With the Olympics 2024 about to close its curtains over the weekend, it’s high time that we look back on the memorable moments that made this event a spectacle.
Records were shattered and milestones were passed during the Summer Games, and I, for one, cannot wait to discuss my personal favourites here at SBOTOP.
It’s Duplantis’ world, and we’re all just living in it
Hailing from the Pearl of the Orient, I was hoping that world number two EJ Obiena would upset the Olympics 2024 odds and take home the gold medal.
And yes, it was disappointing to see him not be at his best because of a lingering injury, but I’d be lying if I told you that I wasn’t in awe with how Armand Duplantis broke his own record (6.24 m) and that of Thiago Braz’s (6.03 m) Olympic record as well.
His achievements at 24 are as impressive as they are legendary; he calls it a day tomorrow, and he’ll remain the greatest to ever compete in the sport by a long shot.
But for me, and perhaps plenty can relate to how I felt that night, it was how he managed to blow his opponents out of the water inasmuch as breaking both records.
All throughout the competition, his contemporaries looked either motivated or hyped, with some having jitters well seen through their body language. The Swede never had such.
Every single time the camera was pointed to him, there was a certain stoicism and calmness—James Bond-esque, if you will.
Silver and bronze finishers, Sam Hendricks of the United States and Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis cleared 5.95 and 5.90 metres, respectively. Meanwhile, Mondo Duplantis secured the gold at 6.10 metres—and it looked like his warm-up.
After that, the sight was set on breaking the world record. He failed to clear the bar in his first two attempts, but there was never any doubt in the end that he would complete the 6.25-metre jump.
His performance in Paris will be looked back on as one of the most dominant and entertaining displays in the Olympics.
Cuba’s gentle giant
When we think of Olympic dominance, the likes of Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt are the ones that cross our minds. Rarely is the name Mijain Lopez Nunez mentioned.
But with his record-breaking fifth Olympic gold medal in the 130kg Greco-Roman wrestling—becoming the only person to win five gold medals at the same event—it’s now time that we include his name in the ‘Greatest Olympian of All Time’ talks. It’s the just thing to do.
In the final at Champ-de-Mars Arena, the 6-foot-5 Lopez dominated Chile’s Yasmani Acosta Fernandez, a former training partner and compatriot, 6-0.
He did not wail, shout nor cry in his celebration. Instead, he seemed relieved and content. And why wouldn’t he? From Beijing to Paris, from Pinar del Rio to the world, his name is etched into immortality.
Djoker completes tennis
I say this as a Roger Federer die-hard fan—Novak Djokovic is the greatest tennis player of all time.
I had my arguments back then, but after his Olympic display at Stade Roland Garros, Mike Tyson’s comments on Arsenio Hall back in 1989 regarding Muhammad Ali was the one that rang my bell.
Indeed, my head was bowed, and my tongue did confess.
The 37-year-old Djokovic had a rough start to the 2024 ATP season. Prior to winning the gold medal, he had yet to win a title and had withdrawn out of other major tournaments, such as the French Open, as his ageing body was becoming too much to handle.
Fresh off surgery, Djokovic would not be denied en route to the Wimbledon final but had to settle for second-best after getting destroyed by Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets.
And on Parisian clay, just a couple months after Alcaraz won the very same event where Djokovic had withdrawn, they met for a second consecutive final in the space of a few weeks.
The match that followed was an instant classic; there was never a moment devoid of Olympics 2024 highlights, and it can be argued as the best Olympic tennis match ever.
It was so close that neither player broke each other’s serve, with the match finishing 7-6, 7-6.
When the finish line was finally crossed after nearly three hours, the 24-time Grand Slam winner let everything out. He was a mess, crying and shaking from the court to his daughter’s lovely embrace.
Admittedly, I shed a few tears of my own.
The Olympic gold was the last big title that was missing from his enormous trophy cabinet. He had now achieved a ‘Golden Slam’ like rival Rafael Nadal, power couple Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi, and Serena Williams. His win also means he now has won every big title there is in tennis. The only man to do so.
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