Three Breakout Stars Of The Paris Olympics

The Paris 2024 Olympics, held from July 29 to August 11, 2024, showcased incredible athletic talent. From record-breaking swimmers to skateboarding phenoms, these young athletes left an indelible mark on their respective sports. Here are the amazing stories of three of the many breakout stars of the 2024 Summer Games.

Arisa Trew — Skateboarding

Skateboarding teen sensation Arisa Trew is no stranger to making history. In June 2023, the young Australian became the first woman to complete a 720 — two full rotations in mid-air — in a competition setting. In May 2024, Trew became the first female to land a 900 — two-and-a-half rotations — in competition.

Her history-making trajectory continued at the Paris 2024 Games. On August 6, 2024, she became the first Australian woman to win an Olympic skateboarding gold. The 14-year-old is also the youngest Olympic medalist in Australia's history.

The teenager's start at the Olympics was a little shaky. She qualified sixth out of eight finalists. The pressure intensified when she had an uncharacteristic fall in the first of her three final runs. However, the youngster regained her composure in her second run. Her score of 90.11 put her in bronze medal contention.

"I was just thinking on my third run that I had to land it no matter what," Trew later told reporters.

And land she did! Her almost perfect score of 94.18 earned the teenager a gold in her first Olympics!

Léon Marchand — Swimming

Léon Marchand's Olympic performance was truly unforgettable. The charismatic 22-year-old French swimmer captured medals in all of the five events he entered. His impressive haul included four gold medals in individual races and a bronze in the men's 4x100 m medley relay. Marchand is the first male swimmer since USA's Michael Phelps to win four gold medals in the same Olympics.

Marchand's gold medal grab began on July 29, 2024, with a resounding victory in the men's 400 m individual medley (IM). He took the lead almost as soon as the race began and never looked back. Marchand completed the grueling race in 4:02.95, breaking Phelps' 16-year record in the event.

Two days later, on July 31, 2024, Marchand accomplished a historic double gold. He won the 200 m butterfly and 200 m breaststroke on the same night, setting new Olympic records in both. The talented swimmer's final individual event was the 200 m IM on August 2, 2024. Once again, he dominated the event, breaking the Olympic record for his fourth gold medal.

Although he swims for the French national team, Marchand spends most of his time in the US and trains with several Team USA swimmers. He is coached by the legendary Bob Bowman, who also trained Michael Phelps. While thrilled at the success in Paris, Marchand and Bowman are already focused on their next goal. They want to break world records at the Los Angeles 2028 Games.

Kristen Faulkner — Cycling

Kristen Faulkner was perhaps one of the best stories from the Paris Olympics. On August 5, 2024, the 31-year-old stunned the world when she surged past more accomplished rivals to win gold in the 158 km road race. Her victory ended a 40-year gold medal drought in the event for Team USA.

"It's a dream come true," Faulkner later said. "It's the best feeling in the world. I don't know how to describe it."

Faulkner's win is even more remarkable given that she did not initially qualify for one of the two road race positions available to American athletes. However, just about a month before the Olympics, one of the selected cyclists withdrew from the event. Faulkner was offered the spot, and she readily accepted.

On August 7, 2024, just two days after her individual triumph, Faulkner struck gold again. She helped the US women's team defeat New Zealand in the team pursuit finals. The two-day event features head-to-head races, with each heat lasting around four minutes. The winner is determined by the fastest time or the team that overtakes their opponent.

Faulkner's road to professional cycling began accidentally in 2017. The Alaska native, who lived in New York City at the time, was looking for an outdoor activity to balance out her stressful full-time job. She decided to take a free cycling class in Central Park.

"I showed up in running shorts and sneakers, and we learned how to clip in and ride around cones," she wrote. "A few weeks later, I won my first race, and that's when I knew I wanted to see how far I could go in the sport."

In 2021, Faulkner quit her job to pursue the sport full-time, and the rest, as they say, is history!

Resources: nbcolympics.com, adn.com, CNN.com, Wikipedia.org, people.com, theguardian.com, npr.org