Paris 2024 Olympics: 3 unexpected winners and 1 predictable loser

We all know the medalists so far at the 2024 Paris Olympics (or rather, they are all Just one click away).

The U.S. women’s gymnastics team regained the team all-around gold medal after finishing second at the Tokyo Olympics, while the men’s gymnastics team won a medal in a team event for the first time since 2008. Some of the successes of the Chinese swimming team include Under scrutinyConsidering recent doping scandals, the finish line at the Ironman triathlon is an impressive reminder that How motivated are these athletes?.

But people love the Olympics for more than just the games themselves. We love the stories of the athletes, and the stories we tell about them. With that in mind, here are our biggest winners (and losers) so far.

Not all heroes wear capes, some wear glasses and are very good at pommel horses.

For nearly three hours, American gymnasts and Part-time Rubik’s Cube Solver Stephen Nedoroscik waits his turn. Sitting on a bench, the electrical engineer looks downright friendly; more like Clark Kent’s nerdy cousin than Superman.

But Nedoroscik is like McKayla Maroney in the Vault At the 2012 Olympics, he was an apparatus specialist — a “one-and-done” gymnast who was called up to compete because he performed so well in a particular event.

The pommel horse requires tremendous upper body and core strength as gymnasts slide up and down the horse’s back using only their arms. At the same time, they spread their legs like break dancers, swinging them in circles and intricate patterns. The pommel horse has been a weak event for American men in some years.

This also happened to be the last event of the team finals that the U.S. men’s gymnastics team participated in on Monday.

With the finals coming to a close, the United States needed Nedoroske’s pommel horse score to ensure the team would go home with an Olympic medal. Under pressure, with all eyes on him, the bespectacled athlete lived up to expectations. His championship performance earned Highest Horse Racing Results in American History The United States was awarded a bronze medal – the first medal won by an American male gymnast in 16 years. —Alex Abad-Santos, senior reporter at the Ministry of Culture

it is known The best in gymnastics history would have taken the honors, but some (ahem) weren’t so sure about her teammates — who are now officially the gold medalists in the gymnastics team all-around. Simone Biles had something to say about that.

The original hue came from former Olympic vaulter and 2020 silver medalist MyKayla Skinner, who posted a now-deleted video on her YouTube channel earlier this summer. In addition to her former teammate Biles, Skinner claim The “talent and depth” of the U.S. women’s Olympic team is “not what it used to be.” She added: “It’s clear that a lot of the girls are not working as hard anymore. The work ethic is just lacking for these girls.”

These comments seem to be Biles’s release After the team’s win on Tuesday, she posted a celebratory Instagram featuring a photo of herself and teammates Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera, captioned: “Untalented, lazy, Olympic champions ❤️🥇🇺🇸.”

The former Olympic gymnast couldn’t resist a joke Beloved MemesMcKayla Maroney has the misfortune of sharing a name with Skinner. She commented: “It doesn’t get more iconic than this. She was messing around and it just came out. I feel like I need to apologize to redeem my name.”

Skinner also happens to be the man behind this viral post “Baby Hammer” gender reveal, previously denied the video in a July 3 Instagram Story, saying, “It doesn’t always have to be about the current team because I love and support all of the girls who are successful and I’m so proud of them.”

Biles said that she has since Blocked by Skinnerand finally posted some photos Get a well-deserved restforward Thursday won her second all-around gold medal. —Meredith Haggerty, senior editor, culture

Apologies to my boyfriend, but I’m in love with two sharpshooters: South Korea’s Kim Ye-ji and Turkey Youssef Dikek.

Photos of the two went viral for opposite reasons. After Kim won the silver medal in the 10-meter pistol event, a photo of Kim circulated online. Kim was wearing a black sportswear, futuristic glasses tailor-made for the sport, a backwards hat, and a cold pose, looking like someone had taken her out of the Blade Runner.

Dick, on the other hand, didn’t wear any special gear. The 51-year-old athlete, who has competed in the Olympics since 2008, wore a T-shirt and jeans, without his shooting glasses. He raised his gun nonchalantly and walked onto the podium with a silver medal.

Can’t say the US has style or skill in shooting – it’s ironic that we don’t win any medals despite our gun culture – but I digress. It’s great to see people stick to business principles. —Izzie Ramirez, deputy editor, Future Perfect

There are many studies that show that “nudging” people to make certain behavioral choices is effective. If oat milk is an automatic choice for an iced latte, More people will choose oat milkThis is good for health and the environment – I tend to agree In most instances.

But maybe I wouldn’t do that at the Olympics, where routine is everything. Athletes—elite and amateur alike—are famous for sticking to what they know during competition: nothing new. The night before a big race is not the time to try lentils—or impossible meat, or even regular chicken!—if you’ve never had them before. Of course, athletes Complain they are hungry They can’t sleep because Paris Choose not to turn on the air conditioner and Cardboard bed As part of… Committing to a more sustainable Olympic Games.

In essence, plant-based foods, lower electricity consumption, and less waste are all good things. We should value that. But when athletes need to perform at their best in the moment, and when some countries can completely ignore these drivers (Team USA brought window air conditioners!), it can lead to performance gaps, avoidable anti-environmental backlash, and leave a bad taste in the mouth. -and