20 memorable U.S. moments from the 2024 Paris Olympics

The Americans got the medal ball rolling in the pool. Of course, when it comes to U.S. swimming, the conversation begins and ends with 27-year-old Katie Ledecky. The American legend took home four more medals from Paris, including two gold. One as the first four-time winner of the 800 meters and again in the 1,500. Those two pushed Ledecky’s gold medal total to nine, the most of any female U.S. swimmer at the Olympics. Her 14 total Olympic medals make her the most decorated American female athlete in the history of the Games. 

While Ledecky drew her just attention, American teammate Torri Huske might have been the true star among U.S. swimmers — men or women — at the Paris Olympics. The 21-year-old Huske, a standout swimmer at Stanford who won silver at the 2020 Tokyo Games as the member of the 4×100 meter medley, totaled five medals in Paris . Including three golds, highlighted by a stunning swim to win the 100 butterfly ahead of teammate Gretchen Walsh. 

After failing to medal in 2016 and 2020, the U.S. women’s rugby sevens team finally earned some hardware in Paris. In a sport that received some due attention to American audiences in the early days of these Games, the American squad became quite popular. Led by the stalwarts Alex Sedrick and Ilona Maher, the U.S. rallied for a comeback 14-12 victory over Australia in the bronze-medal contest for the country’s first medal in the sport.

Arguably, the biggest individual success story of these Olympics from a U.S. standpoint is that of celebrated gymnast Simone Biles. Out of the shadows of  her issues from the Tokyo Games three years ago, Biles was masterful while winning gold in the all-around competition, vault, and with her American pals in the team final competition. Biles raised her medal total to 14 and is the most decorated Olympic gymnast in U.S history. All while showing the competitive spirit and drive that makes her one of the most popular athletes on the planet.

It certainly turned out to be a bittersweet Olympics for U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles, who won gold as part of the women’s team and was awarded a bronze in the floor exercise after an appeal. However, Romanian officials challenged that latter decision, and it turned out the U.S. appeal came after the allotted time to do so. In the end, the Chiles is being forced to return her bronze medal, which will be awarded to Romania’s Ana Barbosu. That process has been emotionally devastating for Chiles, who has turned off social media to focus on her mental health in the wake of this controversy. 

Perhaps the most pleasantly surprising moment of the Paris Games for the U.S. was the performance of the American men’s gymnastics team. Paced by bespectacled Stephen Nedoroscik’s bronze-medal performance on the pommel horse, the Americans won bronze for the country’s first men’s team gymnastic medal since 2008. It was a welcomed moment for the U.S. men and a potential sign that even better days ahead for the program.

Two-time Olympic medalist from the 2016 Rio Games Laurie Hernandez made a name for herself all over again with her highly knowledgeable insight and witty, highly entertaining commentary as an NBC analyst of the Paris gymnastics coverage for the network.The 24-year-old, Gen Z Hernandez, who colorfully took viewers inside the minds of not only the U.S. gymnasts in Paris, but broke down techniques and performances in a way that easy for casual fans of the sport to understand. All that garnered her raves on social media as a breakout TV star of these Games.

The U.S. men’s water polo squad ended its Olympic medal drought after rallying for an 11-8 victory over rival Hungary in the bronze-medal match. It was the American men’s first water polo medal since 2008, when it lost to Hungary in the gold-medal match. It proved to be a satisfying finish for the Americans, who lost two of their first three matches in Paris but got back on track to make this needed medal run. 

The American women’s and men’s indoor volleyball teams each fell short of winning gold in Paris but did not go home empty-handed. A dominant performance by Italy kept the U.S. women from repeating as Olympic gold-medal winners; however, their silver marked the fifth consecutive Summer Games that the Americans have medaled. Meanwhile, the U.S. men bounced back after finishing 10th at Tokyo three years ago to win the bronze medal. This marked the first time since 2016 that both the U.S. men and women medaled at the same Olympics.

The U.S. track and field team enjoyed one of its best Olympic showings in recent memory, winning 34 medals and 14 gold. Those are the most golds won by an American track and field group in a non-boycotted Olympics since 1968. At the forefront was Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who broke her own world record to repeat as 400-meter hurdles Olympic champion. She also won a second straight gold as the key cog in the 4×400 meter relay squad’s victory.

It was quite an interesting Olympics for American star sprinter Noah Lyles. He earned the title of world’s fastest man by winning the 100 meters, in dramatic fashion ahead of Jamaica’s  Kishane Thompson, at Paris, but the bigger story came in the 200. After finishing third in the race to win bronze for the event at his second straight Olympics, it broke that Lyles had tested positive for COVID-19 a couple of days before the race. While one can question Lyles’ decision to run, or the fact that COVID concerns and ramifications were essentially non-existent in Paris, the effort was certainly noteworthy.

One of the biggest upsets on the track in Paris came via 23-year-old American Cole Hocker, who unexpectedly won the 1,500 meters. Not much of threat to medal coming into the race, Hocker was running fifth entering the bell lap, then made his kick and surged past the likes of reigning Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigsten and current world champion Josh Kerr to stun the rest of the field and take home gold for the United States. Even more impressive, Hocker’s winning time of 3:27.65 is an Olympic record.

Perhaps lost in the shuffle of what the Americans accomplished on the track, was another successful performance in the field portion of the program from celebrated shot-putter Ryan Crouser. For a third consecutive Olympics, the 31-year-old Crouser, who has overcome injuries in recent years, won gold in the event — the first American to do so. Not to be totally outdone by Crouser, was U.S. teammate Joe Kovacs, who took home silver in the shot put for a third straight Summer Games.

No Megan Rapinoe or Alex Morgan and with new coach Emma Hayes in charge, the U.S. women’s national soccer team certainly had something to prove in Paris, and exorcise its recent Olympic demons. And, with plenty of pressure to boot, the U.S. regained its spot at the top of the Olympic heap. With new stars Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman shining bright, the Americans won Olympic gold for the first time since 2012. They certainly had to work in Paris, and it was another newbie star in Mallory Swanson, who scored the lone goal in the U.S.’s gold-medal match victory over Brazil.

A 61st straight Olympic victory for the U.S. women’s basketball proved to be one for the ages, and nearly a massive upset was recorded by host France. The French gave Team USA’s star-studded lineup all it could handle in the gold-medal game, a back-and-forth affair that left American fans anxious after the squad was down 10 in the second half. However, 10 fourth-quarter points from Kahleah Copper, Breanna Stewart’s strong defense in the final moments and 21 points with 13 boards from A’ja Wilson was enough for the U.S. to win 67-66. Not before France’s Gabby Williams, a former UConn star, sank a last-second basket with her foot on the 3-point line. The American women have won eight straight Olympic basketball gold medals.

Often times Olympic coverage in the United States is scrutinized, especially when the Games are held in another country. However, NBC drew consistent praise for its coverage of the Paris Olympics. Notably, on its Peacock streaming service, and specifically through the “Gold Zone.” Similar to the concept of the NFL RedZone, which brings viewers on NFL Sunday’s live look-ins when teams threaten to score, “Gold Zone” provided 10 hours of daily, whip-around coverage of practically every sport. And, gave viewers a front-row seat when medals were on the line. It just might have been the biggest winner of these Games.