This story pushed me the most so far in my career. I had to go out of my comfort zone, trying to find people to talk to in a country that doesn’t predominantly speak English. I also had to find something interesting in an event that millions around the world would be watching. And to top it off, I had to do my best to describe the scene of the celebrations and tie it in with the recent history and struggles for Brazil.

This was more than a simple celebration for a gold medal. This was a weight lifted off the back of the Brazilian people, if only for this one evening. This made up for the 7–1 loss to Germany and the struggles in the two summers since then. This made it all worth it. I captured that with this feature.