The most incredible Olympic records that were broken at the Paris 2024 Games

The Paris 2024 Olympic Games have come to an end, leaving behind one of the best editions in history. The city of light stood out for its sporting venues, the moments that highlighted the camaraderie between athletes and the records that were broken in a new edition.

Every four years, seemingly impossible records are pushed to the limit by athletes seeking the greatest glory for their careers at the Olympic Games. The gold medal is the ultimate prize, but leaving your name as the best record in history is an achievement that very few can boast of.

Olympic records are a great achievement, as they can only be broken every four years at an international event other than the World Championships or regional competitions. In Paris 2024, more than 50 Olympic and World records were replaced with the name of a new owner.

Marchand, making history at home

One of the most acclaimed athletes at this year’s Olympic Games was Frenchman Léon Marchand. Everything was set: he was competing in his country and had been recording good times that made him the favourite to shine in Paris.

Four Olympic records made him the athlete with the most new records in history. Four golds that put the name of France in the Olympic pools while the Marseillaise was playing.

The first of the improved records was the one he snatched from the also historic Michael Phelps who achieved a time of 4:03.84 in the 400m individual medley. Marchand was not afraid and lowered that time to 4:02.95 in Paris 2024.

In one day, in less than two hours, he won two gold medals, breaking two other records: In the 200-meter butterfly he achieved a time of 1:51.21 and in the 200-meter breaststroke he recorded 2:05.85.

Marchand did not tire and broke another Phelps record by clocking 1:54.06 in the 200-meter individual medley.

Armand Duplantis, unbeatable

There are few athletes who can boast of breaking their own records and ending up literally competing against their own marks after securing the gold medal.

Armand Duplantis competed in the pole vault and secured his championship and Olympic record with an early attempt that gave him the freedom to try to beat a world record that, for 8 consecutive times, has been improved by himself. In Paris 2024, the athlete jumped 6.25 meters and received applause from the entire stadium and the world.

Katie Ledecky, surpassing the historical

Katie Ledecky was a fixture for the United States in Olympic swimming. She won two gold medals, one silver and one bronze, as well as several other achievements that put her in the history of world sport.

In the 1500m freestyle she completed the event in 15:30.02, breaking her own record of 15:35.35 set at Tokyo 2020. With the medals won in the 800m freestyle, 400m freestyle and 4x200m relay, she became one of the two women with the most Olympic golds, tied Michael Phelps with four golds in a single event and is now the woman with the most medals in Olympic swimming.

Latin America, three records for history

Guatemala became the first Olympic gold medalist for Guatemala, also achieving an Olympic record. The shooter Adriana Ruano competed in the trap event, in which she managed to hit 45 out of 50 plates, beating the record of 43 set by Rehak Stefecekova in Tokyo 2021.

Emiliano Hernández from Mexico also achieved a historic record in the modern pentathlon in the laser run event. The Mexican made a time of 9:40.80/72.

The 400-meter dash, the most difficult endurance event and one that is made more complicated by its complexity, was won by a runner from the Dominican Republic. Marileidy Paulino became the new winner of the event with an Olympic record of 48.17 seconds 8 hundredths less than the French Marie José Perec who held the record since Atlanta 1996.