From Paris itself to Noah Lyles to Simone Biles, the moments we'll remember most
After 19 days of competition, medals earned, countless celebrations and memorable moments, the 2024 Paris Olympics are wrapping up.
From the city of Paris taking center stage to Simon Biles and U.S. gymnastics to the return of fans, the Paris Games will be remembered for many things.
But what stood out the most?
We asked our experts who were in Paris and other locations throughout France covering all of it one final question:
What is the one thing you’ll remember about these Olympics years from now?
Sam Borden: For me, it’s Trinity Rodman’s incredible, out-of-nowhere, game-winning goal for the USWNT in the quarterfinals against Japan. It was the perfect combination: an unbelievable skill that required power and precision, mixed with intense circumstances — deep in extra time, a shootout looming — and the unrivaled atmosphere of a packed Parc des Princes stadium. The whole sequence was remarkable on so many levels, and one of the funniest parts about the whole thing was that Rodman said afterward that she blacked out once the ball left her foot, so she’s not even really sure what she did. If that’s true, she’ll be the only one who doesn’t remember the goal because anyone who saw it certainly won’t ever forget.
Coley Harvey: Years from now, I’ll never forget the photo-finish “lean.” It was the move Noah Lyles needed for one major win. Speaking of Lyles, he had the wildest Olympics of any American medalist. To go from being on top of the world with gold on a Sunday, to receiving an alarming diagnosis that Tuesday, to pouring every ounce of his COVID illness into a bronze on Thursday, to having to drop out of a relay that Friday, Lyles’ Olympics was, in a word, frenetic.
But even with the drama during his time in Paris, the show he and seven of the world’s next-fastest men put on during the first Sunday of track at Stade de France was one I’ll always remember. I sat that night with colleague Marc Spears, and we both just about lost it when we looked at the in-stadium videoboard and recognized at the same time as Lyles that he was indeed the men’s 100-meter champion.
The volume was deafening. The scene, electrifying. Had it not been for Lyles’ decision to pull off a last-second lean at the line, he might not have beaten Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson to solidify his place in Olympics immortality. To me, that emotional moment helped kick start the impressive run of American gold medals in track and field.
Emily Kaplan: Covering the final day of the men’s golf tournament at Le Golf National was unreal. The sport recently returned to the Olympics after a 100-plus-year absence, and the Paris Games gave it momentum. So many of the sport’s biggest names — Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama, Tommy Fleetwood and others — were battling atop the leaderboard, and then to see gold medalist Scottie Scheffler tearing up during the ceremony clarified just how significant this tournament was to professionals who make millions of dollars and get a ton of exposure outside the Olympic cycle. The crowd was fantastic, with dozens of countries represented, all creating an electric atmosphere.
McIlroy’s quote afterward summed it up: “With how much of a s— show the game of golf is right now, you think of tournaments that might be the purest form of competition of the sport, not playing for money. So it speaks volumes for what is important in sport.”
D’Arcy Maine: I was in Tokyo three years ago, sitting in massive arenas and stadiums and watching athletes make their lifelong dreams come true with virtually no one there to witness it and no excited family member to immediately hug after winning a medal. Those Games were rough for all with countless restrictions and rules and the overwhelmingly subdued environment. So what has repeatedly struck me in Paris, across sports, has been the unbridled joy I’ve seen from athletes, their loved ones and fans.
In 2021, I watched Simone Biles withdraw from the team competition and heard the hushed, concerned whispers from the few in attendance, so to see her and the rest of the U.S. team run around after winning a redemptive gold medal was extra special. I watched Novak Djokovic‘s dreams for a “Golden Slam” go up in smoke in Tokyo — and remember his very visible frustrations during the bronze medal match — and then to see him openly sobbing on the court and with his family after winning his first gold at Roland Garros was something I’ll never forget. And those types of examples could go on and on. As I’m sure most of the athletes who participated in both Games would say, the still surreal memories of Tokyo made me truly appreciate what I experienced in Paris, and the visible displays of bliss and gratitude are what I’ll remember most.
Connor O’Halloran: I don’t know if it has come across on TV, but anyone attending in person will know the chant “Allez Les Bleus!” It has been a constant rallying cry for French fans.
They shout it with their mouths and stomp it with their feet. Sometimes arenas felt a little like the ancient Colosseum. The chant has provided a roaring back track for every event in which any French athlete is competing, and they don’t need any hint of success to start it: I’ve heard French fans chant it at boxing defeats and in track events when they had no chance of winning. It was booming around the table tennis arena when a French guy was doing his best to hold off his Chinese opponent and was essentially moonballing every shot. France lost 12 of the 14 frames in that team match. It was a demolition, but still all you could hear was “Allez Les Bleus!”
Alyssa Roenigk: Witnessing redemption for the four Golden Girls who returned to the Olympics after a rough, weird two weeks in Tokyo. A couple months ago, it seemed highly improbable that all four women — Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles — would make this team. When they did, they became one of the most compelling storylines of the Games. Biles wanted to twist again and have another shot at all-around gold. Lee wanted another crack at the uneven bars final. Carey wanted to land two great vaults to prove she’s one of the best in the world and Chiles wanted to earn an individual medal.
They did all of that and won team gold — while supporting one another and celebrating their competitors. Although a trifecta of agencies including the Court of Arbitration of Sports, the International Gymnastics Federation and the IOC decided Chiles must return her bronze medal because her coach filed the inquiry into her score four seconds after the deadline, Chiles had her podium moment. And for six days, a bronze medal.
Despite the decision, the final and lasting image of a wild week and a half of gymnastics will still be that of two Olympic gold medalists, Biles and Chiles, bowing to Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade on the floor podium, which speaks volumes about the type of athletes who are leading the sport into its next era.
Jeremy Schaap: It was Henri IV, rejecting Protestantism, embracing Catholicism, to claim the French throne in the 16th century, who uttered the immortal bon mot: “Paris is well worth a mass.”
He might have added, the city will also be an ideal setting for a gathering of the world’s greatest athletes — and he would have been right.
With all the stars who shined in the City of Light during the Games of the Thirty-Third Olympiad, none could outshine Paris itself. A deluge during the opening ceremony? Oui. Dirty river water disrupting competition? Oui.
But…
Sometimes the host city is mostly incidental to the proceedings — just a jumble of arenas that could be anywhere, plus road closures. The vast logistical requirements can suck the soul out of any metropolis. Paris, on the other hand, was the featured attraction at these Games, with events set against all the familiar and stunning sites. And what better backdrop could there be?
To paraphrase an American who made his mark in Paris — right around the time the last Olympics took place here, in 1924 — for those who were fortunate enough to take part in these Games, or just to witness them, in person, or even on a screen, it will stay with them, for Paris is, yes, a moveable feast, even under the weight of the Olympic rings.
Marc Spears: I’ve been covering the NBA for 25 years, covered college basketball for five and two Olympics. But of all the basketball games I’ve been to, perhaps the greatest I had ever seen was the USA versus Serbia semifinals game. It felt like a movie. The Serbians, with NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, jumped ahead and led most the game. To not make it to the gold medal game for LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant & Co., would’ve been the most embarrassing moment of their hoop careers. But somehow the Americans dug deep and fought on both ends of the floor to survive in a very emotional win.
The only other thing that came to mind was seeing Ray Allen’s late 3-pointer save the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals versus the San Antonio Spurs. Robert Horry’s 3-pointer to seal a Finals win over the Detroit Pistons was huge too. But USA-Serbia, wow. Think it wins.
Brian Windhorst: The venue for basketball pool play in Lille, which held 27,000 fans, was unusual but tremendous for volume. The indelible moment came, naturally, when France made a miracle comeback when 21-year-old guard Matthew Strazel pulled off a four-point play with 10 seconds left to force overtime against Japan. The massive crowd going from dejected to unexpectedly elated in the blink of an eye was quite memorable. It was also quite important. The French won in overtime and it enabled them to advance to the medal round.
