Olympics Overview
Incredible athletes at the Paris Olympics
Catherine Spalding and Andrea Scott Copy Editor and Sports Editor
This year’s 2024 Summer Olympics brought athletes from around 200 diferent nations to Paris to participate in the games. Eighteen athletes who competed in the Paris Olympics came from the 25 schools in the Sacred Heart network across the US and Canada.
Among this group is ninetime swimming gold medalist Katie Ledecky, who graduated from Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda, Maryland, and graduated in 2015, according to RSCJ. Two other Olympic swimmers, Phoebe Bacon and Erin Gemmell, are also alumni of Stone Ridge. Having so many Olympians, especially headline makers like Ledecky, from Sacred Heart schools is inspirational for current Sacred Heart Athletes, according to sophomore Siena Kane.
gold during the 2024 games, which outranks the number of female gold medalists from the prior Olympics. Simone Biles also made a gold medal appearance at this year's Olympic games, winning three gold medals and one silver medal with her routines. Biles began her gymnastics
all worked very hard to get to where they are now, especially Simone.”
Rebeca Andrade, a Brazilian gymnast, won a gold medal in the women’s foor fnal alongside Simone Biles winning silver and Jordan Chiles winning bronze. Andrade’s frst Olympics was
shining through these ladies. Congrats Rebeca, Jordan and Simone!”
“I was impressed that Katie Ledecky went to a Sacred Heart school and I think it’s amazing that our school community has so many connections to the Olympics,” Kane said. “She is also a great role model for aspiring female athletes.”
Ledecky was one of the 24 US female athletes that won
career at the age of six at the Bannon’s Gymnastix in Houston, Texas with Coach Aimee Boorman. She rose to fame in 2013 at the age of 16 when she won two gold medals at the Antwerp Championships. Tis is where she introduced to the world her incredible skill in her foor routine named “ Te Biles”, according to the FIG.
“I respect her as an athlete and as a person,” sophomore Arria Shimizu said. “I think all the gymnasts are very talented athletes and they
in Rio in 2016. Having had three ACL injuries she stayed determined which led to her gold medal victory, according to Olympics.
Many congratulated the three foor podium winners on this moment including former First Lady Michelle Obama. Chiles’ medal has recently been revoked but at the time Michelle Obama stated in a post on the social media platform X: “I’m still not over this beautiful moment of sisterhood and sportsmanship! You can just feel the love
“In all honesty, I didn’t notice the signifcance at frst because it just seemed so normal,” Shimizu said. “ Ten I heard about it later and it was saddening that it took this long but at the same time that is what makes it so special.” Another female athlete Sydney McLaughlinLevrone is an American hurdler and sprinter who competes in the 400 meter hurdles. She won gold in the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics, as well as the 2022 World Athletics Championship. She recently broke her own world record for the 400 meter hurdle at the Paris Olympics with a time of 50.37 seconds.
Out of the 257 athletes from the USA, 65% are frst-time medalists, and overall, 44 athletes won multiple medals, including 13 who won multiple golds. U.S. athletes competed in 47 out of 48 sports ofered and Team USA medaled in 34 of those. Team USA fnished of with 126 medals, 40 of those being gold, according to US Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
OLYMPIC Rings displayed in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. This summer was the first Olympic games where most of the events were held in the city, such as holding swimming events in the River Seine.
