There’s nothing quite like the thrill of the Olympics: the best of the best from all over the world competing in some of the most challenging, hardcore and physically taxing athletics of all time. What’s not to love?
This year was no different as the world’s favorites met in Paris for a battle of the ages. From Katie Ledecky to Simone Biles and Noah Lyles, this year was jam-packed with world records and heart-stopping moments.
Viewers rarely left the edge of their seats as every event was a nail-biter.
In the pool, all eyes were on 14-time Olympic medalist Katie Ledecky and Bobby Finke, a 2023 University of Florida graduate and four-time Olympic medalist. Unfortunately for the rest of the world, no swimmer stood a chance in the 1500m freestyle against these two.
For Ledecky, who is often pictured so far ahead of her competitors they can’t even be seen on the screen, everyone else was competing for second place.
Ledecky not only holds the 19 fastest times for the event, but she added another gold to her resume this summer and broke her Olympic record with a near-impossible time of 15:30.02.
The closest the others could get to Ledecky was 10 seconds in her wake. France’s Anastasiia Kirpichnikova earned silver in the event and finished in 15:40.35.
For Finke, he earned a spot with the greats. Freestyle was his claim to fame as he earned gold in the 1500m free and silver in the 800m free.
The young star also followed in the footsteps of Ledecky to secure a world record in the 1500m free, just as Ledecky had done a few days prior. For the training partners, they left their competitors fighting for silver and playing a game of catch-up as they both led the entirety of their races.
There wasn’t a dull moment on the track. From world records to blunders and everything in between, the events forced the athletes to perform to perfection.
Unfortunately, the men’s 4x100m relay will have to wait another four years for a chance at global glory as they continue what some call a “medal drought.”
The devastation came early as first leg Christian Coleman slammed into teammate Kenny Bednarek on the first exchange.
Bednarek left too early for the handoff and was forced to slow down as Coleman then caught up and immediately collided with his teammate. Not only was Team USA playing a game of catch-up as they fell far behind their opponents, but their exchange was a cause of concern.
While the relay runners didn’t break the cardinal rule, don’t drop the baton, they did commit another grave mistake: leaving the handoff zone.
Due to this error, the relay was promptly disqualified after the race due to the illegal handoff.
Although the men’s 4x100m relay hasn’t seen the podium since their silver finish in the 2004 Athens Games, they’ll have to wait another four years.
Despite a relay blunder, Team USA made up for the mistake tenfold.
That same day, the women’s 4x100m had a gold medal photo finish.
In the 2020 Tokyo Games, Team USA finished second to Jamaica’s all-star squad, but with many of their internationally recognized talent out due to injuries, all eyes fell to the US.
With global superstar Sha’Carri Richardson as the anchor leg, many knew it would be a finish to remember before the race began.
Although Richardson received the baton from third leg Gabby Thomas in the middle of the group, she shot past Great Britain and Germany to lead the pack with just meters left in the race.
In a classic photo finish, Richardson is captured glancing over at her opponents just meters before crossing the finish line to secure a gold medal.
With everything from gold medals to devastating mishaps on the track, the intensity was felt from every arena, especially gymnastics.
While Simone Biles was unquestionably the golden girl, she wasn’t exempt from mistakes. Although many refer to her as the greatest gymnast of all time, the beam was a cause of concern this year as Biles herself took a fall.
Biles wasn’t alone however, as her star teammate Sunisa Lee also took a serious fall and several others wobbled as well.
Despite errors, both Biles and Lee were well acquainted with the podium by the end of the Games as they earned seven medals between the two of them.
Not only did the gymnastics athletes reach new heights, but so did every member of Team USA as the group left the games with a combined 40 golds, 44 silvers and 42 bronzes.