3 unexpected winners — and 1 predictable loser — from the Paris Olympics so far
We all know the medal winners for the competitions that have taken place so far in the 2024 Paris Olympics (or, rather, they’re all a single click away).
The US women’s gymnastics team reclaimed gold for the team all-around after a second-place finish in Tokyo, while the men’s team won its first medal in the team event since 2008. Some of China’s swimming successes are being scrutinized, given recent doping scandals. The triathlon finish line was incredibly impressive — and a reminder of how intensely these athletes push themselves.
But the Games aren’t beloved just for the games themselves. We fall in love with athletes’ stories, and the stories we tell ourselves about them, too. With that in mind, here are some of the biggest winners (and one loser) of our hearts so far.
Winner: America’s favorite pommel horse son
Not all heroes wear capes; some wear glasses and are very good at pommel horse.
For nearly three hours, American gymnast and part-time Rubik’s Cube solver Stephen Nedoroscik waited for his turn. Sitting on the bench, the electrical engineer looked relatable; more like Clark Kent’s nerdier cousin than Superman.
But Nedoroscik, like McKayla Maroney on the vault in the 2012 Games, is an apparatus specialist — a “one and done” gymnast called in to do an event because they’re so exceptional at it.
The pommel horse requires massive upper body and core strength as gymnasts use only their arms to glide up and down the body of the horse. At the same time, they flare their legs like breakdancers, whipping them in circles and intricate patterns. The pommel horse has, in some years, been a weak spot for American men.
It also just so happened to be the last event for USA’s men’s gymnastics team at the team final on Monday.
As the final wound down, Team USA needed Nedoroscik’s pommel horse score to ensure that the team would be going home with Olympic hardware. With the pressure on and all eyes on him, the bespectacled athlete delivered. His champion performance earned the highest-ever US score on the horse and gave the US team the bronze medal — the first medal for American male gymnasts in 16 years. —Alex Abad-Santos, senior correspondent, culture
Winner: Simone Biles’s social media
We all knew the gymnastics GOAT was going to get the glory, but some out there (cough cough) were a little less certain about her teammates — who are now officially gold medal winners for the gymnastics team all-around competition. And Simone Biles has something to say about that.
The original shade came from former Olympic vaulter and 2020 silver medalist MyKayla Skinner, in a now-deleted video on her own YouTube channel earlier this summer. Other than her former teammate Biles, Skinner claimed that “the talent and the depth” of the US women’s Olympic team “just isn’t like what it used to be.” She went on to say, “Obviously a lot of girls don’t work as hard. The girls just don’t have the work ethic.”
These comments appear to be what Biles was referring to when she posted her celebratory Instagram after the team’s Tuesday win, pairing pictures of herself and teammates Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, and Hezly Rivera with the caption: “Lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions ❤️????????????.”
The gag didn’t escape former Olympic gymnast and beloved meme, McKayla Maroney, who unfortunately shares a version of Skinner’s first name. She commented, “It doesn’t get more iconic than this. She f’d around n found out fr. Feels like I need to apologize just to redeem my first name.”
Skinner, who also happens to be the mom behind the viral “Baby Harmer” gender reveal, previously disavowed the video in a July 3 Instagram story, saying it “wasn’t always necessarily about the current team, because I love and support all the girls that made it and I’m so proud of them.”
Biles, who indicated she has since been blocked by Skinner, last posted some pics of getting a well-earned rest, before winning her second all-around gold on Thursday. —Meredith Haggerty, senior editor, culture
Winner: Sharpshooters who have never looked cooler
Apologies to my boyfriend, but I’m in love with two sharpshooters: South Korea’s Kim Yeji and Turkey’s Yusuf Dikec.
Photos of the two have gone viral for completely opposite reasons. After she won silver in the 10-meter pistol event, a previous photo of Kim made the rounds on the internet. Dripped out in black athletic wear, futuristic eyeglasses customized for the sport, a backward hat, and boasting an ice-cold stance, Kim looked like someone had teleported her out of Blade Runner.
Dikec, on the other hand, wasn’t in any particular gear. The 51-year-old, who’s been competing at the Olympics since 2008, showed up in a T-shirt, jeans, and no shooting glasses. He nonchalantly pointed his gun and got to the podium with a silver medal.
Can’t say that the US is bringing either style or skill when it comes to sharpshooting — deeply ironic that we have zero medals despite our gun culture — but I digress. It rules to see people stand on business. —Izzie Ramirez, deputy editor of Future Perfect
Loser: Paris’s eco-friendly approaches
There are a lot of studies that indicate that “nudging” people toward certain behavioral choices works. If oat milk is the automatic choice for an iced latte, more people would default to oat milk. That’s better for health and environment — and I’m inclined to agree in most cases.
But perhaps the one place where I wouldn’t do that is the Olympics, where routine is everything. Athletes — elite and amateur alike — are notorious for sticking to what they know during a competition: nothing new. The night before a big race isn’t the time to try lentils — or Impossible Meat or even normal chicken! — if you’ve never had them before. Naturally, athletes have been complaining that they’re hungry and that they can’t sleep because Paris opted for no AC and cardboard beds as part of its commitment to a more sustainable Games.
In a vacuum, plant-based foods, lower electricity, and less waste are good things. We should value that. But when athletes need peak performance for this one moment, and when some countries can entirely ignore the nudges (Team USA brought window-unit ACs!), it creates a divide in performance, opens the door to anti-green backlash that could have been avoided, and leaves a bad taste. —IR