But the Dunedin swimmer already has an eye on the future — and she has confirmed her intentions to race in Los Angeles in 2028.
"Absolutely. Without a doubt", Fairweather said yesterday.
Fairweather, 20, broke the ceiling of New Zealand swimming in Paris, becoming the first Kiwi to qualify for four finals at one Games and five finals across two Games.
She finished fourth in the 400m freestyle, seventh in the 200m freestyle and eighth in the 800m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle relay.
That adds to her eighth placing in the 400m freestyle in Tokyo three years ago.
"It’s phenomenal. Definitely something that I wasn’t expecting going into this Games.
"I had goals to make a couple of finals and then, you know, a couple more came along.
"It was just unbelievable."
There has been speculation the Paris pool was slower compared to others through the years.
But Fairweather said it was a "really cool" pool to swim in and the vibe at La Defense Arena was amazing.
"The atmosphere was unreal.
"The French crowd really got up.
"We could hear our Kiwis in there as well, which was nice."
Looking back on the past week, there was plenty Fairweather was proud of in her second Olympic campaign.
But her experience racing in the relay team with Dunedin’s Caitlin Deans, Eve Thomas and Laticia Transom sat high on the list.
"Definitely making the relay final with the girls", Fairweather said.
"I think we’re the first female team to ever do that, so that was really exciting.
"But the rest of the racing was pretty fun as well. I had a really great time."
Fairweather will take a well-deserved break now and will do a bit of travelling before returning to New Zealand and back to training in a couple of months.
