SAINT-DENIS, France – The U.S. track and field team showcased their skills at the Paris Olympics, winning 34 total medals.
The U.S. men redeemed themselves following a disappointing Tokyo Olympics that resulted in two total gold medals, the fewest ever by a U.S. men’s track and field team at a single Olympics.
In Paris, Rai Benjamin, Ryan Crouser and Noah Lyles headlined a men’s squad that won seven gold medals, and 18 overall medals.
On the U.S. women’s side, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Gabby Thomas dominated every time they stepped onto the track. The women’s team won seven overall gold medals and 15 total medals in Paris.
Overall, the U.S. track and field team won the total medal count with 34 medals and their 14 gold medals were the most of any country.
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There were plenty of outstanding individual performances by Team USA at Stade de France. USA TODAY Sports selects the 10 brightest U.S. track and field stars from the Paris Olympics.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone
The most dominant U.S. female track and field athlete, and maybe the top female athlete across all sports in the U.S., McLaughlin-Levrone put on a show in Paris. Her competition in the 400 hurdles is herself and the clock as she ran with no runner in her vicinity in the final. She ran a world-record and gold-medal winning time of 50.37. It’s the sixth time McLaughlin-Levrone’s lowered her own world record. She’s also the only woman to win the event in consecutive Olympic Games.
“It’s a blessing. Just grateful for another opportunity, grateful to be healthy and to come out of it in one piece. There was a lot of anticipation leading up to this race,” McLaughlin-Levrone said. “Just grateful for all that has been taking place. God has been good to me.”
McLaughlin-Levrone won her second gold medal, and fourth career gold, as a member of the women’s 4×400-relay. Her split of 47.71 on the second leg would’ve won the open 400 in Paris.
Ryan Crouser
Crouser became the first shot putter in history to win gold at three Olympics, and he accomplished the feat at three consecutive games.
The shot-put world-record holder tossed 75 feet, 1¾ inches to win this third Olympic gold medal.
After Crouser made shot put history, he coached Jamaican Roje Stona to an Olympic record and first-place finish in the men’s discus, which might be equally as impressive for the 31-year-old thrower (and coach). It’s the first time ever Jamaica won an Olympic gold in the men’s discus.
Noah Lyles
The beginning of the Olympic track and field competition was a Lyles’ showcase. His dramatic photo-finish win in the 100 was one of the highlights of the Olympics. The race was the most competitive men’s 100 final in Olympics history during which all eight runners finished under 10 seconds for the first time ever, according to World Athletics.
“Everybody on the field came out knowing they could win this race. That’s the mindset we have to have,” Lyles said after winning the Olympic 100 final. “Iron sharpens iron. I saw my name and was like, ‘I didn’t do this against a slow crowd, I did this against the best of the best, on the biggest stage, with the biggest pressure.’
“I wasn’t even in the 100 in 2021. First Olympics in the 100. Having the title, not just at world champs but at the Olympics, of world’s fastest man.”
Lyles was never quite himself after the stunning win in the 100. He contracted COVID-19 prior to the 200 final and finished third in the race behind the gold-medal winner Letsile Tebogo of Botswana and silver medalist Kenny Bednarek of the U.S.
Gabby Thomas
Thomas thrived at the Paris Olympics.
Thomas had the fastest 200 time in the world entering the Olympics, and she validated her top-ranked status in Paris. Thomas blazed around the turn and left all other sprinters behind her in a commanding win in the women’s 200 with a time of 21.83.
Thomas got a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. She left no doubt on the track on the way to gold at the 2024 Paris Games.
“It feels incredible. I feel like I’ve worked very hard, and everything has been a part of the plan. This has been a six-year plan ever since moving to Texas. We didn’t want this to be my first Olympics. We wanted Tokyo to be that, and we’ve been working hard every day for this,” Thomas said. “So I earned it, but it’s still an unbelievable, indescribable feeling.”
Thomas wasn’t done accumulating medals. She ran the third leg on Team USA’ gold-medal winning 4×100 relay squad and displayed her endurance running third leg for the women’s 4×400 team that easily won gold.
The three gold medals Thomas collected were the most of any track and field athlete in Paris.
Rai Benjamin
At the Tokyo Olympics, Benjamin was defeated by Norway’s Karsten Warholm and earned the silver medal. This time, though, Benjamin got his revenge.
Benjamin won his first Olympic gold in the men’s 400 hurdles, running a season-best 46.46.
“It has eluded me for so long, this gold medal,” Benjamin said. “To get it done here in this fashion at the Olympic games in front of my friends and family and in front of everyone just means so much to me.”
A day after winning gold in the 400 hurdles, Benjamin anchored the men’s 4×400 relay team to a gold medal win in an Olympic record time of 2:54.43.
Cole Hocker
The men’s 1,500 was supposed to be a showdown between defending Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway) and 2023 world champion Josh Kerr (Great Britian). But Hocker had other ideas.
In one of the biggest upsets at the Paris Olympics, Hocker dug deep and ran past Ingebrigtsen and Kerr to win and set a new Olympic record with a time of 3:27.65.
“With 100 meters to go, I knew I had enough,” Hocker said. “I saw Jakob, I feel like he was thinking about Kerr and started drifting out, and I thought I’d take advantage of that and try to punch that inside, which I’ve been able to do a couple times in my career. He’s a smart enough racer where he closed that down immediately, so I had to reassess. It was special to be able to attack not only once, but twice.”
Hocker is just the fourth American to win an Olympic gold medal in the 1,500.
Valarie Allman
Allman tossed 228 feet to become a back-to-back Olympic champion in the women’s discus. She’s the first American women to win two gold medals in the women’s discus.
“I don’t know how to put into words what I’m feeling. I feel so grateful for how tonight played out. I didn’t let myself believe that I was Olympic champion until it was all done. I think it’s been such a fight to show up and to be at our best and do it when it matters,” Allman said. “I feel so grateful for having this come together, a little bit of luck on our side, and being able to walk away on top. It’s just so special.”
Quincy Hall
Hall was in fourth place with just 100 meters to go. He remarkably found another gear and ran past the three sprinters ahead of him to win the 400 with a personal-best time of 43.40. It was one the most memorable comeback victories at the Paris Olympics.
“This means a lot. I’ve been putting a lot of work in. I told you guys I was going to get a gold medal this year and I guess I just showed you I did it. I know I can win,” Hall said. “That’s what I’ve been doing my whole career. A lot of work, being hard on myself. I’ve been talking to my coach on the phone and he just told me, ‘Keep going, keep going’.
“I don’t give up. I just grit, I grind. I’ve got determination. Anything I think will get me to that line, I think of it. A lot of hurt, a lot of pain. I just won. It’s over. For the next four years I can say I’m an Olympic champion.”
Hall is the first American male to win an Olympic gold medal in the 400 since the 2008 Beijing Games.
Masai Russell
Masai Russell outraced defending Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico to win her first ever Olympic gold medal in the women’s 100m hurdles. She ran a time of 12.33 to earn the gold.
Russell’s had an impressive climb to the top of the hurdles. She didn’t finish the 100 hurdles semifinal at the 2023 world championships. But 2024 has been her year. She won the event at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials with a personal-best and world-leading time of 12.25, the fourth fastest time in history. And she capped off the year as an Olympic champion.
“I just want every young girl to understand and know that if you believe in yourself, if you can see the work, day in and day out, there’s nothing that’s impossible for you. I always tell myself that it’s possible,” Russell said. “Can’t no one take it away from you.”
Grant Holloway
Holloway illustrated why he’s the top 110 hurdler in the world this year. He dominated each round in Paris. When it came time for the 110 final, Holloway took commanded of the race early and finished with a gold-medal winning time of 12.99. He was the only runner to run sub-13 seconds in the race.
The win earned Holloway, a three-time world champion, his first ever Olympic gold medal.
For the first time in history, the U.S. team swept all four hurdle events at the Olympics on behalf of Holloway, Russell, Benjamin and McLaughlin-Levrone.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: USA track and field: 10 brightest stars from 2024 Paris Olympics
