The Paris Olympics brought together the world’s top athletes, delivering moments of excitement and upsets throughout.
Team USA led the medal count with 126 medals, including 40 gold, tying with China for the most golds, according to the Olympics.
With so many historic performances, here are five standout moments from U.S. athletes that shouldn’t be missed.
1. Simone Biles’ ‘redemption tour’
Simone Biles, one of this year’s star athletes, referred to the Paris Olympics as her “redemption tour” after her unexpected withdrawal from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, as previously reported by Deseret News.
Biles did not disappoint, winning three gold medals in gymnastics — in the individual all-around, team and vault events — and one silver in the floor exercise.
Her vault and floor routines are historically her strongest events.
She performed a Yurchenko double pike in the vault, which was renamed “Biles II” after she became the first person to successfully complete it in international competition. This vault secured her gold in the individual event and contributed heavily to the team’s gold.
However, during the floor exercise, Biles was edged out of the gold by Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, her fiercest competitor throughout the Olympics.
2. Noah Lyles’ narrow victory
In one of the closest races in Olympic history, Noah Lyles won the men’s 100-meter final by just five-thousandths of a second, beating Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson. The race was so close that commentators initially declared Thompson the winner, but a photo review confirmed Lyles’ victory.
All eight runners finished the race in under 10 seconds, marking the first time this has happened in a wind-legal race, according to NBC Olympics.
Lyles also made headlines when he won bronze in the 200-meter event, despite testing positive for COVID-19 and being taken from the track in a wheelchair afterward, as previously reported by Deseret News.
3. Katie Ledecky becomes most decorated U.S. female Olympian
Katie Ledecky, already a dominant force in swimming, secured gold in both the 800- and 1,500-meter freestyle events.
While her 800-meter race was close, she blew the competition away in the 1,500-meter event, finishing 10 seconds ahead of the runner-up and setting a new Olympic record with a time of 15:30.02, according to NBC Olympics.
With her wins in Paris, Ledecky became the most decorated U.S. female Olympian, with 14 medals, according to Team USA. She is now tied with Russian gymnast Larisa Latynina for the most Olympic gold medals won by a female, with nine.
However, that could change in the 2028 Olympics, in which Ledecky has expressed interest in competing.
“I’d love to (compete in LA)!” Ledecky said, per Team USA. “I mean, we’ll see. It’s not easy. But again, I’ll take it year by year and give it everything I’ve got for as long as I have left in me.”
4. Steph Curry leads U.S. to fifth Olympic gold in men’s basketball
Steph Curry secured Team USA’s victory over France in the men’s basketball finals with a series of clutch 3-pointers, culminating in what NBC’s Noah Eagle called a “golden dagger” shot while commentating the game.
In the final three minutes, Curry hit four 3-pointers, keeping France from closing the 3-point gap between the teams.
Curry’s final 3-point shot was made while he was guarded by two players and sealed the win for the U.S., earning the “golden dagger” title.
5. Cole Hocker’s unexpected 1,500-meter win
The men’s 1,500-meter race appeared to be a battle between Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Great Britain’s Josh Kerr, who led the pack with Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot.
However, Team USA’s Cole Hocker, who remained in the middle of the pack until the final lap, surprised everyone.
As Cheruiyot began to falter, Hocker surged ahead, passing his teammate Yared Nuguse and then Ingebrigtsen.
In a neck-and-neck sprint with Kerr, Hocker managed to pull ahead, winning gold with a time of 3:27.65, setting a new Olympic record, according to NBC Olympics.
Kerr took silver, and Nuguse finished just a hundredth of a second behind for the bronze.
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Publish date : 2024-08-13 10:25:00
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