The Paris 2024 Olympics have come to a close, and most of us are already starting to feel the post-Games blues. We’re here to help beat your Olympic withdrawal by reflecting on the wild ride of the past two weeks. The athletics side of the games was punctuated with highs and lows, with some athletes going home victorious and others broken-hearted, and no shortage of drama and hilarity throughout. Here are just a few of the many stand-out moments.
The lows
Damian Warner DNFs the decathlon
Canada’s Warner started Day 2 of the decathlon at the 2024 Paris Olympics by recording impressive performances in the 110m hurdles and discus throw. However, the eighth event, the pole vault, proved to be Warner’s undoing as he recorded no clearances at his entry mark of 4.60 metres. As a result, Warner earned no points for the pole vault, effectively ending his Olympic medal hopes, and the former Olympic champion opted to take a DNF (did not finish).
Brutal falls by Ahmed and Girma
In the 5,000m final, Canada’s Moh Ahmed suffered a severe fall in the final metres of the race while in contention for a top finish in his heat, causing him to miss a spot in the final. One thing the fall didn’t demolish? Ahmed’s positive attitude and ability to conduct himself with grit and grace. Ahmed’s was far from the only fall—a dangerously hard tumble in the 3,000m steeple final saw Ethiopia’s Lamecha Girma, the 3,000m world record holder, suffer a serious injury. Girma was carried off in a stretcher and transported to the hospital, where he remained for at least one night.
🔴The #WORLDRECORD holder in the 3,000m steeplechase, Lameha Girma (Ethiopia), lost consciousness during the #Olympic2024 final. He hit a barrier with his foot, fell flat on the track and was unable to get up. pic.twitter.com/CXkOdXKFZA
— News.Az (@news_az) August 8, 2024
An oblivious cameraman walks into racers
It was a moment that was stunning in its bizarreness—two-thirds of the way through the second of two first-round heads in the men’s 5,000m race, while filming the women’s javelin event, a cameraman equipped with a large camera rig strolled right through the second lane of the track, stopping just short of lane one. Two runners, including Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, had to run around him to avoid a collision. .
As if the 5000m heats weren’t chaotic enough this morning at #Paris2024…
A cameraman was caught on the track and almost caused more casualties as athletes had to run around him 😳 pic.twitter.com/60OwRBfV2K
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) August 7, 2024
The highs
Canadian men’s 4×100 team speed to gold
The Canadian men’s 4x100m relay team delivered a dazzling performance, clinching our first track medal of the Paris Olympics. The dynamic quartet—Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake, Brendon Rodney and Andre De Grasse—passed the baton around the track with precision and speed, crossing the finish line in a season’s best 37.50 seconds. De Grasse anchored the team with his trademark flair, sealing the victory in style and proving once again that Canada’s relay team is a force to be reckoned with.
Marco Arop’s silver medal in the 800m
We knew Arop would have to run a PB to medal in the 800m… but he didn’t win last year’s world championships for nothing, and he didn’t let us down. Arop ran a perfect race–patient, steady and almost indomitable–and came within a hair of winning the gold medal, crossing the line in 1:41.20 in a photo-finish. (Kudos to Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi, who front-ran all the way to gold, with 1:41.19 at the tender age of 20.)
Pole-vaulter Alysha Newman‘s celebration
Canada’s Newman spiced up the athletics world, not just with her national-record-setting and bronze-medal-winning vault, but with a cheeky twerk that left the crowd—and social media—buzzing. Hey, Newman earned the right to celebrate in her own unique way—American sprinter Noah Lyles does it, so why can’t everyone else?
no way she won a medal and immediately started twerking 😭 pic.twitter.com/PfN7Dga97k
— juju 💰 (@ayeejuju) August 9, 2024
Botswana’s Letsile Tegobo unseats American sprint superstar Noah Lyles in 200m final
In a thrilling showdown, 21-year-old Tebogo shocked the sprinting world by capturing the 200m gold in a speedy 19.46 seconds, unseating favourite-to-win Lyles. Tebogo not only set a personal best but also set a new African record. Lyles was left to settle for third place, with compatriot Kenny Bednarek taking silver. Lyles later announced that he was ill, and his true fans may be devastated, but perhaps even the flashiest of champions benefit from a piece of humble pie.
Canadians become hammer throw champions of the world
Canada is officially the best hammer-throwing nation in the world. Camryn Rogers won Canada’s second gold medal in the hammer throw at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with a throw of 76.97 metres. Earlier in the week, fellow Canuck Ethan Katzberg blew the competition away in the men’s event when he threw 84.12 metres in the first round to win.
Both Katzberg and Rogers now share the title of Olympic and world champion, showcasing Canada’s power as a hammer-throwing nation.
Dutch distance star Sifan Hassan (need we say more?)
On the final day of the games, Hassan made history in the women’s marathon, speeding to gold and setting a new Olympic record of 2:22:55. This is Hassan’s third medal at these Games, adding to the two bronze medals she won in the women’s 5,000m and 10,000m. Hassan was the only athlete in the field who had already raced a total of 20 kilometres before Sunday’s marathon, but that did not seem to be a problem as she sprinted past world record holder Tigst Assefa for another breathtaking win.
While you may not have chosen the same standout highs and lows as us, we can probably all agree that the Paris 2024 Olympics was one for the history books—and we’re already counting down to L.A.
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