The 2024 Paris Olympics thrilled audiences around the world. Over a two-week period from July 26 to August 11, 10,714 athletes from 206 countries competed in 32 sports. Established stars like swimmer Katie Ledecky and gymnast Simone Biles added to their legends with gold medal wins, while French swimming sensation Leon Marchand won four gold medals, the most of any Olympic athlete.
Here are some of our favorite images of the athletes who will shape our memories of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
(© Matthias Schroeder/Associated Press)
Katie Ledecky, the most decorated female swimmer of the United States, celebrates her Olympic record gold medal win in the women’s 1,500-meter freestyle. Ledecky also won the 800-meter freestyle, making her the first woman to win gold medals in the same event at four different Olympic Games. The 27-year-old Ledecky has won 14 medals, including nine gold medals, in four Olympic Games.
(© Jérôme Brouillet/AFP/Getty Images)
30-year-old Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina’s near-perfect surfing at the surfing venue in Tea Aupō, Tahiti, at the Paris Olympics went viral in this photo. Medina received a score of 9.90, an Olympic record for a single wave. He won the bronze medal overall, while France’s Kauri Vaast won the gold medal.
The moment was a career highlight not only for Medina but also for the photographer who captured it: “This shot is special, I really love it, I think you only get one shot like this in your lifetime,” AFP’s Jérôme Brouillet told CBS News.
(© Molly Gash/AP)
The US women’s gymnastics team, led by Simone Biles (far right), celebrated winning the team gold medal in Paris on July 30. After struggling in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, the team was looking at the 2024 Olympics as a “redemption tour.” In Paris, the US women’s gymnastics team won nine medals, including the team gold medal and Biles’ gold medal in the women’s individual all-around.
(© Ashley Landis/Associated Press)
The island nation of Saint Lucia won its first Olympic medal on Aug. 3 when Juliane Alfred won gold in the women’s 100 meters in Saint-Denis, just outside Paris. The 23-year-old Alfred then won silver in the women’s 200 meters. She dedicated her gold medal to her father, who died when she was 12. “My father believed I could be an Olympian,” Alfred said.
(© David J. Phillips/The Associated Press)
The photo finish resulted in Noah Lyles (27) of the United States winning the gold medal in the men’s 100 meters. Lyles, in lane 7, won by half a second. Known not only for his speed but also for his showmanship and advocacy, Lyles took to social media after his victory to encourage others to pursue their dreams no matter what the challenges may be.
“I have asthma, allergies, dyslexia and attention deficit disorder. [attention deficit disorder]anxiety, depression. But I want to tell you that what you have doesn’t determine what you can be. Why not you?!”
(©Gabriel Bui/AFP/Getty Images)
Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, 25, won gold in the floor exercise and drew the admiration of her rivals. After being awarded the silver and bronze medals in the event, U.S. gymnasts Simone Biles, left, and Jordan Chiles bowed to Andrade, who overcame three torn anterior cruciate ligaments on her way to becoming Brazil’s most decorated Olympian. Chiles was later stripped of her bronze medal.
“We all worked so hard and we all competed to get to this world stage, so whether we win or lose, we should be gracious and supportive of each other,” Biles told CBS News of her and Chiles’ display of sportsmanship.
(©Sebastien Bozon/AFP/Getty Images)
French swimming sensation Leon Marchand, 22, won four gold medals and one bronze medal in front of his home crowd in Paris. Marchand set multiple Olympic records and became just the fourth Olympic swimmer in history to win four individual gold medals in a single Olympic Games.
According to Reuters, Marchand’s performance far exceeded his hopes of winning one gold medal in Paris. “Now I definitely need some time to think about what I’ve done,” he told reporters. “That’s why I need a break.”
(© David J. Phillips/The Associated Press)
On August 5, Armand Duplantis won the gold medal and set a new world record in the pole vault in Paris, jumping 6.25 meters (20 feet, 6 inches) for Sweden. The athlete of American and Swedish descent grew up in Louisiana, USA, to parents with track and field backgrounds. Duplantis’ Swedish mother was a heptathlete and his American father was a pole vaulter.
“If I can’t beat this moment for the rest of my career, I’m OK with that,” Duplantis said after his record-breaking performance. “I don’t think it can get any better than what just happened.”
(© Mike Blake/Reuters)
This multiple exposure photo shows American gymnast Frederick Richard spinning on the horizontal bar. Richard and the U.S. men’s gymnastics team won the bronze medal in Paris, the first team medal for the U.S. men since 2008. Richard said he wants to attract more young men to gymnastics, and that the team’s medal win was a step in that direction.
“My goal here was to get the message out that America is getting stronger,” Richard told The Associated Press, “and I think we did that today. I think a lot of the young boys watching were inspired by us.”
(©Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press)
Tara Davis-Woodhall, 25, won the gold medal in the women’s long jump on August 8, jumping 7.1 meters (more than 23 feet). She celebrated by drawing an angel in the sand. Afterwards, the US track and field star toasted and said she thought the 8pm start time on August 8 was a sign she would be successful. “That’s just the angel number,” she told NBC.
“It feels unbelievable, but I believe it,” said Davis-Woodhall, who often trains with her husband, Paralympic sprinter Hunter Woodhall. “I’ve been working so hard this season to get to this moment.”
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