The French capital delivered a memorable summer games. With a novel opening ceremony (the blue guy on the table was probably taking it too far) and Tom Cruise rappelling down the Stade de France at the closing, there were a few firsts that would remain in people's memories. The true champions however glittered in their performances made possible with years of sweat, tears, blood and raw superhuman talent. A look at these trail blazers who would go down as the face of the 2024 games. Here goes the list in no particular order of importance.
1) Leon Marchand : The home poster boy lived up to his billing as the successor to the most decorated Olympian of all time. Four individual golds and a relay bronze would make Phelps proud. Two of the four golds came within a couple of hours of each other. At 22, this looks like the start of another incredible Olympic journey. One that will have us glued to the pool in the years to come.
2) Katie Ledecky : She became the most decorated US female Olympian across games with 4 medals. Two golds in the 1500m and 800m freestyle cemented her place as the greatest ever long distance swimmer. 14 Olympic medals with 9 golds is a haul that will take some catching. She likely has one more dash at LA 2028 to go and that tally is sure to swell in her wake.
3) Ryan Crouser : He cemented his legacy as an all time great with a third successive shot put gold, the only athlete in history to have achieved the feat. While his other rivals like Tom Walsh faded away, he has thrown above 23 m consistently to remain the man to beat. Another gold at his home games in LA would be as gargantuan an achievement as his throws.
4) Armand Duplantis : Pole vault was probably the only track and field event where athletes were fighting for the second spot. Mondo lit up the Paris nigh sky with a jump for the ages. His eighth world record breaking vault stood at 6.25 m. The Swede is 24 and seeing him soar into the sky is a sight for sore eyes. A legend already, he is poised to go down as someone who became greater than his sport.
5) Faith Kipyegon : The Kenyan's 3rd successive 1500m Olympic title is uncharted territory. The middle distance running scene is replete with strong runners and to be able to beat them all over 12 years is a feat that may not be achieved again. The 5000m silver was icing on the cake. A champion "smiling destroyer" like no other.
6) Sifan Hassan : She ran a total of 62 km at Paris. Won a couple of bronze medals in the 5000m and 10000m before conquering the marathon. We probably will have endurance redefined as "Sifan". She beat the defending champion and the current marathon world record holder to win the marathon in an OR time. Winning a medal in the three longest races at the Olympics is a feat unthinkable.
7) Lisa Carrington : The New Zealand canoeist added 3 gold medals to take her total tally of gold medals to 9 across games. In a sport that typically does not gather as many eyeballs as other more glamourous ones, she has written a chapter of excellence away from the spotlight. May her tribe increase.
8) Mijain Lopez Nunez : The Cuban won his fifth consecutive gold in the 130 kg Greco Roman wrestling. Another one of those events that don't attract too much attention but needs as much dedication and excellence to perfect. A heavy weight in every sense of the word. He is the only athlete to have won gold at 5 different summer games.
9) Simone Biles : No more twisties, just captivating routines that made Biles the queen of the artistic gymnastics scene. She helped the Americans bag the team gold and won golds for the individual all-round and vault disciplines capping an irresistible return after the Tokyo no show. Her bow to Rebeca Andrade on the podium after losing the floor gold was a defining image of the games.
Au Revoir Paris and we start our count down to the LA28 games which promise to bring us more of these pinnacles of sporting achievement.
