As The News-Letter begins its 2024 Paralympic Games coverage, we wanted to kick off by looking back at some of our favorite moments from the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris!
JULIA MENDES QUEIROZ: Julien Alfred Wins Saint Lucia’s First Ever Medal
I am choosing this moment as my favorite because it felt like an amalgamation of what the Olympics are supposed to be. Julien Alfred went into the 100-meter final as the underdog against Sha’Carri Richardson, who dominated the event at last year’s World Athletics Championship and is a household name. Alfred’s campaign throughout the tournament was perfect, and I admit I was eagerly awaiting her showdown with Richardson. Her whip-fast reaction time gave her a strong lead and it was about 50 meters in when she really pulled ahead. This triumph brought home Saint Lucia’s first ever Olympic medal, and I’ll admit that as the “Sons and Daughters of Saint Lucia” blared around the Stade de France, I actually shed a tear.
Additionally, as a Brazilian, I have to give an honorable mention to Gabriel Medina for his incredible 9.9 wave in the Men’s Surfing Tournament and photographer Jerome Brouillet for capturing an iconic picture of it.
YANA MULANI: Femke Bol’s incredible 4x400-meter relay redemption
I am fairly new to the world of non-cricket sports, and this summer was the first time I paid any real attention to the Olympics. In between screaming at the TV in absolute awe of these athletes’ abilities, I spent a lot of time listening to what the commentators had to say — who had the best shot at a gold, rivalries between competitors and, of course, an athlete’s previous competitions. This is how I learned of Femke Bol.
A Dutch athlete, Bol currently holds the record for the second fastest women’s 400-meter hurdles of all time. At the 2023 World Athletics Championship, Bol ran the anchor leg of the 4x400-meter mixed relay and was a clear favorite. Not to be dramatic, but tragedy struck when she took a fall in the final 10 meters of the race, swapping the team’s first position for a DNF. Learning about this was heartbreaking. I’m not an athlete, but I know what it’s like to be so close to something only to make a fatal error at the end.
Watching the 4x400m relay teams line up at the starting line of the Paris Olympics, I was on the edge of my seat (my sofa). I so wanted Bol and the entire Dutch team to win — if only because of what a redemption would do for their spirits.
Anchoring her team, Bol entered the final turn of her 400-meter lap in fourth place and overtook all three athletes in front of her within seconds. As Bol crossed the finish line, my dad and I leapt out of our seats (again, sofa seats) and screamed in joy. Supporting Bol and watching her realize her goal made me feel incredibly proud and was the perfect introduction to a proper season of the Olympic Games.
FREDDY BRANSON: Men’s Park Skateboarding
Given its recent introduction into the Olympics, Park Skateboarding is not an event I have much prior knowledge of, nor much experience in watching. However, when I sat down to watch the Olympics one night, the only coverage going on was of that sport.
As a pretty proud Australian, one might think that I chose this event due to the participation of two fellow Aussies. What really drew me to it, though, was the embodiment of the true spirit of the Olympics through the performance of British skateboarder Andy Macdonald.
Being one of the oldest competing athletes at the Games at the age of 51, Macdonald truly did the Games justice, and you could feel the energy of the entire crowd rally behind him as he put his all into one last hurrah doing the thing he has dedicated his entire life to. As the camera flashed to legend (and his neighbour) Tony Hawk then to the crowd cheering in support, everything truly felt just perfect.
It represented everything great about the Olympics: people from all nationalities coming together to support each other (and it most certainly didn’t hurt that Australia took home the gold from a magnificent run by youngster Keegan Palmer!).
JOSEPH RAINBOLT: USA Men’s Basketball Gold
I couldn’t pick any moment other than the Men’s Basketball gold medal run in this Olympics. This 2024 USA Olympics team was the team of my childhood. Watching LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant come together for one final run was beautiful. This was a legacy performance for the greatest players of this generation.
Although the USA was heavily favored to win the tournament, this Olympics had its fair share of clutch moments. In both the semifinal game against Serbia and the final matchup against France, Curry and James came through to propel the USA to gold.
In the semifinal, it took a triple-double from James and a massive fourth-quarter comeback to send Nikola Jokić and Serbia into the third place game. Against France, the deciding factor was Curry. In a flurry of late fourth quarter baskets, Curry delivered dagger after dagger staving off a brewing French comeback. In my favorite moment of the entire Olympics, Curry hit the greatest shot I’ve ever witnessed. With 37 seconds left on the clock, Curry put up an absurd stepback fading three-pointer while double-teamed to extend the lead to nine which all but ended the contest. This tournament was my most enjoyable watch of the Olympics and I will remember it for a long time.
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