The Olympics are such a happy time. Nations and cultures come together in a festive atmosphere to witness and celebrate the achievements of the world’s greatest athletes.

So, then what’s with all this crying?

Tear-jerking moments and the Olympics go together like medals on ribbons. For every moment of jubilation, there are those that stir deep emotions. Maybe it’s a sense of loss, a farewell or a new beginning. Or sometimes it’s the realization of a goal, the culmination of a life’s work and an opportunity to share a most special moment with family, friends, teammates and countrymen.  

So, grab the tissue box and prepare to bawl with this top tear-jerking moments of the Tokyo Games:

With a chiseled physique and an eagle tattoo across his shoulder and chest, Caeleb Dressel cuts an imposing figure in and out of the pool. But that all melted away when Dressel was greeted via video by the folks back home. During an emotional post-race interview following his 100m gold medal victory, the 6-foot-3 swimmer was brought to tears at the sight of his wife, parents, friends and family. “Love you too,” an otherwise speechless Dressel managed. “Thank you, guys.”

Unless you speak Spanish, you might not have realized what was happening during an interview with Argentine fencer María Belén Pérez Maurice. But it didn’t take long to figure out. Standing behind Belén Pérez Maurice was her coach and partner Lucas Saucedo with a marriage proposal scrawled on a sheet of paper. Saucedo went down on bended knee and, thankfully, she said yes.

Something clearly was not right with Simone Biles after she got “lost in the air” during an uncharacteristically shaky vault to start the women’s team final. After meeting with her coaches and trainers, Biles stunned the Games by withdrawing from the finals with a case of the “twisties,” and concerns over her mental health. "I love you guys, but you're gonna be just fine," Biles is heard telling her teammates.

So touching was the farewell for Olympic diver Ken Terauchi of Japan, it brought NBC’s Cynthia Potter to tears. “Making me cry,” she said as Terauchi, 40, saluted his well-wishers. Minutes later it was Rommel Pacheco of Mexico who made his final Olympic dive and enjoyed another emotional moment.

Seventeen years ago, at the 2004 Games in Athens, Luis Scola helped the Argentina men’s basketball team make history with a victory over Team USA en route to a gold medal. In Tokyo, in what is expected to be his last international game, Scola received an emotional and deserving farewell.

Oksana Chusovitina got the Olympic farewell she deserved in Tokyo. At 46, the eight-time Olympian from Uzbekistan failed to qualify for the final in the woman’s vault and said goodbye to the Games to a standing ovation from her fellow competitors, coaches and others in an other empty arena. She formed a heart with her hands and said a simple “bye-bye” as her Olympic career came to an end.

In 1920, Karel Capek wrote the ground-breaking play R.U.R. about robots taking over the world and dominating the human race. Fast forward 100 years and here’s a robot sinking free throws and three-pointers at the Tokyo Games.

Capek was right – the human race is doomed!