The Paris 2024 Olympics has been one of my favorite Olympic Games to date (although nothing holds a candle to London 2012), so it was really challenging to choose just five favorite moments, but I did my best!

• Pommel Horse Guy–America’s newest (super)hero, Stephen Nedoroscik, captured all of our hearts with his quick transformation from self-proclaimed glasses-wearing nerd to star of the Bercy Arena, as he left his glasses hanging on the chalk bin and wowed us all with his talent and skill on the pommel horse. I was thrilled when he helped the US men’s team capture the bronze medal, and even more ecstatic when he won an individual medal, as well!
• Léon Marchand Wins Gold in Front of the Home Crowd–I’m always a fan of a home-town hero, and seeing Marchand win not just one, but four gold medals in Paris was a thrill, and he was even able to accomplish something Michael Phelps never did, by winning two individual gold medals in the same night! As always, it was fun to listen to Rowdy Gaines call his races, because Rowdy always gets excited about a good swim!
• Respect on the Podium–The image I will forever carry with me from these Olympics is that of Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles bowing in respect to Rebeca Andrade on the podium following the floor final. The beautiful display of sportswomanship and ultimate respect was an unforgettable moment, and one I am grateful I got to witness.
• Djokovic’s Golden Slam–I couldn’t not root for Djokovic, who was attempting to complete the elusive golden slam to cap off his illustrious career. Knowing that he was the oldest player in the tournament, competing in the final against the youngest player, just made the story more perfect. Seeing the joy on his face when he finally accomplished that goal, and watching him run through the stands to his family, was touching, and later seeing him outside the Eiffel Tower with his gold medal and the flag of Serbia completed the narrative.
• Golden Noah Lyles…and Bronze with COVID–I love Noah Lyles’ larger-than-life personality and his story of struggle and triumph, so I was really rooting for him to win the 100m, and it was a thrilling moment when the victory came down to a photo finish. I was also hoping he could match Usain Bolt and Carl Lewis by winning both the 100m and 200m. That wasn’t meant to be, but when I found out that Lyles won bronze in that race in spite of having COVID (and being an asthmatic!), I realized just how impressive that bronze was! And his loss enabled Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, who was running in memory of his mother who died earlier this year, to win the gold in that event, which made me happy for him, too.

And one bonus item, which includes all of the non-athlete heroes from these games!

• Snoop Dogg, Bob the Cap Catcher, Phryge the Mascot, Flavor Flav, and Cookie Monster, Elmo, & Abby Cadabby–Not all of the heroes of the games participated in the sports. Snoop Dogg somehow became America’s grandpa and Team USA’s mascot. Bob the Cap Catcher, a man who wanted anonymity, rose to fame simply for diving into the pool in a speedo to retrieve the caps that the swimmers lost. Phryge, an anthropomorphic Phrygian cap, taught us the ins and outs of the different sports. Flavor Flav inexplicably became water polo’s biggest fan. And the visitors from Sesame Street charmed athletes and added a wholesomeness to the Olympics I didn’t even realize was missing!

Ok, one last-minute shoutout to:

• The Closing Ceremony–Hands-down my favorite Olympics Closing Ceremony ever. I loved the pageantry, the music, the speeches, and especially the handover to LA. I am definitely looking forward to seeing the youth of the world assemble there in four years for another Olympic Games!

Paris 2024 was a great Olympics full of memorable moments and characters, broken records, and history made. My biggest regret is that the women’s artistic gymnastics ended up with a cloud over the event, which is a shame because it was amazing in the moment. Hopefully in the end, we will remember these Olympics for all of the moments that went right, and not those that went wrong.