Paris 2024 Olympics: The good, the bad and the golden

After eight years without a "normal" Games  — one with fans packing the stands and with the COVID pandemic a side note — there was plenty of pressure on Paris 2024. That's without mentioning the background hum of geopolitics that hangs over every edition of the Games. For the most part, the French capital lived up to its challenge.

The last medal of the Games was won in dramatic fashion by the USA's women's basketball team, meaning the US tops the medal table — as they have in every Olympics since the Soviet Union won 55 golds in 1988.

In itself, that table is not critical but its familiarity to previous editions does beg questions of predictability on a macro, if not necessarily micro, scale. This year's top seven, USA, China, Japan, Australia, France, the Netherlands and Great Britain, were all in the top eight in Tokyo 2020 (along with Russia, banned this time) and all in the top 10 at Rio 2016. Germany came in 10th this time around, a place below 2020.

Paris puts on a show

Those questions are for another day, though. For now, Paris and the International Olympic Committee will reflect on a job well done.

After a bloated and bizarre opening ceremony in the pouring rain, the overall mood was generally positive. Security issues were few and far between (if queues were sometimes long), and the early rain gave way to sunshine.

Landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and Versailles made for memorable backdrops for those in the stands and watching around the world.

But, still, a host country needs a hero to really kick the atmosphere up a notch. France got that early in Leon Marchand.

The swimmer won the men's 400-meter medley in world record time in the first weekend of the Games and did not let up. Marchand went on to win the 200-meter medley before a memorable double of 200-meter butterfly and breaststroke in one evening.

Controversy and confusion

Though the mood may have generally been positive, there were moments where the bubble burst, most notably in boxing.

Italian Angela Carini quit 46 seconds into her welterweight contest against Imane Khelif, of Algeria, reportedly citing concerns over Khelif's gender before apologizing the next day. This caused a storm of misinformation and a bizarre press conference from the Russian-led International Boxing Association, which is no longer recognized by the International Olympic Committee. Khelif would go on to win gold on Friday.

Taiwanese Lin Yu-ting also won boxing gold in similar circumstances, but Khelif seemed to bear more of the brunt of online abuse and constant personal scrutiny. She filed a legal complaint about the abuse on the penultimate day of the Games.

"All that is being said about me on social media is immoral. I want to change the minds of people around the world," she said.

Before that, the cleanliness of the Seine River caught global attention. Training sessions and competition days were postponed due to the water quality. Though men's and women's competitions eventually went ahead, it wasn't the best look for the hosts, with sickness reported in some athletes.

Neither was it the best look for Canada when it emerged their women's football staff had been using drones to spy on the training sessions of opponents, New Zealand. Coach Beverly Priestman and members of her staff were banned from the sport while the team were docked six points. They still qualified for the knockout stages, before being knocked out by Germany. The presence of convicted child rapist Steven Van de Velde in the Dutch beach volleyball team also puzzled and angered many.

Stars of the Games

In a sporting sense, plenty of big names delivered, most notably Simone Biles. The American gymnast, who pulled out of some events in Tokyo because she was "[feeling] the weight of the world on [her] shoulders," roared back in Paris with three golds and a silver to come away with 11 career medals — seven golds in total.

Her fellow American Noah Lyles backed up his bluster with a men's 100-meter win in a race where the eight finalists were separated by just 0.12 seconds. Kenya's Faith Kipyegon became the first woman to win three Olympic golds in a single track discipline and was one of a significant number of mothers to claim medals. Arshad Nadeem's javelin gold was unforgettable for him and for Pakistan, while 14-year-old Australian Arisa Trew took gold in the women's park skateboarding.

Viral moments

But the Olympics have never been purely about success. And in the social media age, meme-worthy moments have almost become their own discipline.

Whether it was the contrast of casual-looking Turkish pistol shooter Yusuf Dikec with his more kitted-out opponents, Snoop Dogg popping up at seemingly every event or the unique breakdancing routine of Australian female entry Raygun, the online world was given no shortage of material.

Australia's chef de mission Anna Meares leapt to the defense of Raygun (real name, Rachael Gunn) after she failed to win a point. After labeling her detractors "trolls" and "keyboard warriors," Meares, who won two Olympic golds as a cyclist, said:

"One hundred years ago, leading into Paris 1924, Australia sent a team of 37 athletes. None were women.

"One hundred years later we have 256 women represented here, and Raygun is an absolutely loved member of this Olympic team. She has represented the Olympic team, the Olympic spirit with great enthusiasm. And I absolutely love her courage. I love her character, and I feel very disappointed for her that she has come under the attack that she has."

It was a timely reminder that this was the first Olympics to have total gender balance among the athletes.

Edited by: Rana Taha