This past month, the spotlight has been on Paris, France for the 2024 Summer Olympics. With domination in sports, controversial opening nights and drama, the Paris Olympics received a significant amount of media attention and increase in viewership, making the 2024 Paris Olympics the most streamed Olympics of all time.
“Overall, I think it’s interesting that you can find all sorts of countries getting to compete at the highest level of athletics and level of competition,” coach Riley Donovan said. “You kind of see where the diversity of different countries comes out.”
The U.S. brought their strongest players to the table this year, earning 40 gold medals, 44 silver medals and 42 bronze medals, totaling 126. The U.S. has athletes in all 32 sports, noticeably dominating the competition, with China being the only country to truly rival the U.S. with 40 gold medals, 27 silver medals, and 24 bronze medals, totaling 91, significantly less than the U.S.
“I think overall, at a competition level, I think each four years, there’s new developments and progress made in terms of just everything from training or recovery to the level of athletes that you have today,” Donovan said.
Coming off strong, the U.S. won nine medals in total with artistic gymnastics: three gold medals, one silver medal and five bronze medals. Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles and Stephen Nedoroscik were the stars of the show.
“I was mesmerized by the overall athleticism and determination by both the womens’ and mens’ gymnastics teams,” senior Ally Doucet said.
On the swimming side of the Olympics, the U.S. obtained 28 medals, including 8 gold, 13 silver and 7 bronze medals. Katie Ledecky became the most decorated female Olympic athlete, and the men’s team dominated in the 4 x 100 relay.
“I thought the swim team was very intense and just overall crazy with the results,” junior Camryn Benson said. “Some very very upsetting, but some were very exciting.”
The U.S. track and field team showed off their strongest athletes this year, bringing 34 medals in total, including 14 gold, 11 silver and 9 bronze. Noah Lyles became the fastest man alive, Cole Hocker won gold in the men’s 1500m, and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won gold in the women’s 400m hurdles, breaking her own world record yet again.
“It just gave me the chills watching people achieve their goals,” Benson said. “It was cool getting to see a lot of athletes getting their first medals for their country.”
This year, basketball performed well, winning gold on both the men and women’s sides. The men’s team has won 17 gold medals and is the most successful team in the Olympics. The women’s team has won gold consecutively since 1996.
“I had a good feeling the U.S. would win gold for basketball,” Doucet said. “With all the NBA and WNBA stars, I knew their performances would be top notch. Though, it did surprise me that the women’s basketball team only won by a single point.”
The U.S. volleyball teams performed well, winning one silver on the women’s side and bronze on the men’s side. The women’s team won its seventh medal and the men’s team won its sixth medal in this year’s Olympics.
“It was super fun to cheer on the U.S. volleyball men’s team to bronze ,and I also watched beach volleyball this year, which was super cool,” senior Emersyn Runions said.
On the soccer side of the Olympics, the U.S. women’s team proved itself once again by winning 1-0 against Brazil in a goal scored by Mallory Swanson. The team was able to win a gold medal, showing how new athletes are beneficial.
“Soccer is always one of the best things to watch because of how they dominate the field,” Benson said. “The way they move the ball on the field and just do crazy skills makes it so fun to watch.”
With another Olympics game comes new sports and new media attention. American rugby star Illona Mayer brought new attention to the sport with her skills and online presence. Another sport, breakdancing, was admitted into the games, and while it gained media attention, it was mostly due to the poor showing of the dancers, specifically Rachael Gunn of Australia.
“I am glad the media showcased foil fencing, because it was an extremely successful event for the U.S.,” Runions said. “It was groundbreaking to see Nada Hafez compete while seven months pregnant.”
The Paris Olympics were very successful for the U.S., but there were also significant issues. Even before the Olympics began, there was a concern that the Olympic village would not be properly hospitable for the athletes, and there were health concerns over the athletes swimming in the Seine River, a river known for its unhealthy levels of E. Coli and other pollutants. After the swimming competitions in the river occurred, three German swimmers fell ill, and there was a significant amount of online backlash against Olympic officials.
“I didn’t personally see any big issues, but I’m sure everyone is going to find something to nag about; it’s human nature,” Donovan said.
Overall, the 2024 Paris Olympics was an eventful and successful time for the U.S. The U.S. showed its strength, and the world can only wait for the 2028 Los Angeles games, when they can see the athletes in action yet again.
