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Celebrating the 2024 Paris Olympics [photo gallery] [1]

['Lauren Monsen']

Date: 2024-08-12 20:22:44+00:00

The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris thrilled spectators worldwide. For two weeks, from July 26 to August 11, 10,714 athletes from 206 nations competed in 32 sports. Gold medal performances added to the legends of established stars like swimmer Katie Ledecky and gymnast Simone Biles, while French swimming sensation Léon Marchand racked up four gold medals — the most of any athlete at the Games.

Here are a few of our favorite images of athletes whose accomplishments shaped our memories of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Katie Ledecky

Katie Ledecky, the most decorated U.S. women’s Olympic swimmer, celebrates an Olympic record–setting gold medal performance in the women’s 1,500-meter freestyle. She also won the 800-meter freestyle, a victory that made her the first woman to win a gold medal in the same event in four different Olympic Games. In four Olympic Games, Ledecky, 27, has won 14 medals, including nine gold medals.

Gabriel Medina

This photo of Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina went viral after the 30-year-old’s near-perfect ride in Teahupo’o, Tahiti, the site of the Paris Games’ surfing competition. Medina scored 9.90, an Olympic record for a single wave. He took the bronze medal for the overall event, with Kauli Vaast of France winning gold.

The moment made for a career highlight, not only for Medina, but for the photographer who captured the image. “I love this shot, for sure, because it’s special, and I think I will get only one shot like that in my entire life,” Jérôme Brouillet, of Agence France-Presse, told CBS News.

U.S. women’s gymnastics team

The U.S. women’s gymnastics team, led by Simone Biles (far right), celebrates winning the team gold in Paris on July 30. After struggling at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, the team considered the 2024 Olympics a “Redemption Tour.” In Paris, the U.S. women’s gymnastics team won nine medals, including the team gold and Biles’ gold medal in the women’s individual all-around.

Julien Alfred

The island nation of St, Lucia’s first Olympic medal in history came when Julien Alfred won the gold medal in the women’s 100-meter sprint August 3 in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis. Alfred, 23, later captured the silver medal in the women’s 200-meter track race. She dedicated her gold medal to her father, who died when she was 12. “He believed I could be an Olympian,” Alfred said.

Noah Lyles

With this photo finish, American Noah Lyles, 27, took the gold medal in the men’s 100 meters. Lyles, in Lane 7, won by 5 one-thousandths of a second. Known for his showmanship and advocacy, as well as his speed, Lyles took to social media after his victory to encourage others to follow their dreams, no matter what challenges they face.

“I have asthma, allergies, dyslexia, ADD [attention deficit disorder], anxiety and depression. But I will tell you that what you have does not define what you can become. Why not you!”

Rebeca Andrade, Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles

Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, 25, won gold in the gymnastics floor exercise, while also winning the admiration of her competitors. After being awarded silver and bronze medals in the event, U.S. gymnasts Simone Biles, left, and Jordan Chiles, bowed to Andrade, who has overcome three anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears on her way to becoming Brazil’s most decorated Olympian. Chiles was later stripped of the bronze medal.

“Every one of us have worked hard to get on this world stage and compete to the best of our ability, so why not support one another, win or lose, with grace,” Biles told CBS News of her and Chiles’ display of sportsmanship.

Léon Marchand

French swimming sensation Léon Marchand, 22, won four gold medals and a bronze in front of his home crowd in Paris. Marchand set multiple Olympic records on his way to becoming only the fourth Olympic swimmer to win four individual gold medals in a single Olympics.

His performance far surpassed his hope to win a single gold medal in Paris, according to Reuters. “Now I need this time to think about what I just did, for sure,” Marchand told reporters. “So I need a vacation.”

Armand Duplantis

Armand Duplantis, seen August 5 competing for Sweden, won a gold medal and set a new world record in Paris, pole vaulting 6.25 meters (20 feet, 6 inches). The U.S.-Swedish national was raised in the U.S. state of Louisiana by parents well-versed in track and field. Duplantis’ Swedish mother competed in the heptathlon, and his American father was a pole vaulter.

“If I don’t beat this moment the rest of my career, I’m pretty OK with that,” Duplantis said, after his record-breaking performance. “I don’t think you can really get much better than what just happened.”

Frederick Richard

This multiple-exposure image captures U.S. gymnast Frederick Richard spinning off the horizontal bar. Richard and the U.S. men’s gymnastics team won a bronze medal Paris, the U.S. men’s first team medal since 2008. Richard says he wants to bring more young men into gymnastics and that the team’s medal-winning performance was a step in that direction.

“My goal even here was to make a statement that the U.S. is getting stronger and stronger,” Richard told the Associated Press. “And I think we did that today. I think a lot of young boys watching are inspired by us.”

Tara Davis-Woodhall

Tara Davis-Woodhall, 25, won the gold medal in the women’s long jump August 8, jumping 7.1 meters (more than 23 feet). To celebrate, she fell back and made angels in the sand. Afterward, the U.S. track and field star explained the celebration, saying she’d considered her competition time of 8 p.m. on August 8 as a sign she’d succeed. “Those are some angel numbers,” she told NBC.

“It’s like I can’t believe it, but I can believe it,” said Davis-Woodhall, who often trains with her husband, Paralympic sprinter Hunter Woodhall. “I’ve worked so hard this season to get to just this moment right here.”

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