Competition at the Olympics has officially ended, leaving behind an impressive display of athleticism and history-making performances from all around the world.
The final medal tally puts the United States at the top, followed by China and then Japan.
Australia’s final mark sits at fourth, making this our most successful Olympic campaign in history— largely thanks to Aussie women claiming the majority of gold medals.
Following the closing ceremony on Monday (AEST), we take a final look at some of the biggest moments to wrap up the 2024 Games.
Women’s marathon
In one of the most anticipated events of the Games, Dutch runner Sifan Hassan set a new Olympic marathon record and claimed gold, with an epic sprint to the finish. Her final time was an incredible 2:22:55 over the 42km course.
Earlier in the week, the 31-year-old Hassan had already been standing on the Olympic podium to accept Olympic bronze medals in both the 5,000m and the 10,000m.
This makes Hassan the first athlete in 72 years to medal in the 5,000m, 10,000m and marathon. She also became the first woman in history to claim Olympic gold in all three events over the course of two Games.
To cap out her historical Olympics performance, Hassan stood on top of the women’s marathon podium wearing her hijab – a move that has seen her receive worldwide prais in the face of France’s controversial hijab ban for their own athletes.
Women’s water polo
Australia’s women’s water polo team, the Stingers gave their best performance in the Olympics in 24 years by winning the silver medal in their match on Sunday (AEST).
While they lost the final match to Spain, with a score of 11-9 at La Defense Arena, the Stingers are celebrating their historic Olympic campaign. It was the second best result they’ve ever achieved at the Games.
Spain was a formidable opponent to snatch the gold, with the team having won medals at four of the last five World Championships and reaching the final of the last three European Championships, with a victory in two.
During the Olympics final, Stingers player Alice Williams made history of her own by scoring five goals for the match and 21 over the tournament, making her the top goal scorer in the competition.
Women’s basketball
Australia’s Opals made the Paris Olympics podium, winning a bronze medal after a tense play-off game against Belgium on Sunday.
The final score was a close 85-81, with rising star Ezi Magbegor spearheading Australia’s win. Magbegor scored a career-best 30 points during the game, with FIBA rating her the most efficient of any player, male or female, in Olympic basketball history.
Opals veteran Lauren Jackson also made history, as this bronze-medal win secures her fifth Olympic medal from five outings for the Opals. Paris 2024 was Jackson’s comeback, having first played at the Olympics in Sydney in 2000.
Women’s boxing
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif won the gold medal to emerge champion after facing extreme online abuse and bullying over misinformation about her gender.
Khelif beat Yang Liu of China 5:0 in the final of the women’s welterweight division, with fans from Algeria and around the world roaring in support.
Khelif’s gold medal is Algeria’s first in women’s boxing, and she’s only the nation’s second boxing gold medallist ever, joining Hocine Soltani, who won in 1996.
Considering the online abuse she received after being falsely accused of being a man, it’s all the more impressive that Khelif has never done as well in another international tournament as she did in these Olympics.
Following the gender dispute, Khelif has filed a formal legal complaint, citing being the victim of online harassment, according to her lawyer.
Women’s diving
Australia’s Maddison Keeney has made Olympic history, winning silver in the 3m springboard to earn the nation’s first ever medal in the event.
Before Keeney’s silver medal performance, the 28-year-old had a notably rocky start to the Paris Olympics after missing out on a medal in the 3m synchronised springboard after her partner, Anabelle Smith slipped launching into the final dive.
In an incredible comeback, Keeney remained composed on Friday, with her 3m springboard event dives earning her second place on the Paris podium.
Women’s athletics
Australia’s running star Jessica Hull has made history in Paris, earning the nation’s first ever medal in the 1500m event.
Hull secured the silver medal after finishing second to Kenyan running legend Faith Kipyegon, who broke the Olympic record time in 3:51.29.
Her second-fastest time ever, Hull clocked 3:52.56 in the 1500m finals in Paris, which is the second fastest ever by an Aussie. Hull holds the Australian and Oceania record of 3:50.83, which she broke only a month ago.
Talking to reporters after her Olympic performance, Hull revealed her mother had told her to “do it for this little girl tonight”, referring to an old magazine cover featuring a 12-year-old Hull competing at Little Athletics.
“That’s all I needed to hear from her,” Hull said.