With the sky highlighted by soft pink hues, the entrance of the flags began. Singapore’s flag bearers were newly minted Olympic bronze medallist Maximilian Maeder and kayaker Stephenie Chen.
A total of 23 athletes represented Singapore across 11 sports at the Paris Olympics. The contingent returns home with a medal – the country’s first in eight years – courtesy of 17-year-old Maeder.
There were also a number of breakthrough performances for the rest of the contingent.
Swimmer Gan Ching Hwee netted two national records in her debut Games, Loh Kean Yew became the first Singaporean in two decades to reach a badminton quarter-final, and Chen also made history by becoming the first Singaporean kayaker to make an Olympic final.
And there was singing, dancing and joy in the air as contingent upon contingent circled their way around the stadium.
“You created a culture of peace. This inspired all of us and billions of people around the globe,” said International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach to the athletes later in the evening.
“You showed us what greatness we humans are capable of.”
As strains of We are the Champions melted into the night sky, the victory ceremony for the women’s marathon took place. Fittingly, it was one of the most indomitable athletes in sport who stood atop the podium.
The Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan had clinched bronze in the women’s 5,000m event and followed that up with another bronze in the 10,000m before conquering the marathon earlier on Sunday.
