The 2024 Summer Olympics, which took place in Paris, France, was an international competition from Friday, July 26th to Sunday, August 11th. This year, in addition to the many sports offered such as climbing, gymnastics, and boxing, the Olympic committee added break dancing and Kayak cross to the games. According to the Official Paris Olympics webpage, over 11,000 athletes from over 200 countries participated in this year’s games.
Meanwhile, the Paralympics is a competition parallel to the Olympics that caters to a range of disabilities. The Paralympics is currently taking place in Paris from August 28th, 2024 to September 8, 2024. China is currently in the lead with over 135 medals in total, including 62 Gold Medals. In second place is Great Britain with 74 total Medals, 33 of which are Gold. Following them is the United States of America with only 63 total medals, with 25 in Gold.
In the end, the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China came in 1st, each receiving 40 Gold metals. However, in the total medal count, America won with 126 total medals, prevailing over China’s 91. Following China in third place, is Great Britain with a total of 65 medals. France followed close behind with 64 medals and Australia took fifth place with 53 total medals. There were many smaller victories alongside the top medal scorers. An example is Israel, they had a great year breaking their record and winning seven total medals, one gold, five silver, and one bronze.
In addition, Break Dancing was added to the Olympic sport list for this year. Unfortunately, it will not be making a second appearance. Despite the rumors portraying Raygun’s responsible for the cancellation, “The Los Angeles Olympic organizers chose not to include the sport in 2023 because it did not fit their vision for the Games.” (Margaret Darby, Deseret News)
Another name that has gone viral since the Olympics is Yusuf Dikec, a Turkish ten meter shooter. He has gone viral for his “seemingly casual attitude while shooting” and lack of gear; he managed to achieve a silver medal and fame with a hand in his pocket and a calm demeanor.
On another note, various records were broken at the 2024 Summer Olympics. This year there was a relative low of 17 new records established, coming nowhere near Beijing 2008, when 30 new records were established.
Overall, the 2024 Summer Olympic games was one to remember. The Olympics and Paralympics are a constant reminder of what the human body is truly capable of. If you haven’t seen any clips of the Olympics yet, check out the Official 2024 Paris Olympics webpage for more highlights (Click Here).
For a more detailed list of included games please refer to the official Olympic website: https://olympics.com/en/sports/
