The anticipation for another show of force by the American national team had been strong since the beginning. After all, 2024’s formidable group of Olympians – which featured seasoned veterans as well as rising stars in professional sports – was formally introduced to us by Queen B herself! But who would have imagined that they’d be shipping off a total haul of 126 medals, 40 of which were gold?
The website Oddschecker called it early, predicting that the US would be one of the top teams to win the most medals during the summer games back in July. Team USA has pulled out all the stops to demolish the competition in everything from basketball to gymnastics.
Now that the games have officially ended, after a truly bonkers closing ceremony featuring a skydiving Tom Cruise drew the event to a close, let’s take a look at what the American national team has been able to achieve this year in the seminal summer games.
A Fifth Gold in Men’s Basketball
Starting off with basketball, there’s no doubt that this year’s line-up was a dream team of America’s best and brightest hoops players. Just look at who made the team and you’ll see that a winning performance was on the cards! Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and LeBron James pretty much form the holy trinity of basketball.
But they weren’t the only ones causing a stir on the court. Rising star Anthony Edwards brought his A-game and then some. He helped his team score double-digit victories over Serbia and South Sudan during the earlier rounds and emerged as the USA’s top scorer by leading them to a 104-83 win over Puerto Rico. Edwards also played a pivotal role in their eventual 98-87 finals victory over France. His Olympics performance was so impressive during the games that he’s now a top pick for LA 2028.
However, despite Edward’s promise, he couldn’t quite match veteran LeBron James for the best all-around stats. James was named MVP of the final after accruing 14 points, six rebounds, two steals, one block and 10 assists against France.
A New World Record for the Women’s Team
It’s not just the male basketball players who dominated the French court this summer. In fact, in terms of medal count, the women’s US basketball team outperformed the men by winning no less than eight consecutive gold medals in the Olympic games. And women’s sports can’t hold a candle to men’s, right?
On Sunday 11th August, the crowds at the Bercy Arena were treated to one of the most nail biting pro basketball performances of the decade. With a roaring home crowd behind them, the French team seemingly had the Americans on the back foot with a double digit lead in the third quarter. The game went right down to the line, but the resurgent US players edged out a one point lead in the closing moments to secure their 61st successive match win in the Games.
Having achieved such a superhuman feat, even for Olympians, the USA women have now set a brand new record for the longest successive Olympic gold medal wins in a team sport. Since 1992, the female players have been smashing expectations on court and with this eighth gold medal, they’ve now surpassed the previous record set by the men between 1936 and 1968.
Simone Biles is BACK
It would be impossible to write a piece about Team USA this year without mentioning the GOAT of Gymnastics, Simone Biles. Biles entered the 2024 Olympic Games with several medals already under her belt, in addition to a whopping thirty world titles. After withdrawing from several key events in Tokyo 2020 due to a severe condition known colloquially as the “twisties”, the world was gearing up for a Simon Biles redemption.
Well, not only has she delivered that redemption, she’s gone on to perform in Paris beyond anyone’s expectations. Biles has been collecting medals left right and center, proving to any doubters out there that she remains one of the world’s leading athletes and Olympians.
She led Team USA to the gold medal in the all-around team event on 30th July. Two days later, she snared her second gold of the 2024 games by triumphing in the individual all-around events. Next up was the vault, the apparatus at the center of her “nightmare” run in Tokyo. Well, we were in for a redemption story as Biles scored an impressive 15.300 points, leaving silver medallist Rebeca Andrade trailing in her wake.
While Biles narrowly missed out on gold in the women’s floor event, earning a silver medal with her score of 14.133, she has nevertheless emerged from this year’s Games as a true Olympian. She now holds seven gold, two silver and two bronze Olympic medals, and remains only the second woman in history to win the all-around gold more than once.
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Author: Team Dunkest
August 23, 2024 | 12:00 pm
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