Team USA had a stellar showing at the Summer 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The U.S. brought 592 athletes to the City of Love who won a record-breaking 126 medals in total. The women of Team USA had an outstanding Games, with 26 gold medals — if they had competed as a nation, they would have been third overall in gold medals.
Team USA track and field ran faster and jumped further than ever before. Jasmine Moore became the first U.S. woman to medal in both the long jump and the triple jump in the same Olympics and Grant Fisher became the first man to medal in both the 5000m and 10,000m also in the same Games. Noah Lyles made headlines after he won the men’s 100m and then revealed he tested positive for COVID-19 after earning bronze in the 200m.
Annette Echikunwoke made history for the U.S. by becoming the first American woman to medal in hammer throwing with a silver medal finish. Gabby Thomas became the first U.S. track and field athlete to win three gold medals in one Olympics since Allyson Felix in 2012, and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was the first woman in history to repeat gold in the 400m hurdles, beating her own world record with a time of 50.37. The team also earned gold in both the men’s and women’s 4×400 relay. The mixed relay team set its own new world record time of 3:07.41 in the semifinals before earning silver in the finals.
Team USA was just as impressive in the water as on the track. The U.S. artistic swimming team had their best finish since 1996, earning a silver medal. Men’s rowing also broke a medal dry spell and won their first gold since 1960 in the men’s four. In the lap pool, Bobby Finke broke the world record in the men’s 1500m freestyle with a time of 14:30.67 to win gold. The mixed 4×100 medley relay and women’s 4×100 medley relay both set new world record times, also winning gold. Katie Ledecky added to her list of historic athletic achievements in becoming the most decorated female Olympian in U.S. history with 14 medals.
On the field, the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team won a hard-fought gold under new manager Emma Hayes. The triple threat of Mallory Swanson, Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith (the self-dubbed “Triple Espresso”) combined for 10 of the team’s 12 goals in the tournament. In Hayes’ 10th game as manager, Swanson’s second-half goal propelled the team past Brazil in the gold medal match.
In the gymnasium, Simone Biles proved her mettle in gymnastics after getting the “twisties” at the 2o2o Tokyo Olympics. She became the first U.S. gymnast to win two all-around gold medals and is now the most decorated US gymnast in history with 11 medals. The women’s team earned gold in the all-around and pommel horse specialist Stephen Nederoscik became America’s hero by clinching the bronze medal for the men’s team — the first men’s gymnastics medal in 16 years — after sitting on the sidelines for the rest of the competition.
Not all of the news coming out of the gymnastics competition was positive, however. Jordan Chiles was awarded the bronze medal in the women’s floor routine in Paris after an inquiry from her coaches upped her score. However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled after the conclusion of the Olympics that the inquiry was filed four seconds too late and stripped Chiles of her medal.
Streaks continued with Team USA basketball, as the women’s team earned their eighth straight gold, and the men’s team won their fifth consecutive gold, both in close final matchups against France.
Other notable U.S. finishes include women’s rugby whose bronze finish marks its first ever Olympic medal. Ilona Maher, who made waves on social media in Tokyo for testing out the cardboard beds in the Olympic Village, became a bonafide star for the women’s rugby team. Women’s fencing also made strides as the team won its first Olympic Gold, and the women’s indoor volleyball team kept its record going, winning silver for its fifth straight Olympic medal.
Lafayette alumna Amanda Golini ‘17 led USA Field Hockey to a ninth place finish with a win against South Africa in the team’s final match of the games.
The Paralympics kicked off on Wednesday with the Opening Ceremony, and official competitions started on Thursday. The competition will run through Sept. 7.