2024 Paris Olympic Review

This was an incredible Olympics. Maybe I’m biased—given the similar time zone and that this was the first Olympics I’ve attended since London—but it feels like the best Games since then. The incredible venues were second to none, and it was the vociferous support the athletes received that really elevated the experience. The stands were packed and the fans were loud, even before a French athlete stepped in. When a French competitor was involved, the atmosphere was unmatched.

In terms of the sporting competitors, it felt like the end of an era. A long list of stars have either discussed retirement or are at an age where retirement before Los Angeles seems likely. That list includes Adam Peaty, Andy Murray, Arlen Lopez, Aaron Szilagyi, Caleb Dressel, Chen Meng, Grace Brown, He Bingjao, Joshua Cheptegei, Julio Cesar La Cruz, Katie Harrington, Katie Ledecky, Kevin Durant, Lasha Talakhadze, LeBron James, Lee Kiefer, Li Fabin, Liu Yang, Mijain Lopez, Natsumi Tsunoda, Novak Djokovic, Panipak Wongpattanakit, PR Sreejesh, Rafael Nadal, Ryan Crouser, Sarah Sjöström, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Simone Biles, Stephen Curry, and Teddy Riner. Some of these—especially the Americans—may intend to compete in Los Angeles, but it does feel like this group is entering the twilight of their careers. Thankfully, we saw new stars emerge who will hopefully continue to build their legacies in Los Angeles.

The additions to sports largely went well. Kayak cross and speed climbing were both massive successes. Breaking was probably less successful, with Raygun going viral for a poor routine. Los Angeles will introduce several new sports. Cricket is being added to appeal to the Asian market, but its success will depend on how seriously players take it. Baseball and softball returning seems unnecessary. Flag football is intriguing, though I suspect it may struggle to establish itself. Squash feels like a sport that should thrive at the Olympics. Lacrosse also interests me, and we’ll see how it performs.

In terms of my predictions, I correctly identified 564 medalists (54.2%) and made 288 perfect predictions (27.7%). My strongest sport was weightlifting, followed by climbing, rowing, and diving. My weakest were tennis and shooting. On the medal table, I correctly predicted the top two and nearly nailed both gold medal tallies. I was optimistic about Great Britain and France in both total and gold medals. Japan exceeded my expectations in golds, while South Korea was my biggest miss in the top ten, winning nearly ten more golds than I predicted. I had predicted Kyrgyzstan and Turkey to win four golds each, but neither won any. To see individual breakdowns, follow the links. Artistic Gymnastics, Artistic Swimming, Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, BMX, Boxing, Breaking, Canoeing, Climbing, Diving, Equestrian, Fencing, Football, Golf, Handball, Hockey, Judo, Modern Pentathlon, Mountain Bike, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Road Cycling, Rowing, Rugby Sevens, Sailing, Shooting, Skateboarding, Swimming, Surfing, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis, Track Cycling, Trampoline, Triathlon, Volleyball, Water Polo, Weightlifting and Wrestling