The athletics program at the 2024 Paris Olympics was anything but boring. After almost two weeks of triumphs, heartbreaks, upsets, and emotions, we’ve compiled our top ten performances from the running events at the 2024 Olympic Games.
#10: Letsile Tebogo – Botswana – 200m
Noah Lyles‘s journey to become the first to win the sprint double since Usain Bolt was not meant to be after placing third in the final of the men’s 200m at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Lyles’s sprint double was denied by Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, who ran a personal best time of 19.46.
Tebogo’s time, while also a personal best, set a new African record as he blazed by his competitors to gold.
#9: Gabby Thomas – USA – 200m
Three years ago, at the Tokyo Summer Games, Gabby Thomas had to settle for bronze in the women’s 200-meter final.
But last Tuesday night at Stade de France, in front of a crowd of about 80,000, the 27-year-old American sprinted out quickly, broke away early, and secured her first gold medal.
This time, there was no settling for less.
After crossing the finish line with a time of 21.83, Thomas clutched her head in relief and joy. The American fan favorite then spread her arms, draped in the Star and Stripes, to celebrate her victory.
#8: Tamirat Tola – Ethiopia – Marathon
Just a few weeks ago, the 2024 Paris Olympic Games marathon winner, Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia, wasn’t even expected to race the Olympic marathon.
But he got the call when fellow countryman Sisay Lemma had to drop out with a hamstring injury in late July. Clearly, he’d been training and was ready, crushing the hills and setting an Olympic record in the process.
Tola set an Olympic marathon record, storming to a solo victory in 2:06:26, 21 seconds ahead of Bashir Abdi of Belgium, who took silver (2:06:47), and 34 seconds clear of perhaps the pre-race favorite Benson Kipruto of Kenya, who got bronze in 2:07:00.
#7: Noah Lyles – USA – 100m
Noah Lyles may talk the talk, but he can also walk the walk.
The 27-year-old American superstar claimed the gold medal and the title of the fastest man in the world after winning the men’s 100m by the thinnest of margins.
After the sprinters were made to wait ages on the startline before taking to the blocks, a winner could be found only by a photo finish. Lyles, running a 9.79 (.784), pipped Thompson at the line by 0.005 of a second in the marquee sprint event, with his official time being 9.79 (.789).
Lyles then competed in the 200m final, winning a bronze medal despite a positive COVID-19 test two days prior.
#6: Beatrice Chebet – Kenya – 10,000m
Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet achieved double gold by winning the 5,000m and the 10,000m at the Paris 2024 Games.
Just four days after her 5,000m triumph, Chebet, making her Olympic debut, claimed victory in the women’s 10,000m with a time of 30:43.25 at the Stade de France.
This accomplishment makes Chebet the first Kenyan woman to win Olympic gold in the 10,000m and only the third woman, after Tirunesh Dibaba and Sifan Hassan, to secure the 5,000m and 10,000m double at the Olympic Games.
At 24, she also became the first athlete to win both the 5,000m and 10,000m Olympic titles, as well as the world cross country title and the 10,000m world record.
#5: Julien Alfred – Saint Lucia – 100m Final
Julien Alfred from Saint Lucia has claimed the title of the fastest woman in the world, taking a surprising victory over Sha’Carri Richardson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
Alfred stunned the world by securing gold in the women’s 100m final at the Paris Olympics, running in rainy conditions at Stade de France.
She set a national record with her time of 10.72 seconds.
Sha’Carri Richardson finished second with a time of 10.87 seconds, while Melissa Jefferson earned bronze with 10.92 seconds.
#4: Sydney McGlaughlin-Levrone – USA – 400mH
McLaughlin-Levrone entered Paris as the defending Olympic champion in the women’s 400-meter hurdles. Her absence last year allowed Bol to seize the World Championship gold.
Earlier this summer, McLaughlin-Levrone broke the 400 hurdles world record for the fifth time since June 2021. In June, her Dutch rival became the only other woman in history to run the 400 hurdles in under 51 seconds.
Thursday’s showdown, 748 days after the world’s top two hurdlers last faced each other, carried extra significance—not just because Olympic gold was at stake. When the race began, McLaughlin-Levrone burst out of the blocks, caught Bol by the far turn, and then sprinted the final 100 meters solo, competing against herself.
As she crossed the finish line, the clock showed 50.37 seconds, .28 faster than anyone—herself included—had ever run this race.
#3: Femke Bol – Netherlands – 4x400m Relay
In a stunning upset, Femke Bol of the Netherlands won her team gold in the 4×400-meter mixed relay after a solo triumph. Entering the final turn in fourth place amidst heavy rain, a victory for the Netherlands seemed highly unlikely.
However, out of nowhere, Bol came around with an exceptional burst of speed and overtook the three competitors ahead of her, ultimately leading her team to gold. “I keep telling people it’s just two words: It’s ‘Femke Bol,‘” said Dutch leadoff man Eugene Omalla. She’s just special. She’s a once-in-a-lifetime talent.”
#2: Cole Hocker – USA – 1,500m
The race that was most talked about on the 2024 Paris Olympic Games track was the men’s 1,500m. The race set the stage for the biggest rivals in track, Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway and Josh Kerr of Great Britain, to go head-to-head for the first time in months on the biggest stage in athletics.
Ask anyone before the race. It was a battle for gold and silver between those two, but as we’ve said, it’s the Olympic Games, and anything can happen. American Cole Hocker proved just that in the most commanding way…winning the men’s 1,500m in Olympic record time.
Hocker timed his sprint perfectly and, defending the inside line after sitting in the entire race, was able to nip Kerr on the line, stopping the clock at 3:27.65, setting an Olympic record in a massive upset.
#1: Sifan Hassan – Netherlands – Marathon
At these Olympic Games, Hassan earned bronze in both the 5,000m and 10,000m and then later went on to claim gold in the marathon, making her the only woman to win Olympic gold in these events.
Her performance in the marathon, especially considering the fatigue in her legs from the 5,000m and the 10,000m earlier in the week, will go down in history as being one of the most thrilling we’ve ever seen.
In the final 150m, it came down to a battle between Hassan and Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa. Coming around one of the final corners, Assefa and Hassan caught elbows, both almost losing balance. However, it was Hassan who used her speed from her track background to get the edge over Assefa, setting a new Olympic record in the process of 2:22:55.
