Paris Olympic Games 2024

The 33rd Olympic Games were held in Paris between July 26 and August 11, 2024. The Paris Olympic Games were the biggest event ever organised in France. For the first time in the history of Olympic Summer Games, the opening ceremony of the games was held in the heart of the city along the Seine river. More than 10,000 athletes from about 205 countries sailed down the Seine river on boats despite the heavy rainfall during the ceremony. Paris turned its famous landmarks into sports stadiums, giving fans an exceptional experience and athletes stunning settings to showcase their talents. This creative transformation, combined with iconic Parisian architecture, made the games an unforgettable event. There were many stunning performances by the athletes who became heroes for their respective nations.

Paris Olympics 2024 had billions of television viewers worldwide with about 3,50,000 hours of television broadcast. There were also millions of spectators who watched the events live on 35 venues. The 329 events were covered by 20,000 accredited journalists from around the globe. In all, there were 32 sports in which 10,500 athletes participated. Paris 2024 recommended to add four dynamic sports to the Olympic program, targeting a younger demographic and celebrating creativity and physical prowess. The proposed sports approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) included breaking or break dancing (a new Olympic entry in 2024), sport climbing, skateboarding, and surfing (first appeared in Japan Olympics, 2000).

The games included archery, artistic gymnastics, artistic swimming, athletics, badminton, beach volleyball, boxing, breaking, canoe slalom, canoe sprint, cycling BMX freestyle, cycling BMX racing, cycling mountain bike, cycling road, cycling track, diving, fencing, football, golf, handball, hockey, judo, marathon swimming, modern pentathlon, rhythmic gymnastics, rowing, sailing, shooting, surfing, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, trampoline, triathlon, volleyball, water polo, weightlifting, and wrestling.

In order to reduce carbon emissions and consume less resources, Paris 2024 had built less venues, produced less equipment and used less single-use plastics for food and beverages. In order to leave a legacy for more responsible sport, it worked at all levels of the organisation to reduce its environmental and climate impact.

The closing ceremony was held at Stade de France on August 11, 2024. The 34th edition of the Olympic Games would be held at Los Angeles, US, in 2028.

Medals

More than 5,000 medals were produced by the French mint, Monnaie de Paris, and were designed by Chaumet, a luxury jewellery firm based in Paris. The medals featured embedded hexagon-shaped tokens of scrap iron that had been taken from the original construction of the Eiffel Tower, with the logo of the games engraved into it. The reverse of the medals had Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, inside the Panathenaic Stadium which hosted the first modern Olympics in 1896. Each medal weighted about 500g; the gold medals were made of 98.8 per cent silver and 1.13 per cent gold while the bronze medals were made up of copper, zinc, and tin.

Winners with Most Number of Medals

Chinese women swimmer, Zhang Yufei, with a tally of six medals (five bronze and one silver), was the highest medal winner of Paris Olympics 2024. French swimmer, Leon Marchand, with four gold and one bronze medal, emerged as the best medal winner in this edition of Olympics. American Swimmer, Torri Huske, won three gold and two silver medals with a tally of five Olympic medals. Australian swimmer, Mollie O’Callaghan, won five medals which included three gold, one silver, and one bronze. American gymnast, Simone Biles, won four medals with three gold and one silver.

The US, with a total of 126 medals (40 gold, 44 silver, and 42 bronze), topped the medals table of Paris Olympics 2024. China won 40 gold, 27 silver, and 24 bronze medals with a tally of 91 medals and stood second in the medals table. Japan with a tally of 45 medals (20 gold, 12 silver, 13 bronze), Australia with a tally of 53 medals (18 gold, 19 silver, 16 bronze), and France, the host country, with a tally of 64 medals (16 gold, 26 silver, 22 bronze), stood in the third, fourth and fifth positions, respectively.

India at Paris Olympics 2024

The Indian contingent for the Paris 2024 Olympics comprised 117 athletes. Shuttler P.V. Sindhu and table tennis star, Sharath Kamal, were the flag bearers for the ceremony. India had a stake in 69 medal events spanning 16 sports at the Paris 2024 Olympics, including archery, athletics, badminton, boxing, equestrian, golf, hockey, judo, rowing, sailing, shooting, swimming, table tennis, and tennis, showcasing the country’s diverse sporting interests and ambitions. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, India secured a total of six medals, consisting of one silver and five bronze. With this achievement, India ranked 71st in the overall medals tally, marking a notable presence in the global sporting event. Neeraj Chopra, Manu Bhaker, Sarabjot Singh, Swapnil Kusale, Aman Sehrawat, and the Indian hockey team contributed to the six medals. Manu Bhaker and P.R. Sreejesh carried the Indian flag during the closing ceremony.

Neeraj Chopra, India’s top hope for a gold medal, competed in the javelin throw at the Paris 2024 Olympics, but was outperformed by Arshad Nadeem from Pakistan, who won the gold medal by breaking a 16-year-old Olympic record twice with throws of 92.97m and 91.79m. Chopra, the reigning Olympic and world champion, secured the silver medal with a throw of 89.45m, his best throw of the season being 89.34m in the qualification round. Ultimately, India fell short of winning a gold medal in the javelin throw event. With his silver medal win, Neeraj Chopra became the third Indian to win medals in two consecutive Olympics, after Sushil Kumar and P.V. Sindhu.

Aman Sehrawat, aged 21, made history as India’s youngest Olympic medallist, winning bronze in the 57-kg men’s freestyle wrestling category. He defeated Puerto Rico’s Darian Cruz in his debut, ensuring that India’s wrestling contingent did not return empty-handed for the first time since 2004. Orphaned at the age of 11, Aman’s journey to Olympic glory is truly inspirational, securing India’s sixth medal at the Paris Olympics.

Manu Bhaker, from Haryana, made history by becoming the first Indian to win two medals in the same Olympics since independence. She won bronze in the 10m air pistol individual and mixed team events at the Paris Olympics 2024, fulfilling her dreams after a disappointing disqualification in Tokyo 2020.

Sarabjot Singh, from Haryana, won bronze in the 10m air pistol mixed team event with Manu Bhaker, achieving redemption after narrowly missing the finals in the individual event.

Swapnil Kusale made history by becoming the first Indian to win a medal in the men’s 50m air rifle three-position event, claiming bronze medal. It was a significant achievement as it drew an emotional reaction from shooting legend, Gagan Narang. Kusale, who is from Kolhapur, Maharashtra, added this Olympic medal to his previous golds in Asian Games, World Cups, and Asian Shooting Championships.

India’s men’s hockey team, led by Harmanpreet Singh, won a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics 2024, overcoming a semifinal loss. The medal marked India’s first consecutive hockey medals since 1972 (India had won bronze medal in Tokyo 2020 against Germany). The team defeated Spain 2-1 in the bronze medal match, which was P.R. Sreejesh’s farewell game. Harmanpreet Singh topped the scoring charts with 10 goals in 8 matches at the Paris Olympics 2024.

Medal Table

Controversies in Paris Olympics 2024

The Paris Olympics 2024 were marred by controversies and conflicts, tampering the triumphs and heroic moments of the athletes.

Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s Paris Olympics 2024 campaign ended in heartbreak due to a controversial disqualification. She was 100g over the weight limit on the day of her final, which resulted in the forfeiture of her guaranteed silver medal. Her appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) for a joint silver medal was rejected, adding to the disappointment.

Algerian boxer, Imane Khalif, and Taiwanese boxer, Lin Yu-Ting, won gold medals in boxing in their respective categories at the Paris Olympics 2024. They faced accusations of being male due to having XY chromosomes. The accusations sparked controversy on the social media. They had previously been disqualified from the 2023 Boxing World Championships. However, the IOC allowed them to compete in the Olympics despite the controversy.

Australian field hockey player, Tom Craig, was arrested for attempting to buy cocaine from a seller in Paris. He received a warning and no formal charges were filed. Despite apologising, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) banned him from further activities in Paris.

Egyptian Olympic wrestler, Mohamed ‘Kesho’ Ibrahim, was arrested in Paris for allegedly sexually assaulting and inappropriately touching another customer’s back at a cafe. An investigation was launched into the matter. However, since the Egyptian Olympic Committee found no evidence, he was freed.

The US gymnast, Jordan Chiles, was initially awarded a bronze medal after a successful enquiry added 0.1 points to her score. However, the CAS intervened, stating the enquiry was submitted 64 seconds late beyond the permitted time. As a result, Chiles was stripped of her medal, sparking controversy.

French athlete, Sounkamba Sylla, claimed that she was barred from participating in the Olympics opening ceremony because she wore a hijab. However, the IOC allowed athletes to wear religious attire within the Olympic village. This sparked controversy, highlighting the tension between France’s strict secularism laws and the IOC’s more inclusive approach.

An agreement was, however, reached when the French Olympic Committee offered Sylla the possibility of wearing a blue cap to cover her hair, instead of a black headscarf, which she accepted.

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