The 2024 Paris Olympics was one of the highlight events of this summer. After the 2020 Tokyo Olympics during COVID-19, the entire world of athletics and fans were excited to get back to the Olympic games with some normalcy. As always, the Olympics brought record-breaking performances, exciting moments, and even heartbreak for the athletes who had the rare honor of competing for their country.
Students on SNU’s campus voiced their favorite moments from the 2024 Paris Olympics, agreeing that it was both exciting and historical. Senior David Omosigho spoke on his favorite moments, from the USA men’s basketball team winning the gold to the dominance of Simone Biles. However, the moment that stood out the most to him was Noah Lyles winning the 100-meter dash. Omosigho states, “The moment Noah Lyles won the hundred was my favorite in the Olympics because it was good to see an American win the 100m dash for the first time in a long time. I also liked that he backed up his talk.”
While David Omosigho’s favorite moment was from track and field, senior Emmanuel Obinna’s favorite moment came from the basketball court. He enjoyed watching the dominance and excitement of the USA men’s team that was led this year by NBA superstars like Steph Curry, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant. “It was exciting to watch some of my favorite players play together on the biggest stage like the Olympics–but to also see them win the entire thing was pretty cool too,” Obinna said.
While those two moments were exciting, there were plenty of other thrilling moments that came out of the Paris Olympics. There was continued dominance shown by Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s outstanding performance on the track in the women’s 400m hurdles and 4×400 meter relay, Katie Ledecky’s reign in the pool, and the USA women’s basketball team winning their 8th gold medal in a row over the host country France.
There were also some redemptive moments this year, such as the USA men’s gymnastics team winning their first team medal since 2008, and the USA women’s soccer team rallying together to bring the gold back to the US. Alongside redemption came heartbreak with moments such as the USA men’s 4×1 team’s disappointing performance in the finals.
Regardless of the outcomes for these athletes, it is still a proud moment for them to get the honor to represent their countries on the highest stage possible. As spectators, each of these events added a bit more excitement to the summer of 2024, and the moments will never be forgotten. Now that the Paris Olympics have come to an end, we look towards 2028 in Los Angeles, where more exciting moments like these will occur for us to witness.
Photo by: Amada MA on Unsplash