Paris 2024 Summer Olympic games - Team USA top storylines
With the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris just days away, here are some of the top storylines for Team USA.
Simone Biles is a 7x Olympic medalist (4 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze), including gold medals in both the team and all-around finals in 2016. Biles also possesses 30 World Championship Medals, 23 of which are gold. Most recently, Biles had the highest qualifying score of any gymnast at the U.S. Olympic trials by a wide margin (over five points). Despite her unprecedented success, the story that will follow Biles to Paris began at the previous Olympics in Tokyo. In the first rotation of the team finals Biles bailed out of her vault and shockingly withdrew from the remaining events and all-around finals. Biles cited mental health concerns as her reason for withdrawing, due to a case of the “twisties” (losing control of your body mid-trick and losing sense of where you are in the air). This was met with an outpouring of support from Biles’ teammates and other athletes, and plenty of negativity from the general public (an embarrassment, quit on her country, etc.). Biles received a silver medal for Team USA’s 2nd place finish in the team finals and a bronze in the balance beam event final. Most gymnasts in the world would consider this a massive success, however these results fell far below the expectations the world had for her. These same expectations (which would be unattainable for any other gymnast who has ever lived) will be on Biles in Paris, and her return to the Olympic stage will headline the 2024 summer games.
Katie Ledecky is a 10x Olympic medalist (7 gold, 3 silver), and a 26x World Championship medalist (21 gold, 5 silver, worldaquatics.com). The 27-year-old Ledecky will be headed to Paris as the 3-time (reigning) 800-meter freestyle Olympic champion, and the reigning 1500-meter freestyle Olympic champion (Ledecky holds the 19 fastest times ever in this event). Entering her fourth Olympics Ledecky needs two gold medals to pass fellow American Jenny Thompson for the most Olympic gold medals in women’s swimming history, and three total medals to become the second winningest swimmer of all time (male or female) behind Michael Phelps. Ledecky should have opportunities to defend her Olympic titles in both the 800-meter and 1500-meter freestyle races and will likely be fighting to return to the top of the podium in the 200-meter and 400-meter freestyle races (Ledecky won gold in both events in 2016). Swimming will be a primetime event at the 2024 Olympic Games as Ledecky continues to build her legacy, and the United States looks to build on their storied success as a team.
Unlike Biles and Ledecky, Sha’carri Richardson will be fighting for her first Olympic title. Richardson was on track to make her Olympic debut in Tokyo after she won the 100-meter dash at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2021, however after testing positive for THC she was suspended for one month which caused her to miss the Olympic games. Richardson competed in the 2023 World Championships where she won gold in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.65 seconds (tied for fifth fastest time ever, worldathletics.org). At these World Championships Richardson also posted a personal best 21.92 in the 200-meter dash to earn a bronze medal and was also a part of the gold medal winning 4 x 100 relay team. At the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials Richardson won the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.71 (fastest time in the world this year), however she placed 4th in the 200-meter final, barely missing out on the top three finish she needed to qualify for this event in Paris. If Richardson can capture the 100-meter dash gold in Paris, she will be the first American to do so since Gail Devers in 1996. She will also have another opportunity to earn an Olympic medal as a member of the 4 x 100 relay team.
After a disappointing 4th place finish in the 2023 FIBA World Cup (losing to Lithuania, Germany, and Canada), Team USA will look to reestablish their dominance of international basketball at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Anthony Edwards, Jalen Brunson, and Tyrese Haliburton were some of the names that headlined Team USA at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, however players like Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker, Stephen Curry, Lebron James, Anthony Davis, and Kevin Durant (all of whom will compete at the Olympics) did not participate. Despite their overwhelming talent, Team USA may find themselves in several tough matchups if they lean too heavily on individual talent rather than playing as a collective. International superstars like Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, combined with the continued improvement and growth of the game worldwide, could prove to be challenging for Team USA.
16-year-old Quincy Wilson will become the youngest American male to compete in track and field at the 2024 Paris Olympics (usatoday.com, para. 2). Wilson broke the under-18 record in the 400-meter race at the U.S. Olympic trials, however he did not earn an individual spot in this event after a 6th place finish in the Men’s 400-meter finals. Wilson will still make the trip to Paris as a member of the 4 x 400 relay pool and will have a chance to earn his first Olympic medal as a member of the 4 x 400 Men’s relay team or the 4 x 400 mixed relay team (men and women, wjla.com, para. 1).
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