Sports Analysis
100 years after the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, the 2024 Olympics once again took place in Paris. This time, athletes were carried in by boat over the Seine River, kicking off the Games with an unforgettable opening ceremony. Members of Team USA, including Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky and Mallory Swanson, delivered multiple record-breaking performances.
The U.S. started the Olympics off strong in one of its most popular summer sports: women’s artistic gymnastics. The women led the team all-around final, clinching gold, while Italy won silver and Brazil took bronze. The team was led by gymnastic powerhouse Simone Biles, earning her her first gold medal for this Olympics.
After not competing in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics due to a mental performance blockage known in the gymnastics world as “the twisties,” Biles finished the 2024 Olympics with three gold medals and one silver medal.
Biles also went home as a gold medalist in the individual all-around event for the second time at 27 years old. This was her second time winning gold in the individual all-around, cementing her position as the best female gymnast in the world.
However, the impressive U.S. women’s gymnastics performance did not end with Biles. The team faced many adversities, making its win even more special. Sunisa (Suni) Lee, now only 21 years old, rejoined the team once again after being diagnosed with an incurable kidney disease in 2023. This was only two years after becoming the 2020 Olympic Games’ individual all-around champion.
With Simone Biles’ absence in the Tokyo Olympics, rising star Lee shined, earning gold and garnishing some fame from the women’s all-around event. In 2023, Lee had been fighting two types of diseases, pausing her training for the next Olympics. Despite her sickness, Lee went back to gymnastics to start training for this year’s event.
“This comeback was so much more than my return to elite gymnastics. It was me proving to myself that I can overcome hard things,” Lee captioned a 2023 Instagram post.
After gaining team gold, Lee placed third in the women’s individual all-around event. Lee has a bright future and continues to inspire young girls with her incredible story.
Though Biles and Lee both outdid themselves this Olympics, their teammate Jordan Chiles had a much more devastating result. Chiles is now the face of Olympic controversy after being stripped of her bronze medal for the women’s floor exercise, which she was awarded in Paris on Aug. 5. At first, Chiles received a score of 13.666.
However, after the U.S. submitted an inquiry about the judging based on skill, the judges scored her 13.766, which set her in third place over Romanian gymnast Ana Bărbosu. After many appeals from the Romanian gymnastics team, the International Olympic Committee chose to strip Chiles of her medal and award it to Bărbosu.
Chiles took to Instagram on Aug. 15 stating that she is, “overwhelmed by the love I have received,” and later took to social media sharing her feelings on the matter.
“I have no words. This decision feels unjust and comes as a significant blow, not just to me, but to everyone who has championed my journey,” Chiles said under the same post.
Though this was a setback for Chiles and U.S. women’s artistic gymnastics, there is no doubt that the U.S. will be back stronger than ever. The next Summer Olympics will be hosted in Los Angeles, California, and there’s nothing better than winning gold at home.
