Between July 26 and August 11, the 2024 Olympics were held in Paris, France.
Within the 40 gold and 125 total medals awarded to the United States, there was a bounty of events worth taking a look back on. Events like Basketball, Gymnastics, Track and Field, Soccer, and many others fit this description.
The United States was able to display its dominance in the sport of basketball, taking home gold medals for both the men and women. The Men’s basketball team boasted a lineup of NBA All-Stars that has been compared to the Olympic Dream Team of 1992. Between Lebron James, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and many others, it was a feat for other countries to face the US. They were able to achieve the expected win against France in the final. While the Women’s team has been shamed for not taking rookies along, they were still able to sneak a win over France in the final thanks to players like Kelsey Plum and Sabrina Ionescu.
The 2024 Paris Olympics marked the long awaited comeback of Simone Biles to gymnastics. After not competing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and allowing Suni Lee to take gold that year in the Women’s All-Around competition, she made a powerful return and took gold this year, while Suni Lee took bronze. Simone Biles performance at this year’s Olympics cemented her as the most decorated gymnast of all time with 11 gold medals.
The Track and Field events at the Olympics are often where the greatest feats of athleticism can be seen, and the Paris Olympics were no different. Noah Lyles was able to prove he was the fastest man in the world, running the 100 meter dash in 9.79 seconds, just milliseconds faster than Kishane Thompson from Jamaica. It was later found that Lyles was infected with Covid, which makes this accomplishment all the more impressive. Of the 34 medals awarded to the United States in Track and field, 14 of them were gold. These medals were earned in the Men’s 110m hurdles, 1500m, 4x400m relay, 400m, 400m hurdles, and shotput. The women’s team earned gold in the 100m hurdles, 200m, 4x100m relay, 4x400m relay, 400m hurdles, discus, and long jump. The United States won, by far, the most medals in Track and Field events.
While the USA Men’s National Soccer Team didn’t display much at the Olympics, they did reach the Quarterfinals for the first time since the 2000 Olympics. The USAMNT actually had a 16 year absence from the Olympics, competing for the first time since 2008. The Women’s team has been dominant in national play for years, and their performance at the 2024 Olympics was no different. They were able to go undefeated in both group play and the knockout tournament, beating Brazil 1-0 in the gold medal match. This marks the fifth gold medal the USAWNT has won at the Olympics.
A controversial event at this year’s Olympics was break-dancing. Debates arose about where the line between sports and non-sports should be drawn because if break-dancing is a sport, what about other types of dancing? Despite the debates, the event seemed to be a relative success, with the US taking bronze. Sadly, break-dancing will not be returning to the 2028 Summer Olympics.
All in all, the 2024 Paris Olympics was a mixed bag, but it was full of iconic moments and memorable events. The USA was able to dominate plenty of events and show up big-time to the games. Hopefully the next Summer Olympics in Los Angeles will be as fruitful as the games this year.
