2024 PARIS OLYMPIC GAMES | RECAP

Published Mon 12 Aug 2024

The 2024 Paris Olympic Games will go down as the most successful Olympic Games for Australia, and the best performance by the Athletics team since the Melbourne Games in 1956.

Lead by WA’s very own golden girl Nina Kennedy, the 75-athlete strong Australia team departed Paris with seven medals and three new Australian records. More than doubling the medal haul from the Tokyo Olympics, the Australians captivated fans across the world with the most medals ever won at an away game.

Building on her legacy, Nina Kennedy delivered an absolute masterclass in the Women’s Pole Vault to claim her maiden Olympic title. Missing only two clearances across the entire qualifying round and final, the World Champion was unstoppable and a class above the field in Paris.

“I have genuinely thought about this night every single day since those Budapest world championships, the night I finished Budapest, equal gold,” Nina said.

“You know, sharing with Katie will go down in history as one of my favourite competitions ever. But it really, really just ignited this self-belief in me.”

The Bunbury born athlete once again battled USA’s Katie Moon (USA) at the tail end of the competition but was able to better the former Olympic Champion over 4.90m. Moon chose to move on to 4.95m after failing her first attempt at 4.90m in a bid to snag the top spot from Kennedy. However, it wasn’t to be for Moon, who missed all attempts at 4.95m, crowning Kennedy as the new Olympic Pole Vault Champion. Kennedy’s pole vault gold in Paris was the first for Australia since Sally Pearson’s sprint hurdles gold at London 2012.

Kurtis Marschall made an inspiring return from injury in the Men’s Pole Vault event, punching a ticket straight to the finals after clearing 5.70m in the qualifying round. Marschall went on to clear 5.85m in the final to place 6th, with the World Champion Armand Duplantis (Sweden) taking the top spot after launching to a new World and Olympic Record of 6.25m.

The Athletics component of the games was opened with the Men’s 20km Race Walk with WA’s Declan Tingay launching proceedings. Despite a 30-minute delay due to thunderstorms, Tingay looked strong across the competition. Battling the hot and humid European conditions, Tingay delivered a strong finish to cross in 1:19.56 and claim 11th in the world, improving on his 17th in Tokyo. The UWA walker returned for the inaugural Marathon Race Walk Mixed Relay alongside Victoria’s Rebecca Henderson. Henderson and Tingay finished the event in 22nd place after crossing the line in 3:09.21.

Olympic debutant Alanah Yukich delivered a memorable campaign in the Women’s 400m Hurdles. Arguably one of the most anticipated events of the Olympics, Yukich faced a strong opening field with the likes of World Champion Femke Bol (COUNTRY) to finish 7th in her opening round. However, the resilient runner backed it up with an awe-inspiring repechage round. A photo finish saw Yukich and Belgium racer Naomi Van Den Broeck run the exact same time of 55.11 (.107) to qualify for the Olympic Semi-Final. The personal best meant Yukich would line up for the semi-final at her first Olympics, where she was able to cross the line in 55.49 to place 7th amongst the world's best.

Australian Favourite Peter Bol dug deep in the Men’s 800m as he attempted to replicate his Tokyo 2020 success. The WA athlete struggled to find his form in a fast field and wasn’t able to overcome his disrupted preparations due to injury. Proceeding to the repechage following a 7th place in his opening round, Bol just missed the semi-final after producing a time of 1:46.12 to place 4th and close out his Paris campaign.

The top performances and medals began on the opening day of athletics competition with Jemima Montag’s brilliant bronze in the Women’s 20km Race Walk under the shadows of the Eiffel Tower. Only Australia’s second Olympic medal in this event.

The first medals in Stade de France came in the Women’s High Jump. Nicola Olysagers jumped to silver, to match her breakthrough medal in Tokyo and her teammate Eleanor Patterson won bronze to go with her other major championships medals.

On the same magical night, as Nina was at one end of the stadium winning pole vault gold, Matthew Denny achieved his lifetime dream of an Olympic discus medal. Matt won bronze in the best Olympic final in history with the Olympic record broken by both athletes ahead of him.

When competition returned to Trocadero for the first marathon mixed relay event at the Olympics, the Australians were good enough to be part of history. Rhydian Cowley and Jemima Montag combined to win bronze. Jemima’s second medal for the Games.

There had been high expectations for Jesssica Hull to win a medal in the 1500m but it had never been done before and one of the all-time greats and Kenyan world record holder Faith Kepyogen was the clear favourite. Jess was not leaving Paris without a medal and she handled the pace, race tactics and pressure to win a sensational silver.

The complete results from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games can be found HERE.

READY TO START SOMETHING GREAT?

The 2024-25 Athletics Summer Season powered by Go For 2&5 is set to launch this September, with registrations open on 1 September. With our Little Athletes ready to emulate the heroics of our green and gold heroes, plus the National Championships bound for Perth, it’s bound to be a massive season.

Whether you are looking for a new personal best, want to support your child's Little Athletics journey or are looking for the edge come next footy season, this summer 'Great Starts Here!

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For more information about how you can get started in athletics, contact Athletics West on 08 6272 0480 or email admin@athleticswest.com.au.

By Imogen McDonald and David Smith

Additional reporting by Athletics Australia and the Australian Olympic Committee

Image by Athletics Australia

Published 12 August 2024