The Best of the 2024 Paris Olympics: A Recap of the Memorable Moments

After nearly three weeks and more than 1,000 medals, the Paris Olympics have awarded their final gold. From the ambitious opening ceremony to the handoff to 2028 host Los Angeles, the Paris Games delivered numerous memorable moments. Acclaimed stars cemented their legacies and new faces became Olympic fixtures.

But some stellar performances and viral memes stood above the rest. To highlight and celebrate the best of the 2024 Games, a group of 20 staff members of The Athletic voted and compiled this list of our “Olympic Superlative” winners. (It should be noted this is not a definitive list — but a fun exercise.)

So with that, let’s take a look at who staying winning in our eyes.

Most Dominant Performance

(Photo: Elsa / Getty Images)

Winner: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (five votes)

This category was for the athlete (or team) who put together the best, most undeniable Olympic campaign.

McLaughlin-Levrone, the American hurdler and sprinter, won gold in the women’s 400-meter hurdles, setting a world record at 50.37 seconds. On Saturday, she closed her Games with another gold in the women’s 4×400 relay, pulling away from the field in her leg, which was just a tenth of a second off the world record.

Runners-up: Simone Biles and Armand “Mondo” Duplantis (three votes each)

Biles, the American gymnast, won three gymnastics golds — team, all-around, and vault — and one silver (floor exercise) in her Olympic return. Duplantis, a Swedish pole vaulter, won gold in the men’s event and set a new world record at 6.25 meters to break his previous record.

Also receiving votes:

China’s diving team (two votes) — won all eight Olympic diving gold medals
Léon Marchand (two votes) — the French swimmer won four golds and one bronze (more on him below)
USA Basketball (two votes) — extended its gold medal streak to five (for men) and eight (for women)
Katie Ledecky (one vote) — the American swimmer won two golds, a silver, and a bronze in women’s swimming, and set an Olympic record in the 1,500-meter freestyle
Mijain Lopez (one vote) — the Cuban wrestler won gold in men’s wrestling, a record-fifth straight Olympic gold in the same individual event
South Korea’s archery team (one vote) — swept all five golds in archery (men’s and women’s)