Staying Fit
Simone Biles competes in the Women's Balance Beam Final at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Centre on Aug. 3, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.
Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images
The countdown is officially on.
At this very time next year, the world will be gearing up for the Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony.
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It will be much different than when Paris last hosted the Summer Olympics, 100 years ago in 1924. Then, the Olympics featured 17 sports and 126 medal events. In 2024, Paris will feature 32 sports and 329 medal events. In 1924, of the 3,089 participating athletes, more than 95 percent (2,954) were men; 135 were women. In 2024, 10,500 athletes are expected to compete, with equal representation between men and women.
With a year before the Summer Games return, here’s how the top American storylines are shaping up.
Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images
U.S. swimmer Katie Ledecky could become the most accomplished American woman Olympic athlete
Soon after diving into the water, Ledecky will likely achieve two things: collecting another gold medal and getting closer to etching her name in the history books. Ledecky, a seven-time Olympic gold medalist, needs to win three more medals in Paris to surpass former swimmer Jenny Thompson as the most decorated American woman athlete.
Thompson collected 12 medals in four Olympic appearances (1996-2004): eight golds, three silvers and a bronze. Ledecky has collected 10 medals in the past three Olympics (2012-2021): seven golds and three silvers.
It doesn’t appear Ledecky will slow down anytime soon: She won four gold medals at the 2022 World Championships.
The 26-year-old Ledecky did have one surprising loss this summer, to 16-year-old Claire Weinstein in the 200-meter freestyle at the U.S. Swimming Championships. That setback aside, Ledecky hasn’t shown signs of regression. She's currently competing at the world swimming championships for the sixth time. After that, Ledecky will resume her training in Florida in hopes of setting more records in Paris.
(Left to right) Simone Biles and Caeleb Dressel
Photo by Iris van den Broek/BSR Agency/Getty Images; Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images
Can U.S. gymnast Simone Biles and U.S. men’s swimmer Caeleb Dressel make successful comebacks?
Both Biles and Dressel excelled at their respective sports. They both took time away to address their mental health. And they both hope to compete at the Paris Olympics.
Will either or both of them produce an inspiring comeback story? Or will either or both of them experience more hardships?
Biles, a four-time Olympic gold medalist and the greatest female gymnast of all time, reported feeling anxiety after experiencing the “twisties” during the Tokyo Games. Biles then withdrew from a team event where the U.S. women eventually won a silver medal. Biles plans to compete for the first time since the Tokyo Olympics at the U.S. Classic in August, which is a qualifier for the U.S. championships.
Dressel, a seven-time Olympic gold medalist, withdrew from the world championships in June 2022 and refrained from competing or training for the following eight months. Dressel explained the reasoning for his absence in broad terms: “There were a lot of things I shoved down and all came boiling up, so I didn’t really have a choice.” Dressel recently returned to the U.S. national championships, but he did not qualify for the world championships. Dressel also did not advance to the championship final in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle, two events in which he holds the American record and also won at the Tokyo Olympics. Biles will soon find out if she will encounter similar rust at the U.S. Classic.
Both Biles and Dressel have become outspoken on mental health and say the time away from competition helped them significantly. Regardless of whether that leads to more gold-medal performances, Biles and Dressel may have already secured the most important victory by valuing their health over results.
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