5 takeaways from the 2024 Paris Olympics

The 2024 Paris Olympics is now complete. The two weeks of competition in 329 events across 32 sports provided ample entertainment and intensity, viewed by millions of people around the world.

When the final tally of medals was made, the U.S. had won 126 total, including 40 gold medals. It’s the most won by the U.S. since the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, which is marked with an asterisk because it was boycotted by several Eastern Bloc countries.

As the dust from the games settles, and as we approach future Olympics games, here are five takeaways to consider.

Both the U.S. swimming and track and field teams performed at the highest levels. Swimmers garnered 28 medals, while track and field athletes took home 34 medals, collectively representing nearly one-half of the U.S. medals haul.

In 19 events, nine of them track events, U.S. athletes took two of the three podium spots. Such swimmers as Katie Ledecky and track athletes as Gabby Thomas certainly showcased performances that gave U.S. viewers plenty to cheer for. Gymnast Simon Biles’s three gold and one silver also drew the attention of the nation. And in both men’s skeet shooting and women’s foil individual, Americans took home both the gold and silver, suggesting that sports excellence runs up and down the Olympic event portfolio.

Many of the competitors came through the NCAA college sports system. Whether it was in the pool, on the basketball court, on the volleyball court, or on the soccer field, college sports and coaching provide the seeds for excellence that lead to Olympic champions. Many of the best U.S. and world swimmers came through college ranks. Even swimmers from other countries, such as Leon Marchand of France, who won four golds, was a beneficiary of the college swimming infrastructure and coaching system.

Women’s sports like soccer and volleyball provide a stream of college talent that gives them the best opportunity to stay near the top of world rankings. Even the men’s and women’s basketball teams, filled with professionals, have their roots in the college ranks.

So in a college sports environment distracted by multibillion-dollar television contracts, name, image and likeness agreement debates and legal wrangling over amateurism, let us not forget that excellence on the world’s Olympic stage relies on college athletics and its infrastructure.

China finished second to the U.S., with 91 total medals, including 40 golds, the same number as the U.S. What stands out is that the overlap of sports where the two countries go head-to-head and are competitive is exceedingly small.

Whereas the U.S. excels in swimming and track and field, China shone brightest in diving (a clean sweep, with eight golds, two silvers and one bronze) and table tennis (also a clean sweep, with five golds and one silver). There is no reason the U.S. cannot gain on China in diving. As recently as Greg Louganis in 1988, Mark Lenzi in 1992, Laura Wilkinson in 2000 and David Boudia in 2012, all of whom won Olympic gold, the U.S. was competitive on the world stage. Greater investment in some of the China strongholds like diving could go a long way to lifting the U.S. Olympic medal haul even higher.

Though U.S. dominance was clear this year, the world is getting better, even in some of the historically strong U.S. sports.

For the first time ever, U.S. beach volleyball teams did not win a medal. Given that the game has its roots in the U.S., this reflects how teams around the world have gained on — and, in this case, are surpassing — the U.S. in some sports.

The men’s basketball team, laden with NBA superstars, continued its winning ways. Yet France, which also had several NBA players on its roster, including budding superstar Victor Wembanyama, challenged the U.S. with its homecourt advantage. There will come a time when the U.S. will need to fill its roster with stars based on performance, not just legacy, or the country may find itself a notch or two lower on the podium.

The same holds true with the women’s basketball team, whose only loss was to a group of WNBA all-stars. It will be a pleasure to watch Caitlyn Clark and Angel Reese become Olympians in 2028, dazzling the world with their crisp passing, nothing-but-net shooting, and unlimited three-point range.

The same holds true in the pool and on the track. American excellence is clear, but other countries are fast approaching and catching up, as they attend colleges in the U.S. and gain the advantages that U.S. athletes are enjoying. This is a good thing, pushing U.S. athletes even harder, and engendering goodwill around the globe as we export athletic excellence as a recipe for peace.

As war rages on in Ukraine and Gaza, athletes from across the globe found ways to compete without being at war. In mixed doubles table tennis, a North Korea team won the silver, while a South Korea team won the bronze, peacefully sharing the podium. China and Taiwan also shared the podium in four events (women’s boxing 66kg, women’s weightlifting, women’s 60kg boxing, and men’s doubles badminton). Sports competition can be an ingredient for peace that should not be lost on world leaders.

The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will open in just under four years. With the traditional “home country advantage,” the U.S. will be poised to improve on its world-best 2024 Paris performance and be even more dominant. A top priority should be to maintain and increase U.S. preeminence, all while sharing the process for such capabilities.

Sheldon H. Jacobson, Ph.D., is a professor of computer science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.