How are the 2024 Paris Olympics already over!? We were thriving experiencing the non-stop action of so many different sporting events and getting to watch the drama of rivalries, heartbreak, and so many elite athletes making their dreams come to fruition! How could anyone NOT love the Olympics!? Why does it have to be over so soon??
As we transition back to everyday normalcy apart from regularly viewing incredible athletic performances and dreams coming to life before our very eyes, we wanted to reflect on some of the standout track and field highlights (since we are of course a little biased in our love of track and field).
These races that had us on the edge of our seats and SCREAMING at the tv:
Grant Fisher Earning DOUBLE BRONZE in the 10,000m and 5,000m events:
This year’s USA track and field performances seemed to be extra outstanding, and the momentum really began with Grant Fisher starting out the first day of competition earning the US’s second bronze in 56 years in the men’s 10,000m final! This had to be the most exciting 10,000m race we have ever watched, from start to finish!
The pace was hot from the beginning and Grant stuck with the lead pack the entire time. And shout-out to the youngest of the 3 American men in that race, Nico Young, who put himself in the mix as well (which no one expected) and hung on to the back of that lead pack until the kicking begun.
Grant Fisher then firmly established his spot in American distance running history during the men’s 5,000m race, one of the final nights of competition, kicking from 7th place to 3rd in the final home stretch of the race and earning his second medal in these Paris Games!
The Epic Men’s 1500m Final:
WHAT. A. RACE. This had to be one of our favorite races of all time to watch. If you haven’t seen it, go watch the replay! There was soooo much drama leading up to this race making it extra enticing. The main drama was between Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Great Britian’s Josh Kerr. If you haven’t been a track and field fan this past year, google this rivalry and you’ll find a slew of smack-talking between these two guys over who’s the best in the world at this middle distance event.
When Jakob took the pace out hot, the final lap became a waiting game to see if Jakob could hold or if Josh would overtake him in the finishing kick. HOWEVER, everyone seemed to forget about the Americans, when suddenly Cole Hocker and Yared Naguse started gutting it out with these two! Cole slipped through lane one on Jakob’s inside and sprinted by him to TAKE GOLD!!
Yared also mustered up another gear and nearly took silver when Josh was able to out-lean him at the line. This left Jakob in the dreaded 4th position after leading most of the race and gave us TWO Americans on the podium in another event that we typically don’t place in. WOW.
American Silver in Men’s Steeple:
Another crazy race! We had one American in the men’s steeple final, Kenneth Rooks. Most of the race was at a “slow”-enough pace that caused a massive pack running together. Our lone American mainly hung out in the back and to be honest, we thought he was totally out of it.
Suddenly, with about 600m to go, Rooks shot up front and then proceeded to take a significant lead going into the final lap!! For a moment, we went from forgetting he was in the race entirely to thinking he was about to win gold–and he ALMOST did! He got overtaken by two other runners in the final 100m, but fought hard until the very end to earn the silver medal!!
Gabby Thomas, the GOLDEN Girl:
Gabby Thomas destroyed women’s sprinting events at the Paris Olympics earning THREE gold medals! She dominantly won the women’s 200m without a question, and then turned around and helped both the USA women’s 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams earn gold! We also need to shout out USA’s beloved Sha’Carri Richardson for anchoring that 4x100m relay leg with an insane finish to earn the team gold, and also earning an individual silver medal in the premier women’s 100m race!
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is in a League of Her Own:
Sydney slayed looking absolutely effortless! She’s on another level right now that no one can seem to touch! In her main event, the 400m Hurdles, the media stirred up some drama anticipating a major match up between Sydney and Netherlands track star, Femke Bol. Femke seems like the only hurdler in recent years who has been able to challenge a dominant Sydney, but they rarely ever meet in competition. So it was all building up to the perfect match-up at this year’s Olympics!
Sydney and Femke were stride for stride until Sydney made her move with about 150m to go and there was no one even close to touching her from there. She was pushed to a new world record of 50.37 and nearly missed breaking 50 seconds! Insane! Femke ended up fading to third and our other speedy American, Anna Cockrell, had a phenomenal finish claiming the silver medal!
Sydney also helped the USA women’s 4x400m relay running the second leg and establishing a very clear “Katie-Ledecky-like” lead. She had the fastest split running an insanely fast 47.71 for 400m and played a major role in the USA womens’ well-earned team gold!
Marathon Magic:
The marathons were exciting to watch, not only because of the thrilling competition, but the broadcast did a great job displaying the various Paris landmarks that the runners passed through. No one anticipated that both the men’s and women’s Olympic records would go down on this tumultuous and hilly course with warm conditions! Our American men fared well with TWO top 10 finishes in another distance event that we rarely come close to medaling in. Training partners Connor Mantz and Clayton Murphy fought all the way to finish 8th and 9th, respectively. On the women’s side, our American underdog, Dakotah Lindwurm, had the strongest showing and finished an astounding 12th in the world!
Honestly, there were so many more races that had us screaming and crying throughout the Paris Olympics, but this would become a book if I were to describe them all!
Although we loved all the countries’ top athletes compete, we of course had to root especially for the Americans– they truly had some amazing performances and it’s got us feeling proud to be American!
If you’re experiencing those post-Olympics blues like we are, remember that we fortunately have the Olympic dreams continuing in a couple weeks with the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games! The Paralympic games will be held from August 28th–September 8th!
After the upcoming Paralympics, we will have to wait another four years for the next summer games taking place in none other than LA! I’m sure we’ll be seeing much more of our entertaining new American Olympics mascot, Snoop Dogg.
In the meantime, if you’d like helping pursuing your dream and want to AWAKEN YOUR POTENTIAL in whatever activity or sport that you’re passionate about, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us! We’re passionate about helping you with YOUR passions!
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