Errani-Paolini, the female fencers, the pearl of Nadia Battocletti: the 7 golds (out of 12) for women in Paris are an absolute record for Italy

Paris, 12 August (Adnkronos) – The 2024 Paris Olympics have provided many moments of spectacularity and sporting excellence, from the performances of the multiple medalist of American gymnastics Simone Biles, to the hero of France Leon Marchand, from the new world record of ‘Mondo’ Duplantis, to the heroic Olympics between the pool and open water swimming in the Seine by Gregorio Paltrinieri, Italian flag bearer at the closing ceremony, and who became the most medaled Italian swimming athlete. But there has also been no shortage of controversy, on the two boxers Khelif and Lin and on the quality of the water in the Parisian river. The magic moments of Paris also see Sifan Hassan and Katie Ledecky as protagonists, but also Mijain Lopez and Stephen Curry, the absolute protagonist of the Olympic gold in basketball for the USA, in the 16 days of competition and sport.

Paris dressed up and made the most of its iconic landmarks, from the Eiffel Tower to the Grand Palais, welcoming over 10,000 athletes from over 200 countries and millions of fans who created a festive atmosphere, in a welcome return to normality after the Tokyo 2020 Games were marred by Covid. The virus was still present, however, and affected some athletes such as 100m gold medalist Noah Lyles.

One element that perhaps the organizers had not taken into account was the heavy rain that hit Paris on some days, and led to a decline in the quality of the water in the Seine, after the huge investments to make it suitable for swimming, with the consequent delays in the triathlon and open water swimming that were then held in the river but with some athletes who later suffered physical problems. Another issue that overshadowed the Games was the gender controversy in boxing around the women’s gold medals Lin Yu-Ting of Taiwan and Imane Khelif from Algeria, who were allowed to compete in Paris after being disqualified from the last world championships by the IBA, an organization disavowed by the IOC, which independently managed boxing at the Games.

The hosts doubled their Tokyo haul with 64 medals, 16 of them gold, with rugby superstar Antoine Dupont getting the ball rolling before France’s new icon Leon Marchand cruised to four golds and a bronze in the pool, including a unprecedented double in breaststroke and butterfly.

National icon Teddy Riner lit the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony and then walked away with two final golds on the judo mat. But it was Marchand, without a doubt, who was the most successful athlete of the Games, ahead of American swimmer Torri Huske who took three golds and two silvers.

In total, 10 athletes left Paris with three golds, including American sprinter Gabby Thomas and New Zealand paddler Lisa Carrington who now has eight golds in total. While American swimmer Katie Ledecky earned a women’s record to match her ninth gold overall and joined an elite group of athletes with four golds in the same event. However, that record was quickly surpassed by Greco-Roman wrestling legend Mijaín Lopez of Cuba, who has won the super heavyweight title in five consecutive years from Beijing 2008 to Paris 2024.

And since yesterday among those who have ended their careers at these Games, such as tennis greats Britain’s Andy Murray and Germany’s Angelique Kerber, with Rafa Nadal who may have played his last match at Roland Garros. Finally in the queen of the Games, the 100 meters, Lyles beat Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson by just five thousandths of a second in the fastest men’s 100 final ever, in which 9.91 seconds were enough only for last place, as the eight finalists were separated by just 12 hundredths and with Italy’s Marcell Jacobs, gold in Tokyo, who had to settle for fifth place.

The US again finished top of the medal table with Italy in ninth place, 40 medals as in Tokyo but with two more golds. In total, 84 nations won medals, with Saint Lucia among those that obtained a first ever: a gold in the women’s 100 meters by Julien Alfred. The refugee team also obtained a first podium thanks to boxing bronze medalist Cindy Ngamba. Neutral athletes from Russia and Belarus were not listed in the medal table but nevertheless made it to the podium. Ukraine obtained 12 medals, including three golds, to give hope to its people during the ongoing Russian invasion. (by Emanuele Rizzi)