The Paris Olympics 2024 are officially over. The eventful couple of weeks saw talented athletes from all over the world showcase their prowess. Winning an Olympic medal is a matter of great pride, and winning an Olympic gold medal is the ultimate goal of every professional athlete. While striving for excellence, world records are bound to happen, and the thing about records is that they are meant to be broken! The events in Track and Field saw many such record-breaking moments.

Athletics events are the most contested of all Olympic sports. With 44 events, these are separated into track events (all relay, running, and walking sports), field events (vaulting and throwing sports), and multi-events (decathlon and heptathlon). These events are mostly separated by gender, with the mixed events being a recent arrival. Considering the World Athletic Championships and the Olympics are the most reputed athletic competitions, athletes leave no stone unturned to put on their career-best performances here. Let us take a look at the spectacular and record-breaking performances in Athletics events during the Paris Games (as reported by the Track and Field Gazette).

Track records smashed in Track and Field events at the Games

Women’s 400 m Hurdles: The iconic Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone broke her own record of 51.46 s and won her second individual Olympic gold! The American ran 50.37 seconds and set a new world record while successfully defending her Olympic title.

Men’s 1500 m: This one came out of the syllabus for not just the competitors but the spectators too. Cole Hocker pulled off one of the greatest upsets ever, defeating Josh Kerr and Jakob Ingebritsen. The American flew under the radar and clocked a shocking 3:27.65 to grab gold at the Olympics. Norwegian runner Jakob, who was the previous record holder at 3:28.32, missed out on a spot at the podium altogether!

Women’s 1500 m: Finishing in 3:51.29, Faith Kipyegon blazed to a golden victory at the Paris Games. The Kenyan broke her own previously-held record of 3:53.11 in 2021. She is the first athlete to win gold in this event at three consecutive Olympics in track and field.

Men’s 10000 m: Joshua Cheptegei from Uganda broke an Olympic record set by Kenenisa Bekele at 27:01.17 in 2008. In a thrilling race, Joshua claimed gold after covering the distance in 26:43.14. He timed the race well, taking the lead in the final 600 m. This win makes him the first Ugandan Olympic champion in longer-distance races.

Women’s 400 m: Marileidy Paulino became the first woman from the Dominican Republic to win gold at the Paris Olympics. The Tokyo Games silver medalist grabbed gold in Paris, clocking a total of 48.17 seconds to set a new record. Marie-José Pérec from France previously held the record at 48.25 s.

Women’s 3000 m Steeplechase: Clocking a stunning time of 8:52.76, Winfred Yavi cinched Bahrain’s first gold at the Paris Games in track and field. While doing so, she also broke Gulnara Galkina’s record of 8:58.81.

Men’s 4 x 400 m Relay: The USA Team, consisting of Chris Bailey, Vernon Norwood, Bryce Deadmon, and Rai Benjamin, won gold at the 4 x 400 m relay, hitting the Olympic-record time of 2:54.43.

Men’s Marathon: It was an exceptionally difficult course on challenging terrain. But this did not stop Tamirat Tola from going for gold in 2:06:26, setting a new record previously set by Kenya’s Samuel Wanjiru at 2:06:32. Traversing the tricky hilly terrain, Tola moved forward with determination and managed to win a record-breaking gold for his country.

Women’s Marathon: The Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan claimed her first gold in the women’s marathon at the Games. She raced to victory and clocked a record-breaking 2:22:55, surpassing Tiki Gelana’s 2:23:07. Pushing past her limits, she broke several records, ending the Paris Olympics with three medals.

Mixed 4×400 m: Team Netherlands (Femke Bol, Eugene Omalla, Isaya Klein Ikkink, and Lieke Klaver) crossed the finish line in an Olympic record-breaking time of 3:07:43. They claimed an exhilarating victory, smashing a 2021 record set by Team Poland (3:09:87).

Field records broken during the Games

Men’s Discus Throw: Roje Stona broke the Olympic record for discus with a throw of 70 m. The Jamaican covered a distance of 229 feet and 8 inches to win the gold medal. He also became the first athlete from Jamaica to win a gold medal in a field event at the Games. With a shock win of 70.00 m, he broke the previous record of 69.89 m, held by Lithuanian thrower Virgilijus Alekna in 2004.

Men’s Javelin Throw: It was a sensational victory for Arshad Nadeem as he broke the Olympic Record with his spectacular throw of 92.97 m. The Pakistani managed to clinch gold, surpassing favorite Neeraj Chopra from India. The 27-year-old athlete broke the previous record of 90.57 m, held by Andreas Thorkildsen from Norway in 2008. He was received with a hero’s welcome back home.

Men’s Pole Vault: Swedish Pole Vaulter Mondo Duplantis cleared 6.25 m on his third and final try, thus winning gold. One of the greatest athletes of his generation, he won his second Olympic gold medal while breaking Brazilian Thiago Braz’s record of 6.03 m (2016).

As is evident, Track and Field events saw quite a few record-breaking moments, and certainly, there will be many more in the future!