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Mills on Friday night posted images from a hotel in Sydney as part of an Instagram stories barrage that showed his return home following the Boomers’ bronze-medal win in Tokyo.

Mills and his Boomers teammates have been celebrating in style since the win over Slovenia in the bronze-medal play-off — and were seen drinking beer off their medals during their final days of partying inside the Tokyo athletes village.

Video of the partying included a clip of Mills and teammates jigging to Men At Work’s Down Under anthem.

Now Mills has shown what came after the initial partying.

Mills flooded his Instagram stories with pics on Friday night of him bringing his bronze medal back home.

The snaps include a photo of a classy handwritten note Mills was given by an airline employee during the flight home from Tokyo.

The note was written on official Japan Airways stationary and it included a simple letter to thanks to the 33-year-old.

The handwritten note was one of several nice little touches Mills was able to experience on his flight from Tokyo to Sydney, which was clearly slightly more comfortable than what his fellow passengers would have enjoyed in cattle class.

“Congratulations on your bronze medal,” the note given to Mills read.

“We are glad to see you onboard today. Please take care of yourself and we are looking forward to seeing you again.”

Mills Instagram barrage included a series of photos being posted with captions of lyrics from the Seekers’ cult classic I Am Australian.

He is now serving his two weeks of quarantine in isolation in Sydney.

Last week, Mills signed a two-year, $16 million deal with NBA heavyweights the Brooklyn Nets, which will see him play alongside the likes of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving.

Mills will be hoping to add another NBS championship ring to hang alongside that bronze medal

But somehow, a moth managed to steal the show.

The insect was spotted hovering around the Olympic symbol underneath President of the Olympic Games Hashimoto Seiko as she thanked the athletes.

The curious bug distracted several viewers watching from home and quickly became one of the event’s biggest stars.

Social media was flooded with debate on whether it was a moth or a cicada, with a parody Twitter account quickly accumulating followers.

Comparisons were immediately drawn to the moth that pestered football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo during the Euro 2016 final and the insect that stuck to Yvonne Kenny’s dress during the Sydney Games in 2000.

Hilarious footage of a man attempting to swat away the insect off-camera also went viral.

Protesters arrive with the dumbest message

Earlier, a group of protesters marred the closing ceremony in Tokyo, gathering outside the Olympic Stadium with a bizarre message.

One hour ahead of the closing ceremony, Japanese locals were heard chanting, “Cancel the Olympics!”

Signs in the horde read “Olympics kill the poor” and “Stop playing games”.

Police quickly grouped around the peaceful protesters, with media also flooding the scene.

The protest seemed relatively pointless considering the Games are essentially over, with the final event ending several hours earlier.

However, Tokyo remains in a state of emergency with thousands of new Covid-19 cases being announced every day.

A poll conducted by news.com.au found that approximately 82 per cent of our readers were glad the Tokyo Olympics went ahead despite the Covid-19 outbreak, while a further 10 per cent were undecided.

Only eight per cent were unhappy the Games went ahead.

How to closing ceremony unfolded

As anticipated, a large portion of the closing ceremony was prerecorded, featuring highlights from the past two weeks of action.

After some fireworks burst from the Olympic Stadium and filled the Tokyo skyline, the Japanese flag was marched around the venue.

The Japanese national anthem then echoed around the Olympic Stadium as the flag was raised by members of the Japan Self Defence Forces.

An athlete from each nation then completed a lap of the venue, with champion sailor Mathew Belcher earning the illustrious responsibility of holding the Aussie flag.

The Parade of Nations followed, but numbers were noticeably fewer than what we saw at the opening ceremony.

Olympic athletes have been required to leave Tokyo within 48 hours after their last event, meaning most of Australia’s stars are already back Down Under completing their mandatory 14-day quarantine.

Ashley Moloney, who won a bronze medal in the decathlon earlier this week, was seen carrying an Australian teammate on his shoulders.

“He’s done the 10 events and now he’s doing the shoulder carry for the Closing Ceremony,” Channel 7 commentator Hamish McLachlan said.

Johanna Griggs continued: “Hasn’t he done enough? He’d be a bit tired. He’s having the time of this life.”

And it wasn’t long before the blown-up boxing kangaroo made an appearance as well.

Following a gorgeous light show, the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra performed a couple of catchy tunes accompanied by a dance crew.

But the music took a couple of unexpected turns when a DJ on the turntable took centre stage before a polka rendition of Beethoven’s iconic “Ode to Joy”.

As is tradition, the national anthem of Greece played around the Olympic Stadium before the victors of the men’s and women’s marathons were awarded their medals.

The thousands of hard-working volunteers were then honoured for their invaluable contribution to the Tokyo Games.

Following a Taiko drumming and dancing performance, the Indigenous Japanese population were honoured in a pre-recorded clip.

The Olympic flag handover took place soon after, with Tokyo Mayor Yuriko Koike passing the flag to IOC President Thomas Bach who in turn passed it to Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

After speeches from President of the Olympic Games Hashimoto Seiko and President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach, the Olympic flame was extinguished.

What’s the closing ceremony theme?

The concept of the ceremony was “Worlds We Share” following the opening ceremony’s which was “Moving Forward”, and the Games’ concept “United By Emotion”.

“Even if we cannot be together, we can share the same moment, and that is something that we will never forget,” a statement released ahead of the ceremony read.

“It is this salient message which we believe will create a closing ceremony that will open the door to a brighter future. We hope that this ceremony may be a moment for each and every one of us to think about what the future holds.”

It added how the concept “Worlds We Share” was chosen to express the idea “that each of us inhabits their own world”.

McDermott, who became the first Aussie to jump 2m at the Australian National Championships in April, flew past her record to set a new Oceania mark at 2.02m.

She jumped 1.98m and 2m on her first attempts to sit in first place, but her first miss at 2.02m was enough to drop her into second as three-time world champion Mariya Lasitskene came home strong to claim gold.

The Russian star cleared a best of 2.04m and McDermott couldn’t quite match her.

McDermott established herself as a new national hero by winning Australia’s fifth ever high jump medal at an Olympics, becoming the first woman to do since Michele Brown, who won silver 57 years ago in 1964, also in Tokyo.

Australia was asking one main question throughout the final as McDermott sat down with her journal at the end of every single jump. The unusual tactic helped deliver her a silver medal as she jumped higher than any other Australian woman in history.

McDermott later explained what she had written in her journal, revealing that she rated each of her jumps.

“The high jump is one of the hardest events, stealing the clearance. I did not watch the replay of it, but I felt that I had it,” McDermott said of her 2.04m attempt that was oh so close.

“But that is really giving me a hunger for more and I was rating myself and I thought there is still room to work. We are competing in Europe in two weeks’ time and yep, we are getting it.

“I was giving myself a rating out of 10 for every single component of the jump. By the last time, that was my highest, I gave myself 10 out of 10 but I still had work to do.

“Writing on a T-shirt is another process of my athletics processing. I was writing each time I jumped a bar, it allowed me to zone off and go, ‘What do I need to work on?’ rather than get carried away by the emotion because after I cleared the 2m it was tempting to back off.

“But I just kept going and going because I knew I had things to work on.”

McDermott had another secret weapon that saw her step onto the Olympic podium – her coach of 14 years Matt Horsell.

She paid tribute to the man she credited with helping her reach some lofty heights.

“For Matt, he was a local coach, he rose every time I rose. Every time I went overseas he came with me,” McDermott said. “He has now become one of the most well renowned coaches because of his humility, his encouragement and passion. He still has a day job, he is not a full-time coach.

“We fit it in around his work because as athletes we do not make wages and stuff. We have to do what we do. He has been the most passionate and encouraging person. I think this medal is just a drop in the ocean of really what he is capable of. I am so proud.”

McDermott is Australia’s new golden girl of athletics and she said she felt the country willing her on despite the relatively empty stadium.

As a woman of faith with “Jesus” written on her wrist, she said she hoped she could inspire people.

“I am going after the gold in Paris, I am going to keep putting in 100 per cent because this is just like a little bit of encouragement for one person watching, that anything is possible when you have faith then I have done my job today,” McDermott said.

“As a teenager, I was always an outcast, and I got welcomed into a faith community that loved me. I remember encountering God’s love and it changed the way that I thought of

myself as a misfit.

“It gave me passion and purpose, and I think in 2017, it was my big moment when it flicked a switch, and I decided to pursue God over sport and whatever comes with sport is a bonus. But I am already complete and perfect in love regardless of it.

“That has just allowed me to soar over every high jump bar and not be scared anymore. Because I am loved. That is the most important thing.”

Four-time Olympian Gong Lijiao won the first ever field gold medal for her country on Sunday after an incredible personal best of 20.58m in the women’s shot put final.

But in an interview that aired on China’s state-owned network CCTV following her victory, a sports correspondent asserted: “Gong Lijiao gives me the impression of a masculine woman.”

Reporter Lu You then proceeded to question Lijiao about her appearance.

“You used to be a masculine woman for the sake of shot-put. But moving forward, can you be yourself?” she asked.

The 32-year-old hesitantly responded, saying perhaps she would consider a different lifestyle in the future when she wasn’t focused on her sport.

“If I don’t train later on, then maybe I will lose weight, and then get married and have kids,” she said.

“The path one must walk in life.”

Lijiao was further pressed on whether she had a boyfriend, what she looked for in a partner, and who would win in an arm wrestle between her and a prospective partner.

The segment infuriated viewers, who took their revolt to popular Chinese microblogging site Weibo.

A discussion topic, named “Is marriage the only thing we can discuss about women?”, centred on the uncomfortable interview, was read 360 million times, and generated 161 posts.

The reporter’s line of inquiry was largely condemned, with Weibo users arguing their were far more interesting things to discuss than a woman’s potential to get married.

One went as far as to label the reporter’s questions “disgusting”, while others likened them to what one might expect from an intrusive relative.

The reach of the discussion was so broad it attracted the attention of Lijiao herself, who left a comment sharing that she agreed the questioning was inappropriate.

“This completely says what I’m thinking!” she wrote from her official Weibo account.

“Thank you!”

Moloney entered the final 1500m event in third place as he sought to claim’s Australia’s first ever Olympic medal in the 10-part event. He finished the run 12th in a time of 4:39.19 and it was just enough to sneak home for bronze.

“F*** yeah!” Moloney screamed as he embraced countryman Cedric Dubler at the finish line.

The 21-year-old — establishing himself as the new pin-up boy of Australian athletics — ran a personal best in the 1500m but when he crossed the line several seconds slower than his nearest competitors there were fears Moloney may have slipped out of the medals at the death.

The Queenslander was just 62 points ahead of fourth-placed Garret Scantling going into the 1500m and while the American was quicker with a time of 4:35.54, Moloney still finished within a close enough range to ensure he remained in the top three.

Canada’s Pierce LePage (fifth) was also threatening to push Moloney off the podium in the final race but the Aussie superstar held on for dear life and because he finished within nine seconds of the North American pair, he secured his slice of history.

It took several minutes after runners had crossed the line for the final scores to register on big screens inside the Olympic Stadium before it was confirmed Moloney had won enough points in the last event to walk away with the bronze medal.

He finished with 8649 points – just 38 points ahead of Scantling. Canada’s Damian Warner won comfortably with 9018 points.

Teammate’s selfless act is an ‘iconic image’

Dubler finished 21st overall but deserves a share of Moloney’s bronze for the way he spurred his training partner on during the final leg. Knowing he was out of medal contention, Dubler sacrificed his own race and ran alongside Moloney to act as a pacer, yelling encouragement and spurring his mate on.

“He had me worried for a little bit then I just started screaming at him and we got him there,” Dubler told Channel 7 after the race.

Moloney opened up on how important his countryman’s help was in delivering him a special souvenir to bring home from Tokyo.

“He was screaming. I can’t repeat what he said. I could hear his voice bouncing in my cranium like a bat out of hell,” Moloney said.

“I started hitting a wall at 800m and I was a bit concerned but I was like, ‘Just stick to Cedric. Don’t let him get to far away’. He screamed … like a nutter.”

Dubler’s selflessness didn’t go unnoticed by Channel 7 commentators Bruce McAvaney and Tamsyn Manou.

“He has been able to help Ash mentally and now physically right to the end,” McAvaney said.

Manou added: “He has been fabulous. He sacrificed his own event here just to help his teammate.”

Australian basketball legend Andrew Gaze called Dubler’s sacrifice a “thing of beauty”, while Seven host Andy Maher said: “We will look back, I reckon when the books shut on Tokyo and you look at the Olympic Games and there are snapshot images, iconic images from an Olympic Games. Dubler screaming into Moloney’s ear is going to be one of those two or three-second images that all of those great motivational pieces we get put together with beautiful music, it is going to be one of those pieces.”

Australian cricket great Lisa Sthalekar agreed, adding: “That’s going to be the iconic image … and it should be.”

Moloney dropped a personal best in the 110m hurdles to start Thursday’s action and although discus isn’t his strongest suit, was still only one spot off the leader after his throw of 4.38m.

Moloney cleared 5m in the pole vault and hit a season-best when he launched his javelin 57.12m, but many of his rivals performed better in the penultimate event. Kevin Mayer’s monster 73m throw saw him go from fourth to second.

Moloney was in the bronze medal position going into the final 1500m event and held on to create Australian history.

The young gun performed strongly on Wednesday in the opening day of the decathlon. He finished in a personal best time of 10.34 seconds in the 100m and easily won his 400m heat, hit 7.64m in the long jump and soared to top spot in his high jump group with a leap of 2.11m.

The 17-year-old sensation has been earmarked as the successor to Bolt’s 200m Olympic crown but he won’t be wearing it in Tokyo.

Knighton pulled out a sensational run in the 200m final but it wasn’t enough to earn him a medal, as he finished fourth in a time of 19.93 seconds.

Canadian veteran Andre De Grasse, who finished second to Bolt in this event in Rio five years ago, claimed gold in a sizzling 19.62s, while Americans Kenneth Bednarek (19.68s) and Noah Lyles (19.74s) were second and third respectively to round out the podium.

There’s still plenty of upside for Knighton though. To make the Olympics in the first place — let alone qualify for a final — at 17 is a remarkable achievement, and the only way is up for the freakishly talented teenager.

He’ll take plenty of heart from his performance not just in the final but across all his performances in Japan. Knighton won his seat and semi-final and will be an even scarier proposition for rival sprinters come the 2024 Games in Paris.

Can Knighton fill Usain Bolt-sized void?

Knighton put himself on the map with a stunning 200m run at an American Track League event in June. All eyes were on Trayvon Bromell in the final but the teenage phenomenon exploded down the home straight to finish in 20.11 seconds.

It saw him topple Bolt’s Under-18 world record of 20.13 for the 200m, set all the way back in 2003. And Knighton wasn’t done there.

He became the youngest runner to qualify for an American track and field team since 1964 at the recent US Olympic trials, surpassing another of Bolt’s world records in the process. The Jamaican held the mark for fastest 200m time by an under-20 competitor until Knighton crossed the line in 19.84 seconds in Oregon, better than the Jamaican’s best of 19.93 seconds before he turned 20.

Remarkably, Knighton has only been running seriously for a couple of years, after making the switch from football.

“When it comes to filling the void of Usain Bolt, I think one of the most attractive opportunities is a kid in the 200m from America called Erriyon Knighton, who was the third fastest qualifier for the US team,” former Aussie sprinter Matt Shirvington told news.com.au before the track action got underway in Japan.

“But he is a teenager, 17, and he’s run faster than Usain Bolt has at the same age. For me, you’re looking at someone who could end up walking away a superstar, who’s on the rise. I think Erriyon Knight’s a really, really great shout.”