With less than half a million people living in the region and just eight athletes in London, the Illawarra has finished ahead of one of the most populous nations in the world at this Olympic Games.

Warilla's Dave Smith won gold and northern suburbs water polo star Alicia McCormack and Albion Park hockey player Kieran Govers won bronze. This left Illawarra 49th overall, ahead of India, a country of more than a billion people.

Sure, pound for pound, India does not compete with the other major powerhouse countries of the world when it comes to the biggest sporting event on the planet.

They've won only nine gold medals in their Olympic history.

And none of their medals were individual events, they were all for the members of an elite sporting team.

But the comparison should not cheapen the significance of what Illawarra athletes achieved in London.

Smith's kayaking gold was one of the most dominant Australia performances of the Games.

He combined with Tate Smith, Murray Stewart and Jacob Clear to lead from start to finish in the K4 1000m.

It was a truly magical moment and Smith's joy even before he reached the finish line told the story.

While Smith has since been handed the lofty title of "mayor of Warilla" for his feats, he wasn't alone in the stand-out performances.

McCormack provided her teammates with some heart palpitations when she was dispossessed by Hungary in the bronze medal game, their rivals scoring with just one second on the clock. This resulted in a tied game and forced the contest into extra time.

But Australia prevailed to ensure her second consecutive bronze medal, following the loss to the United States in the semi-final.

Govers' Olympic tale was similar to McCormack's, though the Kookaburras were favourites to win the gold, before being beaten by a fast-finishing Germany at Riverbank Arena.

A 3-1 win over Great Britain in the bronze playoff ensured Govers flew out yesterday with a medal around his neck.

Kiama Downs' Aidan Zingel played a key role in producing the biggest win in Australian volleyball history against world No 3 Poland.

Hockeyroos star Casey Eastham was denied a chance of a medal by just one goal's differential in their group, behind New Zealand and Argentina.

Australia finished the tournament with four wins, a draw and a loss, in securing fifth place with victory over China in their consolation playoff game.

David McKeon missed qualifying for the 400m freestyle final but did help qualify the 4x200m freestyle relay team for the final.

Ryan Gregson missed out on a place in the 1500m final, though he produced a bold semi-final run before fading late.

Jarrod Poort's reward was just being at the Games, after being Australia's fastest 1500m swimmer.

Poort was two seconds outside the A-qualifying time, but was granted entry from FINA and the IOC to compete, finishing seventh in his heat.

On many levels, it was a successful Olympic Games for competitors from the Illawarra.