With another two gold medals, Jessica Fox became the first Australian athlete to win six individual Olympic medals.
Her C1 win was not a great surprise, but the 30-year-old’s Paris gold for the K1 didn’t come easy.
Fox had missed out on gold in the kayak event during her first three Olympic finals, and she only qualified for the final this year with the eighth-fastest time.
Her younger sister, Noémie, made a successful Olympic debut this year, winning gold in the women’s kayak cross.
The sporty sisters are far from the first Olympians in their family. Their parents were Olympic canoeists, their father competing for Britain and their mother for France.
@jessfoxcanoe Waking up & it wasn’t just a dream 🤯 #olympics #paris2024 #canoeslalom ♬ original sound – Jessica Fox
Djokovic completes career Golden Slam
By beating Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s singles final, Novak Djokovic became the fifth tennis player to score the elusive ‘Golden Slam’; all four grand slam titles and an Olympic gold medal in singles.
“Everything I felt in that moment when I won surpassed everything I thought or hoped that it would,” Djokovic said in the aftermath.
“Being on that court with the Serbian flag raising, singing the Serbian anthem, with the gold around my neck, I think nothing can beat that in terms of professional sport.
“It definitely stands out as the biggest sporting achievement I have had.”
Best Olympic Moment #1: Djokovic!
Serbian son Novak Djokovic perfects a lifetime of tennis records with Olympic gold medal win
10 x Australian Open 🇦🇺
3 x Roland-Garros 🇫🇷
7 x Wimbledon 🇬🇧
4 x US Open 🇺🇸
7 x ATP Finals 🏆
8 x year-end No.1s 🤝
2 x Career Golden Masters✌️
1 x… pic.twitter.com/9ynhGnYjCu— David Knight Legg (@KnightLegg) August 5, 2024
Historic gymnastics podium
The women’s floor exercise final finished on a dramatic note, with American Jordan Chiles’ last-minute score appeal snagging the bronze medal from Romanian Ana Barbosu.
Days later, the Court of Arbitration for Sport voided Chiles’ appeal, reasoning it came four seconds beyond the one-minute time limit for scoring inquiries.
Chiles has been asked to return the bronze medal, with Barbosu rising to take third place.
Sandwiched between these ups and downs was a historic moment of sportsmanship.
Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade won gold for the event, and her American opponents Simone Biles (who won silver) and Chiles won hearts with their sweet show of respect.
On the first all-Black gymnastic podium, they spontaneously bowed to Andrade.
@herefornothingonmyown All Black Podium. Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles bow to Rebeca Andrade. They gave Rebeca her flowers #simonebiles #jordanchiles #olympicsgymnastics #simonebilesbow #rebecaandrade #paris2024 ♬ original sound – 🫠HereForNothing🫠
Simone Biles makes triumphant return
After withdrawing from Tokyo 2020 due to serious mental health concerns – and copping flak for the decision – Biles used the Paris Olympics to confirm her position as one of the greatest gymnasts of all time.
The 27-year-old led the American women’s team to victory at the outset of the artistic gymnastics event, before capturing herself a gold for all-around and vault, as well as a silver for floor exercise.
The new hardware added to her collection helped Biles become the most decorated American gymnast in history.
“I’ve accomplished way more than in my wildest dreams,” Biles said.
“Not just at this Olympics, but in the sport.”
Simone Biles collected three gymnastic golds in Paris. Photo: AAP
US gymnastics’ secret weapon: Pommel Horse Guy
Images of American gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik flooded the internet as social media users became enamoured with his Clark Kent-style switch from resting on the sidelines with his eyes closed, to whipping off his glasses and nailing his pommel horse routine during the men’ gymnastics team events.
Although gymnasts are usually expected to compete in several events, the 25-year-old has specialised in the pommel horse discipline for a decade.
He was credited as the main reason America’s men’s gymnastics team broke its 16-year Olympic medal drought with a bronze.
This is Pommel Horse specialist Stephen Nedoroscik. He didn’t move from his spot for two hours while he simply waited for his one special moment.
He mentioned that he is cross-eyed and that he can inexplicably switch his dominant eye. Before his routine, Nedoroscik removed his… pic.twitter.com/AP9pnStCHa
— Sarah Fields (@SarahisCensored) July 31, 2024
Boxer wins Refugee Team’s first Olympic medal
Cindy Ngamba, 25, won bronze in the 75-kilogram women’s division, but the result was as good as gold as it marked the first win by an athlete competing under the flag of the International Olympic Committee Refugee Olympic Team.
Ngamba originally hails from Cameroon, but has been living in the UK since age 11.
At 18 years old, she came out as lesbian, meaning that she could be sent to prison if she were ever sent back to Cameroon, where homosexuality is illegal.
Although she has been granted asylum in the UK, her repeated citizenship applications have been rejected, despite support from GB Boxing.
Ngamba’s medal win has been lauded as a symbol of hope for refugees, but she continues to aim higher.
“I hope I can change the medal in my next fight,” she said.
“It means the world to me.”
History 🙌
Cindy Ngamba becomes the first Refugee Team athlete to win an Olympic medal.
Bronze in the women’s middleweight boxing 🥉#BBCOlympics #Paris2024 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/GpZHEheGYd
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 8, 2024
‘Table Tennis Grandma’ makes Olympic debut
Zeng Zhiying, 58, made her Olympic debut representing Chile in table tennis.
This came almost four decades after she missed out on being selected to represent China in Los Angeles in 1984.
Zeng said she rekindled her passion and talent for the sport during Chile’s Covid lockdown by playing at home, later entering local tournaments when restrictions lifted.
By 2023, she was Chile’s highest-ranked women’s player.
Ahead of the Olympics, Zeng trained for three hours a day, five days a week in Portugal.
Although she lost in the preliminary round to 46-year-old Lebanese player Mariana Sahakian, Zeng plans to remain active in the sport.
“But I don’t feel very sad, because this is sport,” she said after her loss.
“My husband, my sons, everyone I love and care about were there shouting my name. I feel so content.”
Ela nasceu na China com o nome de Zhiying Zeng, mas virou a tia Tania no Chile, onde chegou nos anos 80 pra treinar crianças no tênis de mesa.
Depois, virou comerciante. Ficou anos sem jogar, mas voltou durante a pandemia.
Aos 58 anos, acaba de fazer sua estreia olímpica. pic.twitter.com/AUhQNkLDw0
— Copa Além da Copa (@copaalemdacopa) July 30, 2024
South Sudan makes US sweat
The American basketball team, consisting of the NBA biggest stars, was widely expected to trounce South Sudan during an Olympic warm-up game.
But the latter made the 2024 Dream Team work hard for the 101-100 win.
Although the South Sudanese team did not end up taking a medal home from their Olympic debut after failing to reach the quarter-finals, they put themselves – and their 13-year-old country – on the map.
So proud of the South Sudan basketball team! They can hold their heads up high! They’ve won the hearts of many people in these Olympics. Bright future ahead for the bright stars. South Sudan Oyee!! 🇸🇸 pic.twitter.com/RwgJVu1PvM
— JJ Bola (@JJ_Bola) August 3, 2024
Tensions defused through power of song
After opposing players from the Brazilian and Canadian teams had a war of words during the women’s volleyball final, the event’s DJ decided to spread a message of peace by playing John Lennon’s Imagine.
The song immediately brought smiles to players’ faces and prompted the crowd to sing along.
The match progressed, with Brazil ultimately defeating the Canadian team.
Canadian and Brazilian players are having a heated chat at the net during the women’s beach volleyball gold medal match
– DJ plays John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’
– Players look at one another and smile
– Crowd starts singing alongIssue resolved pic.twitter.com/82mvCDTqVs
— Rupesh N. Bhambwani (@RBhambwani) August 10, 2024
Whale makes a splash
Gatecrashers aren’t typically welcomed at the Olympics, but a humpback whale proved to be an exception during a surfing event in Tahiti.
The whale kept its distance from surfers, but one judge still awarded it “a perfect 10”.
Its presence was not a complete surprise, given humpback whales typically migrate through the warm waters around French Polynesia between July and November to breed.
How incredible 🐳🐋🩵 a whale at the women’s surfing semi final just now 🩵🩵 and go @tatiwest 💚🇧🇷💚 pic.twitter.com/hRebU19VFc
— Fernando Augusto Pacheco (@feap) August 5, 2024
Olympic Muffin Man
Food served at the Olympic village was plagued by reports of poor quality and, in some cases, shortages, but decadent chocolate muffins seemed to receive the thumbs up from athletes.
The devotion of Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen to the sweet treats in particular saw him dubbed the Olympic Muffin Man.
After his first taste of the “insane” muffins, which feature thick chocolate chunks and a melted filling, Christiansen gave them an 11 out of 10 score.
His online persona soon became dominated by his love for the muffins, with the three-time Olympian appearing to shovel down multiple muffins a day.
Although he failed to medal in either of his swimming events, he will leave Paris as a social media star.
@henrikchristians1 We have chocolate muffin before GTA 6 #fyp #olympics #paris2024 #olympictiktok #olympicvillage #muffins #gta #gta6 ♬ GTA San Andreas Theme (Remake) – Ben Morfitt (SquidPhysics)
Swimming in the Seine
Over the centuries, humans have dumped everything from bodies to motorcycles into the Seine, and the health risks became so severe that swimming in the Seine has been banned since 1923.
Although the river was given the all clear just before the Olympics, a downpour during the opening ceremony led to more uncertainty about water quality.
The swimming legs of the triathlon went ahead as scheduled after assurances the water met safety standards, leading to a historic moment for both sport and Paris.
Multiple athletes fell ill after competing in the Seine, although Olympic officials have not admitted the river water was to blame.
On l’a fait ! Ce matin à 8h, s’élançait la 1ère épreuve olympique dans la Seine avec le triathlon féminin 🏊♀️🚴♀️🏃♀️La concrétisation d’années de travail pour rendre cela possible. Un immense bravo aux équipes mobilisées. Tellement fiers 🥹 Et la🥇de @CassandreBeaugr 🇫🇷 ! pic.twitter.com/JeQjZmYNrP
— Propreté de Paris (@Proprete_Paris) July 31, 2024
