The Olympics' most unlikely heroes

GIOVANNA PEDROSO & INGRID OLIVEIRA

She kicked her synchronised diving partner out of their Olympic Village dorm room to have a "marathon sex session" a day before their Olympic event.

The Brazilian team, comprising 17-year-old Giovanna Pedroso and 20-year-old Ingrid Oliveira, split after Pedroso told Brazil's O Globo newspaper she had been forced to spend the whole night wandering around outside her room while Oliveira got down and dirty with a male canoeist named Pedro Goncalves.

PHOTO: INSTAGRAM

Their lack of rest showed the next day when the two found themselves in last place and became the laughing stock of the event.

"I have been waiting for four years to be present at the Olympics," Pedroso said angrily.

"And for her it was better to have fun and therefore threw me out of the room."

But apparently, Oliveira has long been known as one of the South American nation's saucier athletes.

She was previously lambasted for posting on Instagram a picture of herself lounging around in a bikini before failing at a big meet in Toronto, the New York Post reported.

Pedroso, who claimed she had fought with Oliveira during practices as well, said she will now fly solo.

"Me and my coach have talked and after the Olympics I will focus on my individual.

"It's good because I will not need to depend on anyone."

Meanwhile, Oliveira acted like the whole thing was an agreed split.

"We leave differences behind and we talked normally," she told O Globo.

"From today I will not jump synchronised with her."

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OKSANA CHUSOVITINA

Age is just a number, so the saying goes. But this was proven true when mother-of-one Oksana Chusovitina, competed at her seventh Olympic games.

The 41-year-old Uzbek gymnast first competed in the global event in 1992, at the age of 17.

PHOTO: REUTERS

In Rio, she qualified for the vault final. She attempted "the vault of death", an extremely difficult and risky vault that involves a handspring onto the table and two front somersaults, which could potentially gain her more points. She could not land it cleanly and finished seventh.

Chusovitina's story is a captivating tale that has not only inspired the world but other gymnasts - both old and new.

Retired 24-year-old Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson said: "No one even knows how old she is any more because it seems like she's been to the last gazillion Olympics... She's incredible. She is a legend."

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YUSRA MARDINI

She raced in the Olympic pool for no country.

Mardini was part of the first-ever refugee team that comprised 10 participants competing in the Olympics in Rio. Her story was certainly nothing short of pure gold.

PHOTO: AFP

It was only last August, four years into the Syrian civil war, that the 18-year-old fled her home.

And just like other refugees, she and her sister ended up on a small boat meant for six people but carried 20, bound for the island of Lesbos off the coast of Greece.

In the middle of their journey, the motor on their boat began to fail.

It was then that Yusra and her sister Sarah jumped into the water and swam for three hours straight before successfully getting their dinghy onto land.

Mardini said: "Sometimes we couldn't train because of the war.

"And sometimes you would be swimming in pools where the roofs were (blown open) in three or four places."

Nevertheless, she arrived in Rio and competed in the heats of the women's 100m butterfly.

Although she came in seventh and failed to reach the semi-finals for the event, Mardini's grit and determination has touched the world in ways that medals cannot.

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FU YUANHUI

The Chinese swimmer become the darling of the Internet thanks to her bubbly personality.

The 20-year-old Hangzhou native's candid expressions on camera reacting to her bronze medal were turned into GIF animations by netizens before going viral.

PHOTO: AFP

But that wasn't all.

She further captured the hearts of viewers from around the world when she broke a Chinese taboo by publicly discussing menstruation.

Her teammates had all taken the blame for the loss, but for Fu, the result of the 4x100m women's medley relay, when China missed out on a medal, was attributed to her cramps.

"I didn't swim well today, I'm sorry... Yes, I'm having my period."

But she quickly said that it was no excuse and blamed herself for performing badly.

Different videos of her interview have been been re-posted on YouTube by netizens and almost all were viewed hundreds of thousands of times.

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GARY & PAUL O'DONOVAN

Even though brothers Gary and Paul O'Donovan lost to France by 1.41 seconds, the Irish rowers scored top marks for the funniest interviews.

In their interview with RTE Sport, which has gone viral, they talked about how the medal ceremony was taking a couple of photos and included slightly too much information about peeing for the drug test.

PHOTO: YOUTUBE

When it came to addressing their strategy going into the finals, their answer was one any layman could have given.

Paul, the younger of the two, said: "It isn't too complex really: A to B as fast as you can go and hope for the best. Close the eyes and pull like a dog."

In another interview after reaching the final, the brothers slipped in a response that took a dig at a neighbouring country.

Gary said: "So far, so good. We had a cracker of a race there...'Tis great to beat the Brits as well."

The duo have been garnering a big following in Rio and worldwide after their series of highly entertaining interviews to the Irish national broadcaster.

"It isn't too complex really: A to B as fast as you can go and hope for the best. Close the eyes and pull like a dog."

- Paul O'Donavan

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NIKKI HAMBLIN & ABBEY D’AGOSTINO

Just in case you missed the story: New Zealand's Nikki Hamblin and US runner Abbey D'Agostino collided during the 5,000m qualifying heat.

With around 2,000m to go, D'Agostino clipped Hamblin, sending both sprawling to the ground.

PHOTO: REUTERS

D'Agostino earned plaudits for helping Hamblin back to her feet, even though she was injured in the collision.

Hamblin deliberately hung back in the field to offer encouragement as the two women limped over the finish line.

They came in 29th and 30th, but were invited to the finals on Friday.

Sadly, D'Agostino has been ruled out after suffering tears to her right anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus and strained ligaments, reported AFP. The pair were lauded on social media for their sportsmanship.

Some of the tweets said that "most inspirational moments don't involve medals", while others hoped their children would grow up to have "half the grit, determination and strength that they have".