10 Times Olympians Went Beast Mode at Paris 2024

10 Times Olympians Went Beast Mode

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Paris 2024 moments when athletes showed us what humans are really capable of.

#10: Antoine Dupont

As you’ll see with a number of entries on our list, there’s nothing like a good underdog story to charge the soul. After a devastating loss to South Africa in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Rugby World Cup — on French soil, no less — Dupont led the French men’s rugby team to Olympic gold, ending Fiji’s winning streak after two gold medals. This is especially meaningful considering that the team didn’t even qualify for the previous games in Tokyo, and that FijI, as reported by the Associated Press, had never lost an Olympic rugby sevens game. Dupont later commented that “[w]e really felt that we represent rugby, but we represent all the French sport as well.”

#9: Canadian Men’s 4 × 100 Meters Relay Team

A series of extenuating circumstances had seemingly dashed the team’s gold medal hopes, with Andre De Grasse suffering from an ongoing hamstring injury, leading to his going out in the semifinals, and the team as a whole posting the slowest time to advance. In the end, the Canadians won gold in an upset over the American team. Commenting on their unlikely victory after the fact, De Grasse noted that “It’s a complete set: we got the bronze in Rio, Tokyo we got the silver. Now it’s like icing on the cake to get the gold medal with these guys.”

#8: Alex Yee

British triathlete Yee is the most-decorated triathlete in the history of the modern Olympic Games. His legacy was cemented at Paris 2024, when he surged and came out from behind to win gold in the last 400 meters of the men’s triathlon. Moments earlier, it had looked like the end, with Yee’s rival, the New Zealander Hayden Wilde, comfortably set to take first place. Speaking to the Guardian, Yee was quoted as saying “It was one of those mad moments where everything just fell into place. I was in quite a bad place. I was going through a really bad patch. But I didn’t give up.”

#7: Cole Hocker

Well… we didn’t see that one coming. In an underdog story for the ages, the American runner secured the country its first gold medal in the men’s 1500m race since Matthew Centrowitz Jr. in 2016. The fact that Hocker set a new personal record, not to mention a new North American area record, isn’t even the most impressive or shocking statistic on display. Hocker managed to beat out not one, not two, but three commonly predicted frontrunners to win gold. Hocker’s fellow runners Josh Kerr and Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s widely-publicized rivalry left sports fans eagerly anticipating their next chapter. Ultimately, the rivalry would be their undoing — their focus on beating one another gave Hocker, the underdog, an unexpected opportunity to swoop in.

#6: Mijaín López

As reported by ESPN’s Connor O'Halloran, Cuban Greco-Roman wrestler López is in an exclusive club all by himself. However, you shouldn’t feel too bad for his self-imposed isolation — López scored his fifth consecutive gold medal in the men's Greco-Roman wrestling 130-kilogram category. While O’Halloran pointed out that other athletes have reached the same heights in team events, it was emphasized that López’s achievement is unprecedented on an individual basis. Even wilder? López hadn’t competed internationally, in any capacity, since the 2020 games in Tokyo. How do you top that? You don’t — the 41-year-old athlete left his shoes on the mat before exiting, signaling his retirement from the sport. We’d say he’s earned it.

#5: Sifan Hassan

Don’t we all love a feel-good story? Dutch runner Hassan embodied a unique kind of pride and joy after securing the gold medal at the Paris 2024 women’s marathon. Born in Ethiopia, Hassan emigrated to the Netherlands in 2008 as a refugee, obtaining Dutch citizenship five years later in 2013. Her gold medal winning performance in Paris took on additional significance when she beat the Ethiopian Tigst Assefa — she earned the title of the only woman ever to have won gold in not only the marathon, but the 5000m and 10,000m as well. Hassan also became the first athlete, regardless of gender, to win gold at all of these events since 1952.

#4: Armand Duplantis

It probably goes without saying that this American-born Swedish pole vaulter is, like, really good at his chosen sport. So good, in fact, that Duplantis holds the top nine records for highest heights ever reached in pole vaulting. Duplantis’ performance at Paris 2024 only served to confirm his legendary status, breaking yet another world record by clearing 6.25m in height. To put this in context, Duplantis had already won gold before having set this record and becoming the only competitor to clear 6m — the closest anyone else came was the American Sam Kendricks at 5.95m. How much higher can Duplantis go? Well, that’s up to him.

#3: Noah Lyles

This track and field sprinter had an emotional rollercoaster of a time at Paris 2024. Commentators were hyper-fixated on Lyles’ dramatic collapse on the track after the 200m race, which saw him place third behind Letsile Tebogo and Kenny Bednarek. However, just prior to that, Lyles had set a new personal best in a nail-biting display that saw a temporary outbreak of confusion as to who had won. Although the race had, for a moment, been called for Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson, Lyles emerged victorious, giving the U.S. its first gold in the category since 2004.

#2: Simone Biles

Who doesn’t love a good comeback story? The most decorated gymnast of all time made a triumphant return to the Olympics after shockingly withdrawing from the 2020 games in Tokyo after being plagued with a series of health struggles, both physical and mental. Paris 2024 was a completely different story. Biles won two all-around and vault titles, and also became the first woman since Věra Čáslavská — that is, the second woman ever — to have accomplished such a feat. The captain of the American artistic gymnastics team nicknamed the “Golden Girls,” Biles led them to victory, further deepening her status as a modern-day legend.

#1: Yusuf Dikeç

Never mind the fact that this Turkish sport shooter is the country’s oldest ever Olympic medallist, which is insanely impressive by itself. Dikeç, as you’ve probably seen by now, is a certified badass. One hand on his pistol, the other in his pocket, the Olympian’s casual vibe caused him to go massively viral at Paris 2024, with even his fellow Olympians taking to social media to pay homage. Although Dikeç and his partner, Şevval İlayda Tarhan, didn’t win the gold, they easily won our hearts. Has going “beast mode” ever looked so cool and nonchalant before?

What was your favorite Paris 2024 moment? Let us know in the comments below!