Top 20 Unforgettable Athletes Of Paris 2024

Top 20 Unforgettable Athletes of Paris 2024

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 20 unforgettable athletes of the Paris Olympic Games, 2024.

#20: Victor Wembanyama
France
Sure, the gold in men’s basketball eventually (and predictably) went to the US, but it was France’s Victor Wembanyama who truly emerged as a superstar from the Games. During the season, he turns out for the San Antonio Spurs. At 7 feet 4, he’s the joint tallest player in the NBA, and followers of his career already knew that there is a lot of hype around this guy. But Wembanyama’s global profile soared in Paris, as he became the talisman for a host nation side that ultimately went away with silver. The man’s an artist and the court is his canvas.

#19: Keely Hodgkinson
Great Britain
While Team GB enjoyed a reasonable return in the track and field disciplines, the highlight was undoubtedly Keely Hodgkinson’s long-awaited triumph in the 800 meters. Two laps of the track in 1 minute 56.72 seconds saw her top off an already stellar season with the one prize she had been wanting the most. Some predict that Hodgkinson could now go on to dominate the sport but, then again, could there be a comeback story brewing? The former Olympic champion from the US, Athing Mu, didn’t make the team this time around. Hodgkinson and Mu have long been rivals, so it’s “watch this space” to see if that spark ignites again.

#18: Remco Evenepoel
Belgium
In an especially eye-catching Olympiad, there were plenty of iconic photos… but one of the first to make the front page was of the Belgian cyclist Remco Evenepoel. His victory in the men’s road race was very nearly derailed when he suffered a late puncture, just outside the Louvre. But, thankfully for him, he was so far ahead at that point that he still had time to recover, cross the line first, and then pose for an iconic celebration with the Eiffel Tower as a backdrop. The fact that Evenepoel had also previously scored gold in the men’s time trial - becoming the first man to win both events at the same Olympics - makes it even more spectacular.

#17: Kaylee McKeown
Australia
Paris turned out to be a historic Games for Australia, as the squad amassed a national record medal haul. Special mention to Keegan Palmer and Arisa Trew who bagged both the golds on offer at the park skateboarding, but the foundation for Australian success was well and truly set in the pool. The women’s 4 x 100m and 4 x 200m freestyle relay teams both took the top prize, but Kaylee McKeown was a standout star on her own. She won two of her individual events, the 100m and 200m backstroke, plus a bronze in the 200m individual medley.

#16: Nada Hafez
Egypt
You don’t have to win your event to be remembered forever, which is definitely the case for this inspiring competitor. Nada Hafez took to the stage at the beautiful Grand Palais, a glittering venue for 2024’s fencing competition. She won her first match against Elizabeth Tartakovsky of the US before losing to South Korea’s Jeon Hayoung in the second round, the quarter finals. But she did all of that while seven months pregnant. Unsurprisingly, her story quickly became one of the most talked about of the summer, and Hafez goes down as a hero of the Paris Games.

#15: Novak Djokovic
Serbia
Before Pairs, you’d be forgiven for thinking that there was nothing in tennis that this man hadn’t won. But, actually, the title of Olympic champion had always eluded him. Djokovic put that right and achieved the career golden slam by beating Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in a pulsating final. Earlier in the tournament he’d also convincingly overcome his longtime rival (and a former Olympic champion) in Rafael Nadal. Special mention to GB’s Andy Murray, too, who finished his career with a run in the doubles… but Novak, as he so often does, reigned supreme.

#14: Arshad Nadeem
Pakistan
Before Arshad Nadeem, Pakistan had won three gold medals in its entire Olympic history, and all of them for men’s field hockey. That all changed in the Stade de France, though, when Nadeem launched an Olympic Record throw in the men’s javelin, to comfortably edge out India’s Neeraj Chopra. He’s well known to be one of the quieter athletes on the circuit, but the spotlight fell his way thanks to a majestic display, with his winning mark of 92.97 meters being more than three-and-a-half meters more than anyone else could reach.

#13: Cassandre Beaugrand
France
Thanks to concerns about the water quality of the River Seine, the triathlons were easily some of the most controversial events held in the French capital. But, when they did finally get underway, boy did they deliver. The women’s race was chaotic to say the least, with countless dramatic crashes during the bike leg along Paris’ cobbled streets. But, when Cassandre Beaugrand emerged from the pack to pass the finish line first, the home crowd went wild. GB’s Alex Yee took the men’s race shortly afterwards, with an incredible late surge… but the lasting image will surely be Beaugrand collapsing in joy and exhaustion after her momentous win.

#12: Summer McIntosh
Canada
The Canadian swim team won eight medals at the Games; seventeen year-old Summer McIntosh won four of them. In truth, women’s swimming was awash with stars this time around, and we should surely mention the now-most decorated female athlete in US Olympic history, the long-distance legend Katie Ledecky. But, in terms of this Olympics alone, McIntosh more than proved that she is the next big thing. She captured four individual medals - three gold and one silver - as she made the pool her own. Summer’s summer was a victory parade.

#11: Armand Duplantis
Sweden
To most, he’s known as Mondo. To some he looks a little bit like Timothée Chalamet. To everyone, he’s the greatest pole vaulter the world has ever seen. As many said he would, Duplantis destroyed the competition in Paris, in the end clearing the bar at a new world record height of 6 meters 25 - a cool 30 centimeters higher than anyone else could manage. Throughout most of the event he sailed so far over the top, that the others could only ever hope for silver. And, while there were other pole vaulters who made the news… Duplantis is king.

#10: Noah Lyles
USA
Before, during and after the Olympics, Noah Lyles was never far from the headlines. An exceptional sprinter and a one-off entertainer, he brought unparalleled energy and drama. And, with all the showmanship, the pressure was on to deliver… which he promptly did in stunning fashion. Lyles won what many have described as the single greatest 100 meter race of all time. Ducking for the line, he snatched a photo finish victory by just five thousandths of a second. He couldn’t follow it up with a 200 meter gold (bagging the bronze, instead) and COVID ruled him out of the relay… but there’s no doubt that Noah made his mark.

#9: Rebeca Andrade
Brazil
As the gymnastics program wore on, Rebeca Andrade’s Olympics simply got better and better. First off, she was a key part of the all-round team that won bronze for Brazil, behind Italy and the US. Then came a couple of upgrades, with two silvers in the next four days; one in the women’s individual all-around, and the other in the vault. Andrade’s crowning moment came at the end of the last day in the gym, however, when she won gold in the floor. Later, on the podium, her win inspired another of the most memorable images of the Games.

#8: Nafissatou Thiam
Belgium
Designed to crown the greatest total athlete there is, the heptathlon should be one of the most difficult events to call. But Belgium’s Nafissatou Thiam is supreme. In Paris, she became the first ever to win three multi-event golds, when she followed up victories in Rio and Tokyo with yet another unbeatable performance. Thiam had finished day one just narrowly behind in second place, but she rallied for day two… and hung on during a nail biting 800 meters to finish. It was the ultimate test, and she’s the undisputed master. Notably, though, she wasn’t the only athlete to land an unprecedented third consecutive Olympic medal in athletics. Faith Kipyegon was another who amazed the crowds, winning the 1,500 meters again - having also previously done so in Rio and Tokyo. Form is temporary, class is permanent.

#7: Yusuf Dikeç
Türkiye
Not all heroes wear capes, but very few are quite so casual as this guy. Yusuf Dikeç became the everyman of the summer (and a viral sensation) when he rocked up to the mixed team 10-meter air pistol final wearing an everyday t-shirt and with one hand in his pocket. While all of his rivals sported variously high-tech gear, Dikeç just aimed, shot, and for the most part won - earning silver alongside his partner. Meanwhile, over in the women’s event, South Korea’s Kim Ye-ji also caused a storm on the internet for her badass look. Together, they made pistol shooting more globally famous than it’s ever been before.

#6: Imane Khelif
Algeria
In one of the Games’ most talked about stories, controversy erupted after Imane Khelif’s victory over Italy’s Angela Carini, who withdrew after just 46 seconds leading to questions being raised about Khelif’s gender eligibility. Claims against her being a woman were rooted in a past disqualification issued to her by the International Boxing Association - a Russian-led governing body that isn’t recognised by the Olympic Committee. As such, the controversy was found to be based on misinformation, and the unclear details lead to Khelif - who was assigned female at birth and identifies as female - suffering online abuse, along her route to winning gold. For boxing, in general, special mention should also go to Cindy Ngamba, the first ever medalist for the Refugee Olympic Team.

#5: Julien Alfred
Saint Lucia
Many on this list can claim to have captured history, but none so far can say they are literally the first person from their nation to win an Olympic medal. Enter Julien Alfred. She sprinted to women’s 100 meter glory in phenomenal fashion, and her gold stands as the first ever Saint Lucian medal of any color, in any sport. But, Alfred wasn’t done there. No sooner had she won the 100, she was racing in the 200 meter final. This time she finished second, with another superstar multi-medalist, American Gabrielle Thomas, taking the win. But that silver still goes down as only the second Saint Lucian medal of all time.

#4: Letsile Tebogo
Botswana
In the build up to the final of the men’s 200 meters, it was all about whether Noah Lyles could land the much-coveted 100-200 double. By the race’s end, however, it was Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo who had taken the world by storm. He entered the stadium as the picture of calm, before exploding out of the blocks and winning the race with daylight between him and the rest of the field. On the track afterwards, Tebogo took off his shoe and held it to the sky. Stitched into it was the birthdate of his late mother, who had died just weeks previously, and had always been a huge supporter of her son’s athletic career.

#3: Sifan Hassan
Netherlands
Imagine running more than 26 miles in the searing heat of a Parisian summer, and it all comes down to just three seconds between first and second place. The Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan was truly pushed all the way by Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa, to run an Olympic record time of 2 hours, 22 minutes and 55 seconds… but she got the job done. And, as if that wasn’t already impressive enough, the women’s marathon came at the end of an extremely testing Games for Hassan, seeing as she had previously competed in the 5,000 meter and 10,000 meter races, as well, winning bronze in both. Long distance running has rarely seen anything quite like her.

#2: Léon Marchand
France
When you’ve widely been dubbed as the “face of the Games”, and your events all take place within the opening days, the pressure is on to stand up and deliver. Léon Marchand did not disappoint. He finished his meet with a Games-high tally (across all sports) of four gold medals, winning every single individual event he entered. 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly, 200 medley, and 400 medley; he came, he swam, he won. And he even had time to pick up a bronze for France as part of the 4 x 100 medley relay team, as well. Pressure? What pressure?

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few Olympic teams that deserve an honorable mention.

Women’s Rugby Sevens
USA
A last-minute win against Australia earned USA women their first ever medal in the sport

Archery Squad
South Korea
Secured a clean sweep in Paris to continue a decades-long run of Olympic dominance

Diving Squad
China
Chinese divers made a splash by winning every single gold medal on offer

Men’s Track Cycling Madison
Portugal
The race was total chaos, but Portugal rode to victory

Women's 4 x 400m Relay
USA
Little, Mclaughlin-Levrone, Thomas and Holmes reigned supreme in the final race on the Paris track

#1: Simone Biles
USA
Every so often, someone comes along who truly transcends their sport. Simone Biles does that for gymnastics. Whenever she was competing in Paris it was the hottest ticket in town, with everyone wanting to see her perform. And, wow did she rise to the occasion. Gold for the USA in the team all-around. Gold on her own in the individual all around. Silver on the floor, placing behind only Rebeca Andrade. But perhaps her very best came via the vault. Her signature move, the Yurchenko double pike, essentially defies gravity. It’s incredibly high risk, but Biles nailed it. And that’s why so many consider her the greatest there’s ever been.

Which inspiring athlete will you always remember? Is there anyone you think we missed? Let us know in the comments!