Breakout stars, best moments and what comes next: Breaking down the Games halfway through
We’re at the middle of the 2024 Paris Olympics, swimming is wrapping up, golds have been handed out in gymnastics, and track and field is just getting started. Some of the Games’ biggest stars — such as Simone Biles and Katie Ledecky — have added to their résumés, while others — such as Ilona Maher and Leon Marchand — have made themselves into household names.
What have been the best moments so far? Which athletes have been breakout stars? And what should we be looking forward to over the final week of the Olympics?
We asked our reporters on the ground in Paris (and other spots throughout France) for answers.
Most memorable moment from the first week?
Coley Harvey: The absolute best part of covering the Olympics is getting to see so many different sports you might not normally see. One of them, for me, is rugby sevens. Let me tell you, after witnessing the U.S. women’s rugby sevens walk-off winner this week, I will be keeping much closer tabs on the sport. For American football fans, I’ve equated Alex Sedrick’s coast-to-coast play to a game-winning kick return touchdown as time expired with the returner having to also kick the PAT. Unreal moment. Also, not only is Ilona Maher as impressive a sound bite off the pitch as she is dominating on it, but the whole team has this sense of understanding what really matters in sports: The impact they have on themselves and the people around them.
Emily Kaplan: Watching Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz — “Nadalcaraz” — in their first doubles match at Roland Garros was electric. Nadal has been fending off retirement questions here in Paris. Teaming up with Spain’s young star gave him a new life, even as he bowed out of singles to his longtime rival Novak Djokovic. I also love the fact that Nadal (at least according to Coco Gauff) is staying in the village while some of the other tennis stars have checked out to hotels. Andy Murray, who is actually on a farewell tour, is also. Cool to see two legends fully embrace the spirit of the thing.
D’Arcy Maine: While watching Simone Biles and the U.S. gymnastics team win gold in the team event is a very close second, I genuinely don’t think I’ll ever forget what it was like watching Leon Marchand win his first gold medal In front of the adoring French crowd on Sunday at La Defense Arena. During every stroke of the 400m individual medley, the fans chanted together and cheered — and then the place erupted when he touched the wall for the victory. I had actual chills as the crowd all joyfully sang “La Marseillaise,” the French national anthem, as he stood atop the podium. It felt like a World Cup match and was one of the most electric atmospheres I’ve ever experienced.
Connor O’Halloran: Has it only been a week!? So much has happened so far no matter what you’re following, but the moment I’ll remember watching most is the soon-to-retire Andy Murray rescuing his career alongside Dan Evans in the men’s tennis doubles. Every sportswriter in the press tribune had his career obit written near the end of the third-set match tiebreak. They were done. Then Murray and Evans saved five straight match points before winning two more to take the match.
Alyssa Roenigk: There were lots of smaller, equally impactful moments tucked inside my absolute favorite moment of the first week: watching the U.S. women’s gymnastics team win gold. There was Jordan Chiles’ wink at the start of her floor routine, Suni Lee nailing a beam set after watching a teammate fall, Jade Carey getting vault redemption after falling in the event final in Tokyo. And feeling the collective exhale of the fans (and media) inside Bercy Arena when Simone Biles landed her vault. What happened at the Tokyo Games during the team competition was fresh in everyone’s mind and when Biles landed her Cheng, she said she thought, phew. “Because there were no flashbacks or anything,” Biles said. “I did feel a lot of relief.”
William C. Rhoden: Watching the underdog U.S. men’s gymnastics team celebrate after winning bronze; you’d thought they had won gold. Similarly, watching the U.S. women’s gymnastics team win gold at the team competition, ending their so-called redemption tour. They were favored to win and they did.
Marc J. Spears: For me, it was seeing South Sudan men’s basketball team win a game against Puerto Rico. South Sudan, funded by former NBA star Luol Deng, has only been a country since 2011. Coached by Houston Rockets assistant coach Royal Ivey, South Sudan beat what has been a successful program in Puerto Rico for their first-ever win. If South Sudan can somehow upset Nikola Jokic and Serbia on Saturday, they will become the first African country to reach the knockout stage.
Brian Windhorst: The basketball venue in Lille is one of the largest ever for a major event with more than 27,000 fans attending most games, and it’s created a high-energy environment. It reached a max earlier this week when the French pulled out a nearly impossible four-point play with 10 seconds left to force overtime against Japan. The retractable roof rattled on Stade Pierre Mauroy when Matthew Strazel, a 21-year-old guard, pulled off the miracle 3-pointer after a foul. France won in OT to advance.
Who is the ‘under-the-radar’ or ‘breakout’ star so far?
Sam Borden: Most American fans aren’t used to seeing a U.S. men’s soccer team at the Olympics — this is the first time they’ve qualified since 2008 — but Kevin Paredes has been critical in helping the U.S. men to a spot in the quarterfinals. A winger who seemingly never gets tired, he has scored twice and set up countless other chances for his teammates. Paredes’ and the U.S. saw their Olympics end with a 4-0 loss to Morocco.
Harvey: I’ve got one “under-the-radar” pick and one “breakout” pick — both come from American foil fencing, which got a big jolt in name recognition this past week. The under-the-radar selection is Lee Kiefer, the 30-year-old who just won her third gold medal following a team competition Thursday. She also won a gold medal in individual foil fencing at the Tokyo Games, and another earlier in the week in Paris. For her most recent individual gold, Kiefer beat her teammate — my “breakout” pick — Lauren Scruggs. She’s a 21-year-old Harvard student who earned a silver in the loss to Kiefer, before helping lead the U.S. to its first team gold medal in the event a few days later. It was Scruggs’ final touch in the ninth round of the team final that allowed the U.S. to beat long-dominant Italy.
Kaplan: The U.S. women’s water polo team is getting buzz because of its new celebrity following. Flavor Flav is the team’s official hype man, helping financially support the team, and also bringing famous friends to the pool. “You train in this silent world, then all of the sudden there’s cameras and Flavor Flav and Dr. [Jill] Biden and Spike Lee is joining in, everyone is hopping on the bandwagon,” coach Adam Krikorian told me. “So for us, it’s managing distractions and staying in the moment.” That moment is what I think has been under the radar. The US women are building one of the great Olympic dynasties, on a quest for their fourth consecutive gold medal.
Maine: Ilona Maher. From her hilarious commitment to referring to the Olympic Village only as “The Villa” as a nod to “Love Island” in her TikToks documenting life as an Olympic athlete to helping lift the American women’s rugby sevens team to its first-ever medal, Maher has emerged as a true superstar during these Games. Women’s rugby has been having a moment and Maher is a big part of the reason.
O’Halloran: It might seem weird to label Léon Marchand as a breakout star, but hear me out. The 22-year-old has been a major name in swimming circles for years, but to arrive at a home Games and take it by storm remains an outstanding achievement. In Tokyo, he came in sixth, 14th and 18th in his three swim events. This time round, he swam six races in 36 hours en route to his second and third gold medals. “I knew it was possible for me to do [both] — but just to finish those races, maybe not win them,” Marchand said. “I never knew that [was possible].” He won another gold on Friday, his fourth of the games. He will end this fortnight as one of the most recognizable athletes worldwide.
Roenigk: Pommel horse guy! Gymnastics Clark Kent! Stephen Nedoroscik! The 25-year-old former Penn State gymnast is well known in gymnastics circles, but the wider sports audience met (and fell in love with) the pommel horse specialist during the U.S. men’s bronze medal performance in the team final on Monday. Because Nedoroscik has one job here in Paris — to hit pommel routines — and because the U.S. finished on the apparatus, fans watched him spend ⅚ of the meet cheering on his teammates, meditating and visualizing his routine. Then he was the last performer of the meet and absolutely crushed his set, securing bronze for Team USA. After he dismounted, he set the internet on fire.
Spears: I am enamored with the story of Turkish sharpshooter Yusuf Dikeç. Who is this 51-year-old man and what is his story? This dude walked up with his old pistol and didn’t need any special lenses or big ear protectors. And he put his other hand in his pocket. It’s like he just walked off the street and he won the silver medal in the air pistol team event at the 2024 Paris Olympics. I need a documentary or movie on this guy. There is some 007 story that needs to be revealed.
No fancy lenses. No headphones. Just vibes.
Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec was cool as a cucumber en route to silver in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team. 😎 #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/p7yu1hXl5x
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 1, 2024
Windhorst: Satou Sabally, who fans may know plays for the Dallas Wings of the WNBA, had been out since February following a shoulder injury. It was a race against time for her to get ready to play for Germany, making their first appearance in the Olympics in women’s basketball — she played 5-on-5 for the first time against Team USA in a friendly in London just a few days before the start of the Olympics. All she’s done since is average 25 points over the first two games. Germany is 2-0 and has assured itself of advancing to the medal round.
What are you most looking forward to in the second week?
Maine: There’s so much I’m looking forward to on the track, but I can’t wait to see Sha’Carri Richardson finally get the chance to compete on the sport’s biggest stage. She didn’t get the opportunity in Tokyo due to a suspension and then struggled in the immediate aftermath. But she has since returned to peak form and now has the chance to win gold in the 100 meters and in the relay.
O’Halloran: The spiritual home of the Olympic Games is on the track, and it might not get any better than the showdown between Team USA’s Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and the Netherlands’ Femke Bol in the 400m hurdles. McLaughlin-Levrone should be in a league of her own after breaking the world record five times, most recently at the U.S. Olympic trials. But somehow, Bol almost matched, recording the third-fastest time in history weeks later. It sets up an amazing head-to-head that should end in one of them being crowned Olympic champion.
Roenigk: Skateboard park makes its second appearance in the Olympics, and the U.S. men have a legitimate shot to sweep the podium. Nineteen-year-old Tate Carew of San Diego; Gavin Bottger, 17; and Tom Schaar, 24, are all ranked in the top four, and Carew is a heavy favorite for gold.
Spears: I have always thought the most exciting part of the Games was track and field. It’s thrilling to have different events going on at the same time. What seconds are better than the 100-meter race? So many personalities. So many superstars. So many rivalries. I’m ready for track and field to reach its summit.
Jeremy Schaap: The highlight of the second week of the Games will clearly be modern pentathlon. Simply because it’s modern pentathlon — and the last modern pentathlon competition that will include a riding component, a change made in response to accusations of abuse of a horse in Tokyo.
Why does modern pentathlon matter? In some ways, it is the event that has most embodied the animating spirit of the Games. It is a military test — running, swimming, shooting, riding and fencing — and Baron Pierre de Coubertin revived the games largely because he was disgusted by the French defeat in 1871 at the hands of the Prussians. De Coubertin thought a renewed commitment to physical excellence was required to fend off the emerging German state. Modern pentathlon is also worthy of our interest because arguably the second most famous American Olympian (after Muhammad Ali) was not a runner, a gymnast or a swimmer but a modern pentathlete. Of whom do we speak? One George S. Patton Jr. The future commander of the Seventh and Third Armies finished fifth in Stockholm in 1912 in the first Olympic modern pentathlon.
Rhoden: Breaking. I spoke with three breakers last week about what they hope to prove (that they belong). Also spoke with author Serouj “Midas” Aprahamian about some of the issues he has with breaking in the Olympics. Also looking forward to all the sprinting events at the track — the 100, the 200 and all the sprint relays. (For more from Rhoden and Spears, check out Andscape at the Olympics.)
Windhorst: Between this coming Tuesday and Sunday, Aug. 11, the twin medal rounds of basketball will take place every day at Bercy Arena. This is the most competitive men’s field in Olympic history, making the daily outcomes both mysterious and entertaining as all the eight teams that advance will have a real chance at winning a medal. And the Team USA women’s attempt at an eighth straight gold will be challenged.
Make one prediction for the second week of the Games?
Borden: The heat storyline will get, well, hotter. La Canicule (heat wave) isn’t expected to fully break in Paris until midweek, and if that’s true, we’ll see concerns about fans, potentially some time adjustments to certain events and a lot of athletes battling dehydration, as well as each other, as they try to claim their medals.
Harvey: The track at the Stade de France will be home to the storyline everyone in the States and abroad is going to be discussing by the end of the Games. It’s because we will have seen the U.S. fully and firmly reassert itself on the world relay stage, taking gold over Team Jamaica in the men’s and women’s 4×100-meter relays. The American women already did it at the world championships last August in Hungary, paced by Gabby Thomas’ powerful third leg before she handed off the baton to Sha’Carri Richardson. They can do it again. The task won’t be easy for the American men, who didn’t medal at the last Olympics. A revamped lineup featuring Noah Lyles believes the chemistry will be better this time around.
Maine: I think Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands is going to become a breakout star as she attempts one of the most remarkable feats in running, doing the 5,000 meters, the 10,000 meters and the marathon all in the span of nine days. She made history in Tokyo as she won gold in the 5,000 and the 10,000 and earned bronze in the 1,500, and she is going to further prove she’s one of the best and most versatile runners of all time in Paris.
O’Halloran: Track world records will fall. Mondo, the company that designed the track for these Games, is promising technology that will be used at the Olympics for the first time. “A new granule of polymeric material, made especially for it, was inserted in the Tokyo track. We have made it even better now,” the company’s research manager told The Guardian. So watch out for who wins, but then glance over to the time clock for a few records to fall.
Roenigk: The breakers will win over even the stodgiest Olympic fans. As a newbie to breaking, all I needed to know was that these athletes battle to music chosen by a live DJ and not to music they choose, which means they can’t choreograph their performances ahead of time and instead must improvise in the moment. Sold!
Spears: I think France men’s basketball is going to lose its first knockout game and be a disappointing elimination at home with all its NBA talent. France played lackluster for a win against Brazil and needed a late questionable four-point play against Japan. The chemistry is poor. The defense should be better. This team needs Tony Parker to come back to play point guard.
Windhorst: France is having a fabulous Games thus far, and the populace is basking in it as well as the cities showing off (don’t mention the air conditioning). This week is the first giant moment for one of the country’s young stars, Victor Wembanyama, to get his first chance to lead his national team to glory. It might not lead to a medal because the field is tough, but the 20-year-old has been one of the best players in the tournament. I believe he’s going to have a moment this week when he establishes his place on the international stage.
