When it was over, James embraced the South African and swapped his race name tag with him.

•  Historic women: She finished in last place in her 800-meter heat, nearly 44 seconds behind the winner, but Sarah Attar got a rousing ovation from the Olympic Stadium crowd.

Attar, the daughter of an American mother and Saudi Arabian father, was competing for Saudi Arabia — the first woman to represent that country in track and field.

She ran in black leggings, long sleeves and a white head covering.

“It was such a unique opportunity to make that first step for women, [it] is just the most amazing feeling ever,” she told reporters. “For women in Saudi Arabia, I think this can really spark something to get more involved in sports, to become more athletic. Maybe in the next Olympics, we can have a very strong team to come.”

Another Saudi female athlete who made a brief but significant Olympic debut was judoka Wojdan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shaherkani.

•  The Kiss: British cycling champions Laura Trott and Jason Kenny were caught smooching while watching beach volleyball.

Photographers were taking photos of David Beckham, who was sitting in front of them, and they unknowingly locked lips just at that moment.

They have since admitted they are dating, and the tabloids are going crazy over the new First Couple of Cycling.

•  Controversial edit: TV viewers in the United States missed a moving part of the Opening Ceremonies because of an editing decision by NBC.

Network executives chose to omit the haunting performance by Scottish singer Emeli Sande, who sang a hymn called Abide With Me, as part of a memorial to the 52 terrorist victims who died in the London bombings of July 7, 2005.

NBC spokesman Greg Hughes’ explanation: “Our programming is tailored for the U.S. audience.”

•  Pocket Hercules II: One of the smallest men at the Olympics made the biggest statement.

North Korean weightlifter Om Yun Chol, who is 5-feet tall and 123 pounds, won a gold medal by lifting an Olympic-record 370 pounds in the clean and jerk.

That is more than three times his body weight. Very few athletes have ever done that.

The last one who did at the Olympics was Naim Suleymanoglu of Turkey, who was known as the “Pocket Hercules.”

•  Para Abuela: One of the top Kleenex moments was the celebration of the Dominican Republic’s Felix Sanchez when he won the 400-meter hurdles gold. Sanchez, a USC graduate, lifted his bib and pulled out a picture of his late grandmother and then wept on the medal podium.

He also had written “Abuela” on his sneakers.

Just before the 2008 Olympics, Sanchez found out his grandmother had died. He ran poorly and was determined to come back in four years and win for her.

•  For the ages: Japanese dressage rider Hiroshi Hoketsu, 71, proved that there is no age limit to dreams. He first competed in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. Believe it or not, Hoketsu is not the oldest Olympian ever.

That distinction belongs to Swedish shooter Oscar Swahn, who was 72 years and 10 months old when he competed in the 1920 Antwerp Games.

Asked if he might try to break the record in four years, Hoketsu said: “My horse is now 15 and would be too old for Rio.”