6 August 2024

Paris 2024 Olympic Games moments that stole the headlines

This week Showmax takes a look at 14 of the most talkable and memorable moments at the glitzy games.

1. Opening ceremony

Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games on Showmax
PARIS, FRANCE – JULY 26: A performer dances during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on July 26, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Organisers for the Paris Olympics were forced to apologise for the performance against the backdrop of the River Seine that some saw as a spoof of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” painting.

Comprised of drag queens, a transgender model and a singer made up as the Greek god of wine, it provoked outrage among Catholics, Christians and Muslims around the world.

2. Boxing gender row – Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting

Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games on Showmax
PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 03: Imane Khelif of Team Algeria celebrates victory against Anna Luca Hamori of Team Hungary after the Women’s 66kg Quarter-final round match on day eight of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at North Paris Arena on August 03, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

Boxing at Paris 2024 has been overshadowed by a row about the eligibility of two fighters in the women’s competition.

Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting are guaranteed at least bronze medals. But last year they were disqualified from the World Championships.

Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games on Showmax
PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 02: Yu Ting Lin of Team Chinese Taipei looks on after winning the Women’s 57kg preliminary round match against Sitora Turdibekova of Team Uzbekistan on day seven of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at North Paris Arena on August 02, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

The body that oversaw that 2023 event is the International Boxing Association (IBA) and it says both fighters failed gender eligibility tests. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has cast doubt on the reliability of the tests and suggested what is happening is a “sometimes politically motivated cultural war”.

In June 2023, the IOC stripped the IBA of its status as the sport’s world governing body over concerns over how it was run.

3. French swimmer Leon Marchand wins four gold medals

Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games on Showmax
NANTERRE, FRANCE – AUGUST 02: Leon Marchand of Team France celebrates after winning gold in the Men’s 200m Individual Medley Final on day seven of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Paris La Defense Arena on August 02, 2024 in Nanterre, France. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

The Paris pool will long be remembered as the launch pad for Leon Marchand. The “French Michael Phelps” lived up to his nickname with four golds, going to places that not even the American great had.

No swimmer had ever won the 200m butterfly and breaststroke at a Games — or perhaps even contemplated it.

Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games on Showmax
NANTERRE, FRANCE – AUGUST 02: Leon Marchand of Team France celebrates after winning gold in the Men’s 200m Individual Medley Final on day seven of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Paris La Defense Arena on August 02, 2024 in Nanterre, France. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

Yet 22-year-old Marchand won both within two heady hours to send French fans into delirium.

He also won the 200m and 400m medley golds in a France first.

Not even the great Ian Thorpe generated such a buzz at Sydney 2000.

4. USA’s Noah Lyles wins arguably the greatest race ever

Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games on Showmax
PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 04: Noah Lyles of Team United States celebrates winning the Gold medal during the Men’s 100m Finalduring the Men’s 100m Final on day nine of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on August 04, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

As Noah Lyles celebrated wildly, his first Olympic triumph confirmed, others were left stunned after witnessing one of the most remarkable Olympic 100m showdowns of all time.

American Lyles had taken victory by five-thousands of a second from Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson in a dramatic photo finish, winning in 9.79 seconds.

PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 4: Noah Lyles of Team United States crosses the finish line during the Men’s 100m Final on day nine of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on August 04, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Rodolfo Buhrer/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)

All eight men finished within 0.12secs of the gold medal, with last-placed Jamaican Oblique Seville crossing the line in 9.91 – a time good enough for fourth at the Tokyo Games.

And it meant, for the first time, that eight men had run under 10 seconds in a wind-legal race – making it the fastest race of all time.

Four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson said it was “absolutely” the best 100m final he has ever seen “bar none”.

5. Simone Biles shines

Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games on Showmax
PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 01: (EDITOR’S NOTE: Alternate crop) Gold medalist Simone Biles of Team United States poses with the Olympic Rings and a goat charm on her necklace during the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s All-Around Final medal ceremony on day six of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Bercy Arena on August 01, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Biles, who won bronzes on beam in Rio and Tokyo, has already led the US to gold in the team final and won gold in the all-around and vault finals in Paris, bringing her gold medal count to seven and her overall total to 10.

However, she lost out on another medal in the balance beam final, falling off during her aerial series and finishing fifth.

Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games on Showmax
PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 03: Simone Biles of Team United States celebrates after finishing her routine during the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Vault Final on day eight of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Bercy Arena on August 03, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)

Three years after she pulled out of most of her events at the Tokyo Olympics to address her mental health, Biles has bounced back to become only the third woman to become a two-time all-around champion.

She joined Larisa Latynina of the Soviet Union in 1956 and 1960 and Vera Caslavska of Czechoslovakia in 1964 and 1968.

6. The internet crowns South Korea’s Yeji Kim the coolest Olympian

Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games on Showmax
CHATEAUROUX, FRANCE – JULY 28: Kim Yeji of Team Republic of Korea shoots during the Women’s 10m Air Pistol Final on day two of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Chateauroux Shooting Centre on July 28, 2024 in Chateauroux, France. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

While shooting may be one of the lesser-known Olympic sports, South Korea’s Yeji Kim has singlehandedly boosted the sport overnight after a video of her shooting on X has gone viral.

Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games on Showmax
CHATEAUROUX, FRANCE – JULY 28: Kim Yeji of Team Republic of Korea prepares to shoot during the Women’s 10m Air Pistol Final on day two of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Chateauroux Shooting Centre on July 28, 2024 in Chateauroux, France. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

The markswoman exuded serious main character energy, fit for a Hollywood blockbuster. The Olympian won silver in the women’s 10m air pistol category and couldn’t have looked any cooler doing so. Just look at the hand in the pocket.

7. Nada Havez competes while seven months pregnant

Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games on Showmax
PARIS, FRANCE – JULY 29: Nada Hafez of Team Egypt shows emotion after her victory against Elizabeth Tartakovsky of Team United States (not pictured) in the Fencing Women’s Sabre Individual Table of 32 on day three of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Grand Palais on July 29, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

If there’s one thing the Paris Summer Olympic Games has showcased so far, it’s that women are unstoppable. Nada Havez, a 26-year-old Egyptian fencer, competed in this year’s Games while seven months pregnant. The athlete won her first game but was eventually knocked out in the final 16 and announced her happy news on Instagram.

8. French pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati loses out on Olympic medal because of his penis

Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games on Showmax
PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 3: Anthony Ammirati of Team France competes during the Men’s Pole Vault Qualification on day eight of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on August 3, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Kevin Voigt/GettyImages)

The Olympian from France was aiming to qualify for the final of the pole vault event. A gold medalist at the World Athletics U20 Championships in 2022, Ammirati had a chance to clinch a qualifying spot for the finals, but he was unable to successfully get over the bar on an attempt for 5.70 meters.

That’s not the story. There are plenty of Olympians who came up just short of advancing in the pole vault event. It’s the way in which Ammirati did not qualify that’s the takeaway. It’s something that you quite literally have to see in order to believe.

On Saturday, Ammirati was able to get over the bar in the 5.40-meter and 5.60-meter attempts. He needed to land the 5.70-meter attempt to keep the hopes of participating in the finals alive. While a majority of the Frenchman’s body got beyond the bar, there was one part of him that did not — his penis.

That’s right — Ammirati missed out on a medal chance because his penis struck the bar. No part of an athlete can strike the bar in order for it to be a successful attempt.

9. Yusuf Dikec – The John Wick of the Olympics

Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games on Showmax
CHATEAUROUX, FRANCE – JULY 30: Turkey’s Yusuf Dikec competes in the shooting 10m air pistol mixed team gold medal match on day four of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Chateauroux Shooting Centre on July 30, 2024 in Chateauroux, France. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

Yusuf Dikec has rocketed to global fame following his shooting performance at the Paris Olympics. Representing Turkey in the 10m air pistol mixed team, Dikec appeared without any specialist lenses or ear defenders. Dressed in “dad core” attire, he gave off the air of a man who had just popped out to pick out some milk.

He ended up winning a silver medal, albeit with one hand nonchalantly placed in his pocket throughout, leading some to jokingly question whether he was an actual assassin.

10. Clark Kent wins the nerd Olympics for America

Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games on Showmax
PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 03: Bronze medalist Stephen Nedoroscik of Team United States celebrates after the Artistic Gymnastics Men’s Pommel Horse Final on day eight of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Bercy Arena on August 03, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

US pommel horse specialist Stephen Nedoroscik helped his team clinch bronze in the men’s gymnastics – its first medal in 16 years. But what really got the 25-year-old noticed was his wait to perform. During nearly three hours on the sidelines, Nedoroscik often sat motionless, eyes closed behind his thick glasses (which he wears because he’s cross eyed), only to eventually spring into action, whipping off his glasses, and deliver a history-making performance.

11. After 24 Grand Slams, the Djoker wins his very first Olympic gold medal

Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games on Showmax
PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 04: Novak Djokovic of Team Serbia celebrates match point during the Men’s Singles Gold medal match against Carlos Alcaraz of Team Spain on day nine of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Roland Garros on August 04, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

A few short weeks after falling to Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s singles final at Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic thoroughly turned the tables, beating the 21-year-old Spaniard in straight sets (7-6, 7-6) at the Paris Olympics. In a match that came down to tiebreakers in both sets – and attracted an audience including Billie Jean King, Serena Williams and Sharon Stone – each player was competing at his highest level, with Djokovic falling to his hands and knees in tears after match point and winning gold.

12. Katie Ledecky ties the record for most wins by an American woman in Olympics history

Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games on Showmax
NANTERRE, FRANCE – AUGUST 03: Gold Medalist Katie Ledecky of Team United States poses on the podium during the Swimming medal ceremony after the Women’s 800m Freestyle Final on day eight of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Paris La Defense Arena on August 03, 2024 in Nanterre, France. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

With her jaw-dropping result in the women’s 1 500-metre freestyle – her 15:30.02 finish set a new Olympic record – Ledecky won her eighth career Olympic gold medal, tying a record set by fellow swimmer Jenny Thomson 20 years ago. No American woman has won more golds in any sport.

13. Canada’s women’s football team is accused of espionage

Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games on Showmax
MARSEILLE, FRANCE – AUGUST 3: Jessie Fleming of Canada reacts during the Women’s Quarterfinal match between Canada and Germany during the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de Marseille on August 3, 2024 in Marseille, France. (Photo by Marcio Machado/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)

Days after the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) suspended Bev Priestman, head coach of Canada’s women’s football team, for the remainder of the Games, the team was penalised with a six-point deduction from its group stage total – all but assuring that Canada will not remain in contention for a medal.

Why? Because on 22 July, it was discovered that a Canadian man with ties to the team “had effectively filmed the closed-door training of the New Zealand women’s team, with the help of a drone”.

14. An Italian high jumper loses his wedding band in the Seine

Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games on Showmax
ROME, ITALY – JUNE 11: Gianmarco Tamberi of Team Italy celebrates winning the Gold medal with Wife Chiara Bontempi in the Men’s High Jump Final on day five of the 26th European Athletics Championships – Rome 2024 at Stadio Olimpico on June 11, 2024 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Gianmarco Tamberi, a flag bearer for Team Italy, took to Instagram on 27 July with a confession – and an apology – to his wife: the night before, he had watched his wedding ring bounce into the Seine during the opening ceremony.

“I’m sorry, my love, I’m so sorry,” the high jumper wrote in a caption in Italian. “I felt it slip away, I saw it fly… I followed it with my gaze until I saw it bounce inside the boat. A tinkle of hope… But unfortunately, the bounce was in the wrong direction.”

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