The dust has settled, the victory parades are over, and something akin to normality has resumed for those who took part in the Olympics and Paralympics, whether competitors, workers behind the scenes or spectators. So what, for those who were there, will be the abiding memories of the Games and their aftermath?

Before the Olympics began there were serious safety concerns, both about street crime and the Zika virus. Days out from the opening ceremony of the Paralympics there were real fears that sudden cuts in funding would jeopardise the whole event.

Were such worries justified, was this one of the happiest Games, a worthy successor to London 2012, or does the balance lie somewhere in between? And, for the competitors, have they been able to go back to their previous lives, or has their success changed them?

We asked six Scots - three competitors, a parent, an official and a broadcaster - for their reflections on Rio and its aftermath.

KAREN BENNETT

The rowing silver medallist spent a lot of time after the Games visiting schools, including those she attended herself. Now back in winter training with the Great Britain rowing squad in Henley-on-Thames, she regularly comes back to Edinburgh to visit her family. While life has settled down into a familiar pattern, she would be happy if she received more attention from the public, as she thinks that would show that Olympians can inspire others.

I would love people to come up and say ‘Oh, Karen, how are you doing?’, because I love meeting new people and speaking to them. So if people do know who I am, I do want them to come forward and say ‘I watched your race on the telly’ or ‘You went to the Olympics, that’s amazing’. Or even just to come and say hi. I’d love that.

But I do have a lot of friends, family friends, my parents’ friends, brothers, kids, dogs - they all get in touch. And it’s really nice to know that support is there. And I think it’s good for them as well to know somebody that’s done that - it just makes watching the Olympics more exciting.

It’s been a bit crazy with all the celebrations afterwards - a good crazy, though. But we’re back at training now.

We had a bit of down time after Rio, and I went away on holiday, which was nice. I also managed to fit in some time to go round and visit some schools, including my old high school and primary school in Edinburgh.

I went to Balerno High School - I went back there last month to do a talk with the first years, and then I went back to do a prize-giving as well. It was 10 years since I left high school, and there were two teachers I knew still there, and some ladies still in the office as well. It was really good to have a catch-up with them, and it was good for them to know me, and to know that somebody that’s been to the school has done what I have.

I went to my old primary school, Longstone, and did a talk to the whole school, which was good. And I’ve been to other schools as well, so it’s been really busy.

It’s really important to encourage people that anything is possible, and that’s why I’ve always been willing to go back to schools and clubs - to say that if you believe something it can happen, not just in sport but if you’ve got a business. It’s really important that the younger generation see that it is possible, and hopefully I can make a difference when I tell them about my journey.

Winter training is probably going to be tough, considering there were a couple of weeks when I didn’t do much exercise. And it’s really dark when we wake up in the morning, and cold and rainy. But once you win the medal and have that achievement it’s all worthwhile in the end.

One of the main things I always say when I do a talk at schools or clubs is go out and enjoy it and do what you love. That can take you anywhere.

DAVID FLORENCE

The slalom canoeist won a silver medal for the third Olympics running in Rio following his previous successes in Beijing and London. Now 34, he plans to carry on competing at least until the 2020 Games in Tokyo, although he will be unable to do so in the C2, the event in which he was second in Brazil, as it will no longer be on the schedule. As well as the physical training for his event, Florence learned Portuguese as part of his preparations.

I didn’t become fluent in Portuguese, but I would say it was a lot, lot better than to get by. I guess it took me about a year-and-a-half, but mostly it was just when we were away on trips - I sat on the bus and listened to stuff, studied, read books, whatever.

For me, Rio was quite similar to London. I’ve felt very well prepared for every Olympics I’ve been to. Obviously your first one you don’t know quite what to expect, but I was still prepared and won a medal.

Rio does seem a long, long time ago now. It was straight back to normal family life afterwards, although there were a lot of celebrations too, and there are still some between now and Christmas.

Some guys find it quite difficult to get back into things after an Olympic Games, but I don’t find that. I love the training and I always look forward to what’s next. As soon as Rio is done, it’s like, right, that’s done, that’s history, what’s next, what are we looking to achieve next? And I find that very exciting.

In the run-up to Rio I’d had much better results than ever before. It was almost irrelevant whether I came home from Rio with a medal or not - I felt I had a lot to push on for the next few years.

I want to go to Tokyo, that’s the aim. I’ve been back training already. I spent a bit of time at home with family - slightly less structured, but training nevertheless, and I’ve been enjoying myself too.

SAMANTHA KINGHORN

The wheelchair racer got through to three finals in the Paralympics, and set a personal best in the 800 metres. She enjoyed Rio, particularly when compared to some of the horror stories she heard beforehand, but feels it did not compare for emotional impact to the last major multi-sport event in which she competed, the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. She has begun preparations for next year’s World Championships in London, and has already decided to compete in the marathon at the next Commonwealth Games.

We were told Rio was going to be awful, so going into it I was so scared. When I got there, it was so much better. It was incredible, the noise as well.

Going into it I was ranked something like seventh, eighth and nine in my three events, so it was touch and go whether I’d make any finals. So to make all three finals, and get a massive PB and European record in the 800 metres, was incredible. I didn’t quite get the tactics right for the 800, but I’m more hungry now for something shiny from the next one

I’ll have the London World Championships next year. I’ll have four events in that: the 100, 200, 400 and 800m. And we have the 1500 and the marathon in the next Commonwealth Games. I’m going to give the marathon a shot. I may as well.

I’ll try and qualify for the 1500 next year, and then hopefully after the worlds I’ll do a very short block of marathon training, and then give one a shot and try and get the qualifying standard. If I do, I’ll give it a bash. It’s not going to be anything spectacular.

It will completely change my training, but I’m quite lucky in the way that the Commonwealth Games is falling, I’ll have plenty of time to move back to sprints.

Rio was incredible, but there’s nothing in my eyes that’s going to top Glasgow. It’s going to be forever in my heart - the best Games I’ll ever have gone to, especially with the crowds and my friends and family being able to be there.”

CAROL SHARP

The former international athlete was in Rio as a spectator to support her daughter Lynsey, who came sixth in the 800 metres.

For me safety was always going to be the biggest concern in Rio, and I know other parents who decided against going for that reason. But my desire to see Lynsey race outweighed that concern, and in fact it was never in my mind not to go.

I stayed with a Brazilian coach about two kilometres away from the athletics stadium, but I never felt safe in the street. It was a case of taking off your jewellery when you were walking around during the day, and not going out at night at all on your own.

I was expecting big crowds and an atmosphere similar to London 2012 and Glasgow 2014, at least for the finals sessions in the evening, but that wasn’t the case. In fact there was a strange lack of atmosphere, and at times it was almost as if the spectators weren’t paying any attention to the events.

From that point of view it was disappointing, and so were the ticket prices. I paid around £70 for a ticket for one of the morning session, and tickets for the session with Lynsey’s final were about £300, which made me realise why a lot of Brazilians chose to stay away. The route to the stadium took us past a favela, and there were crowds there gathered round TVs - it was the Brazil versus Germany football match, which they all had more interest in than the Olympics.

So I wouldn’t rush back. But at the same time, with the benefit of hindsight, yes, I’d do it again.

LORNA CAMPBELL

The Venue Media Manager for the Olympic Tennis Centre led a team of six paid staff and 65 volunteers from around the world. She has also worked at Wimbledon and in rugby and gold, and currently works for Hill+Knowlton Strategies as a regional director of sports.

I was hired to ensure the media (written press, photographers and broadcast at times too) had the best possible working environment with access to all they needed to do their jobs effectively. It wasn’t always easy in a venue that spanned across 10 match courts and six practice courts, with limited signage and even less budget to rectify any of the issues that arose.

I took a sabbatical from my day job to add to my Olympic experience and I feel very privileged to have been part of the Games. Despite all the challenges it taught me a lot and was a great contrast from London 2012, which can only be a good thing as I now begin work on the Winter Olympics in Korea.

The first day or two in Rio was quite unsettling - everything is alien and when I arrived six weeks ahead of the Games there was a lot of work to be done, so I was literally stepping into a building site. But the transformation in that time was amazing, the venue teams worked so hard to do as much as was possible within time and budget constraints and we all mucked in and got through each day to make it as good a Games as possible.

I found the Brazilians to be very friendly, though many of the venue staff I worked with were not locals and only a handful of my 65 volunteers were from Brazil. Most had made the trip from overseas.

It took a few weeks for my brain and body to adjust again to things like flushing toilets, kettles, decent food on real plates, proper cutlery, tap water you can drink, normal clothes, my job, my friends, my apartment, Singapore! To go from 24/7 chaos, four hours sleep a night for four weeks takes some switching off from. But I have a lot of wonderful memories and experiences to take from Rio, and I have no regrets in making the decision to go.

ALISON WALKER

The former BBC television journalist is now a regular reporter at both the Winter and Summer Games for the Olympic Broadcasting Service. In Rio, she worked on hockey, mountain biking and BMX, producing features and profiles of athletes.

That was my sixth Games, and each time you think the Olympics can’t get any bigger, it does. It’s a huge, logistical operation - so big that you can’t really compare it to the Commonwealth Games. But you can compare one Olympic Games to another, and I’d have to say London was much better organised than Rio in terms of timings, transport and accommodation.

We were living in a military zone, surrounded by soldiers, so we certainly felt we were safe. Having said that, there was a favela just outside, and the people we met were fantastic.

I’d heard all the scare stories about security and the Zika virus. I didn’t see one mosquito all the time I was there.

Zika was obviously the big talking point beforehand, particularly with the withdrawal of top golfers like Rory McIlroy. I think he and the others who chose not to go will regret it, because everyone who did go, golfers and otherwise, had a fantastic time. I know it’s a cliche, but it seems the Brazilians really do laugh and sing and dance all the time. And the food was incredible too.

I wasn’t too worried about security. We had these issues in London too, but with a big event in a big city, you expect minor problems. I don’t know anybody who was robbed - like in any big city, you take precautions. There was the potential for some iffy moments, because at times the security was quite relaxed, but they got away with it.

The venues were amazing, and the people I was working with really embraced the Games. I came home exhausted. I would say that the spectacular settings and the venues themselves were the best I’ve been to, and it was a great experience overall.