The 2024 Summer Olympics held in Paris from July 26 to Aug. 11 promised to be record-breaking and breathtaking, and they certainly were. The United States ended the 19 days of competition with a grand total of 126 medals, almost evenly split among the three categories with 40 golds, 44 silvers and 42 bronzes.
Women dominated this year’s Olympics — point, blank, period. This was the first Olympics in history to have total gender parity, with 50% of the athletes being women and 28 out of 32 sports reaching full gender equality. Out of the 126 medals Team USA took home, 67 of them were won by women. Simone Biles became the most decorated gymnast in U.S. history. Her four medals in Paris brought her grand total to 11, seven of which are gold. Swimmers Torri Huske and Regan Smith took home five medals each, the most of any woman this year on Team USA. Also from the pool, swimming legend Katie Ledecky raised her career medal count to 14 during her fourth Olympics, becoming the most decorated woman Olympian from the United States. Sprinters Gabby Thomas and Sha’Carri Richardson showed out on the track, with Thomas boasting three medals and Richardson two. Women’s basketball won its eighth consecutive gold medal, whereas women’s rugby took home bronze as their first medal since returning to the Olympics in 2016. While the moments above are just of the women from our wonderful Team USA, women around the world continued to impress.
One reason the Olympics are so special is because we get to watch talent from around the world celebrate themselves and their homes, and while it is great to watch the U.S. continue to dominate, the most heartwarming moments are when the underdogs win. This summer, four countries received their first medals in Olympic history. Representing Albania, Chermen Valiev won bronze in the men’s freestyle 74 kg wrestling event. From Cape Verde, David de Pina took home bronze in the men’s 51 kg boxing event. The women of the Caribbean proudly represented their countries, with Thea LaFond of Dominica winning gold in the women’s triple jump and Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia winning gold in the women’s 100-meter sprint. The Refugee Olympic Team took home their first Olympic medal when Cindy Winner Djankeu Ngamba won the bronze medal in the women’s 75 kg boxing event.
During the Paris Olympics, 125 Olympic records were broken in 10 disciplines, and 32 world records were broken in eight disciplines. Fordham University’s own Alexander Shah, FCRH ’25, represented Nepal and broke his previous national record with a time of 51.91 seconds in the 100-meter freestyle. Swimmer Leon Marchand of France set the Olympic record and won gold in each of his four events, becoming only the fourth swimmer in history to go four-for-four in the Olympics. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone beat her own world record in the 400-meter hurdles at a stellar 50.37 seconds, a record she previously set during the U.S. Olympic Trials in June. Also in track, the mixed 4×400-meter relay set the world record in the preliminary round, with Vernon Norwood, Shamier Little, Bryce Deadmon and Kaylyn Brown running a 3:07.41. Mondo Duplantis of Sweden crushed his pole vault record for the ninth time in his career, making the new world record a solid 6.25 meters. Team USA’s Bobby Finke took gold in the 1500-meter swim with a time of 14:30:67, shattering the record set during the 2012 London Olympics.
Unfortunately, the time spent in Paris was not free from controversy. France banned their Muslim women athletes from wearing a sports hijab or any other form of religious headgear during competition, drawing criticism from international human rights nonprofit Amnesty International for “blatant discrimination” and the perpetuation of systemic issues for women athletes in France.
Jordan Chiles was stripped of her bronze medal in the gymnastics floor routine event days after the conclusion of the Olympics; the medal was instead given to Romania’s Ana Barbosu. Chiles was originally awarded the medal following an appeal by Team USA coach Cecile Landi during the floor exercise final that pushed Chiles from fifth to third place. USA Gymnastics said that they will continue to fight for Chiles.
Despite making its Olympic debut in Paris, breakdancing will not return to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. However, most of the attention was on Australia’s Rachael Gunn, a.k.a. Raygun, who scored an impressive zero in each of her three events. Her memorable routines accompanied online debates surrounding Australia’s selection process, a controversy which has been called “defamatory” by the Australian Olympic Committee.
Boxing gold medalist Imane Khelif of Algeria was the victim of intense online harassment following her win, composed predominantly of false claims about her sex. Among the online attackers were former U.S. President Donald Trump, “Harry Potter” author J. K. Rowling and tech billionaire Elon Musk. Khelif has since filed a criminal complaint against Rowling, Musk and others for cyberbullying.
Despite passing quality checks for the open water swimming events, multiple athletes who swam in the Seine River — a river running through the heart of Paris with a long, rough history of pollution — fell ill after their competition. It is not confirmed whether the Seine was the cause of the athletes’ illness, but it raised suspicion nonetheless.
Despite the controversies and criticisms, the true joy of the Olympics is bringing all corners of the world together to celebrate the best-of-the-best. We’ll hopefully see these athletes again in Los Angeles at the 2028 Summer Olympics, but next up is the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, the two hosting Italian cities.
