As for the hosts, the defining moment took place last Saturday at the Maracanã. The Brazilians took a step to erase one of the most embarrassing moments in their nation’s history, the 7-1 defeat to Germany at the 2014 World Cup. In search of the country’s first gold in Men’s soccer, it was a story that had to happen. The golden boy in Neymar just had to be the star. When his bending free kick kissed the crossbar and dropped in, it seemed like destiny.

But Brazil loves their drama, and when the game needed to be decided in penalty kicks, the storyline needed to be complete. Sure enough, all five Brazilian shooters scored, with the winning kick belonging to Neymar. The moments after will be the memories remembered by Brazil, and hopefully begin the path towards recovery for the country.

In the end, thank you Brazil, thank you Rio. Your job as host was not without its issues, but they were not as bad as we thought. And really, we are the ones who should be apologizing after the Olympics, so please excuse us for the poor actions of Ryan Lochte.