By Ansley Carollo and Addison Soder
This year, the United States was one of over two hundred nations competing in the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, and was wildly successful. With a medal count of 125 (40 gold, 43 silver, and 42 bronze) the USA had the most medals won total. Athletes including Katie Ledecky, Simone Biles, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, A’ja Wilson, Sha'Carri Richardson, and Noah Lyles all did fantastically, while representing our country.
One of the eccentric duos that competed at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games was Kassidy Cook and Sarah Bacon- dubbed as Cook N’ Bacon, competing in the synchronized springboard events. In order to place, they had to perform 5 dives, of which they did almost flawlessly. They took home silver in the 3 meter- both of their first Olympic Medals, with their total score of 314.64, putting the United States on the podium in this event for the first time since 2012. According to a NBC article “Synchronized divers Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook serve up first U.S. medals”, their friendship definitely helped with their second place win, “...familiarity and friendship were key ingredients for their winning recipe, according to the divers, who have been friends since they were children and diving as a pair since 2019.” This just goes to show that friendship can go a long way in synchronized diving.
Since 1896, swimming has been an important part of the Olympic games. The United States had an especially good swimming competition, winning 28 swimming medals in total. In the 400 meter IM event, 18 year-old Katie Grimes went head to head with Canadian swimmer, 17 year-old Summer McIntosh along with 6 other swimmers. In a heated final 50 meters, Mcintosh managed to pull ahead of Grimes, managing to get a final time of 4.27.71 minutes, approximately 5.67 seconds ahead of Grimes. Grimes came in second, with a time of 4.33.40 minutes and winning her first ever olympic medal. Many male swimmers also did well, including Bobby Finke and Cealeb Dressel. These athletes both won gold and silver medals. Dressel won 2 gold and 1 silver, while Finke won 1 gold and 2 silver. Relay team consisting of swimmers Jack Alexy, Chris Guiliano, Hunter Armstrong and Caeleb Dressel won gold with a final time of 3:09.28. Overall, the United States had a fantastic swimming year and hopes to do the same next Olympics.
Artistic swimming, or synchronized swimming is a sport that combines water acrobatics with music. Swimmers use hand motions, facial expressions, and leg movements to create a routine. Olympic team competition consists of 3 different routines, the free, technical, and artistic. The United States team did exceptionally well, coming in 2nd and winning silver medals. This was the U.S.As first artistic swimming medal in 20 years. The Paris Olympic Website says that, “They had a team member faint and almost drown in the pool, missed qualification to Paris 2024 by less than a point at the 2023 Pan American Games, took a chance on a 44-year-old male swimmer to help them get those quotas, and ultimately qualified a team to the Olympics for the first time since 2008.” The team took these complications head on and ultimately outdid themselves and put their best foot forward.

Both the women and men got gold medals for basketball this year. In the final game for the men’s team, they won by 11 against France. Stephen Curry was the lead scorer (with a game average of 14.8 points); LeBron James led with the most rebounds (6.8 per game); and the leader of assists was also LeBron with 8.5 assists per game. On the women’s side, there was a last minute change before heading to the Olympic Games this year; originally, Cameron Brink (a rookie to the WNBA) was on the roster to play, but she got severely injured- leading to a need for surgery, and had to step down. In her place, Dearica Hamby played as forward. At the championship game against France, they won 67-66, and the ending was dramatic. With seconds left at the end of the game, the United States were up by three, and France had the ball. On a fast break, Gabby Williams (number 15 for France) shot the ball at the three point line. As it went in, everyone was convinced that it would lead to overtime. Over review, it was shown that the shot that could have tied the game, was only a two point shot by a toe on the line, leading to another American victory.
For years, the track and field events have been one of the major spectacles during the Olympics, and this year was no exception. The United States of America won a grand total of 34 medals, followed by Kenya with 11 medals. Gabby Thomas, who won 3 gold medals and competed in both the 4x400 and 4x100 meter relays. Noah Lyles, another track star, won the 100 meter race. In a photo finish, he edged past the Jamaican Kishane Thomson to win the gold and run a lifetime-best. In the field portion of these events, Sam Kendricks, a pole vaulter for the US, sailed into second place. He cleared a height of 5.95 meters, a height that was 0.30 meters below gold medal winner, Armand Duplantis of Sweden. Track and Field athletes are some of the most decorated in the Olympics and the sports themselves are wildly popular. This group of events has and continues to be an important and foundational part of the Olympics.
Water polo is one of the fastest growing sports in America. According to Carolina Water Polo, water polo combines the strength of wrestling with soccer and basketball, all while in the water. Their article “What is Water Polo” says, “Among the oldest Olympic team sports for men and the newest for women, Olympic water polo players are said to be the best-conditioned athletes on the planet.” The water polo pools are about 6.5 feet deep, so as athletes work to stay above water, they also have to play the game! This games is so difficult, that usually, there are only 11-12 goals per game. During the men's bronze medal game- USA vs. Hungary, the United States won 11 to 8. Sadly, the women's team was not as successful. While they did make it to the bronze game, they lost 11 to 10 to the Netherlands. The popularity of water polo is continually growing, and is expected to continue being more liked and appreciated.

Gymnastics, especially at the professional level, is one of the most difficult and taxing sports there is. The amount of flexibility and mental clarity involved is nearly unmatched, which is why great gymnasts are so amazing. This year, athlete Simone Biles won gold medals in both the team and individual all around events, as well as in the vault finals. Mens gymnasts also did well, winning a podium spot in the men's team all-around for the first time in 16 years. The joy that crossed these athletes' faces and the pride that laced this bronze made winning that medal much better. Overall, the United States gymnasts won a total of 9 olympic medals.
France added break dancing this year in an attempt to attract a younger audience. The popularity of professional breakdancing has been inconsistent, with its peak years of interest starting in 2010 and ending in 2013. Once it was announced as an olympic sport, people began to talk about the sport again and get interested. Scoring in this sport is actually more complicated than most people realize. Each athlete will go through a series of throw downs that can last no longer than 60 seconds in front of a panel of judges. The criteria in which the judges give scores is comprised of creativity, personality, technique, variety, performativity, and muscularity. The United States women breakdancers (Sunny Choi and Logan Edra) did not qualify for the finals, but brought more attention to the sport. The only medal won in this sport by the USA was by Victor Montalvo, the other competitor from the men's side was Jeffery Louis, and he did not place. While the United States did not shine as much in this sport, they managed to bring more popularity and attention to it.
The sport of volleyball is played on many different levels of profession. From middle schools to olympic stadiums, spectators love watching volleyball games. Duo Kelly Cheng and Sara Huges competed in beach volleyball. They played hard and did very well, but in a heated game, the United States lost to Switzerland in the quarter finals. Their fellow U.S. team was knocked out of the competition too. The men's team, Andy Benesh and Miles Partain, also were disqualified in the quarterfinals, losing to the team from Qatar. Likewise, the second U.S. men's team was eliminated from the competition in a game against Norway. Although beach volleyball wasn’t very successful for the United States, indoor volleyball athletes reached the medal podium twice. The indoor women's team won silver, extending their medal streak, and the men's team won bronze. Even though beach volleyball wasn't as successful, both men and women won medals in the sport of volleyball.
Overall, the United States had a very successful olympic games. Athletes competed spectacularly, representing our country and its strength. The U.S. had the highest medal count, soaring way above the other countries. This adds to the United States overall medal count in the Olympics, a grand total of 2,764 medals. Our country has had the highest number of medals for 19 out of 30 Summer Olympics, due to the amazing athletes who call the United states their home.
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