Paris Olympics 2024 Recap

Paris during the opening ceremony

As the sun sets over the City of Love, Tom Cruise carries the Olympic flag away on his motorbike, presumably to Los Angeles for the 2028 Olympics. With this, the Paris Olympics of Summer 2024 draw to a close, ending a journey marked with tears, joy, and tremendous achievements. 

Malaysia sent a 26-man-strong contingent of athletes to compete in the Olympics in a variety of sports, ranging from badminton to archery and golf. While gold continues to elude our athletes, Malaysia has managed to grab 2 bronze medals, both from badminton. All in all, this year’s Olympics have been an unforgettable one. Let’s recap all of the moments, both joyous and controversial, that made these Olympics special.

Highlights from the opening ceremony

Needless to say, the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics 2024 drew most of the public’s interest as it highlighted the beginning of a prestigious and much longed for event across the globe. This year’s Olympics embodied several phenomenal moments, with Lady Gaga’s rendition of Mon Truc en Plumes, Aya Nakamura’s fierce stage and Celine Dion’s astonishing live performance.

Lady Gaga performance at the Olympics with inspiration from the French cabaret

Paris also proved itself to be for the theatre kids, having performers depicting France’s history with themes from Les Misérables and the final startling appearance of a beheaded Marie Antoinette before launching into a rock performance across the river Seine.

Theatrical performance depicting France’s history

Nevertheless, the event that surely stole the limelight would be “the blue man”, who drew both castigation and bemusement from the audience and netizens alike. When it was first broadcasted live, the scene was described as shocking and insulting to Christian people, as it appeared to be a ‘rude’ parody of ‘The Last Supper’. 

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The ceremony’s artistic director, however, explained that the scene was inspired by the portrayal of the Greek god, Dionysus, him being the father of Sequana, the goddess of the Seine River. Thomas Jolly goes on to elaborate that the idea was to showcase a grand pagan festival connected to the Olympus gods—the namesake of the Olympics ceremony itself.

Malaysia’s Bronze Medals

Malaysia has once again proven that it is simply invincible when it comes to badminton by clinching 2 bronze medals in the men’s singles and doubles, respectively. There were strained moments in each Malaysian household or their beloved ‘Mamak shops’, as we awaited on tenterhooks for the final shuttlecock to slam into the opposing player’s court.

Aaron – Wooi Yik defending their bronze medal

Lo and behold, the men’s doubles duo Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik sealed Malaysia’s first bronze medal against Danish’s Astrup—Rasmussen in a tense match with just a point difference during the rubber match. 

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Lee Zii Jia marked Malaysia’s second bronze medal with a staggering comeback against India’s Lakshya Sen of 13-21, 21-16, 21-11. The 26-year-old celebrated his win coolly, while Malaysians, whether at home or in other countries, were elated by the victory, secretly hoping for a public holiday for the following day.

The athletes received a warm welcome upon landing in their motherland, with a whole throng of supporters awaiting and congratulating them. The Minister of Youth and Sports, Hannah Yeoh, wished them a heartfelt congratulations and encouraged them to keep up their momentum. Truly a prideful moment for all Malaysians.

The bronze medallists back at home

Muffin Man

It’s not quite surprising to see national athletes becoming influencers and gaining widespread interest by the public due to the accessibility of social media these days. Netizens are, in fact, quite captivated by the daily vlog footage at the Olympic village shared by the athletes. To name a few of them: Ilona Maher, America’s national rugby player; Tom Daley, Britain’s diving athlete; Tina Rahimi, Australia’s boxer and many more athletes who have become highly entertaining throughout the span of the Olympic journey.

However, one athlete in particular rose to fame by becoming the crowd’s favourite with his witty content. Norwegian swimmer, Henrik Christiansen, who has been quite active on social media, first posted about the muffin in a review about the food he had at the Olympics. While his rating for the rest of the food was mellow, he rates the chocolate muffin as ‘insane’.

Henrik with the most sought after muffins in his TikTok videos

Following him, many other athletes went on to procure the sweet treat and shared videos of them trying it out or, at times, lamenting at the loss of it. Christensen’s video took social media by storm, with fellow athletes trying them out or rating them, as well as food influencers and sports fans attempting to recreate the muffin.

Other athletes trying out the muffins

Christensen produced more videos following the viral sensation, centering them around the muffin and even stating that it had become more difficult to obtain the muffin due to its high demand. Some of his videos proved to be hilarious, with many athletes joining on the trend, leading to a chocolate muffin shortage.

Models or Sharpshooters?

One particular sports event during the Olympics that fascinated many across the globe was the sharpshooting event, where the stunning figures and poses of the sharpshooters amassed great attention. Many people took to X, formerly known as Twitter and TikTok, to share the athletes’ figures, describing how they displayed ‘the most aura known to man’.

Two athletes with very distinct styles, Kim Yeji from South Korea and Yusuf Dikec from Turkey, became the centre of these memes and edits, with many people online going wild with their speculations and imaginations. Kim Yeji’s video of her fully donned in black and flipping her shooting glasses to check her score has to be one of the most circulated videos this year.

Kim Yeji’s posture that went viral

Of course, her posture as she shoots cuts an imposing and cold figure as well. And, if we’re talking about cold figures, it would have to be Yusuf Dikec as he clinches a silver medal in his category, with one hand in his pocket and completely free of any shooting gear. Moreover, after a deeper dive into the Turkey national athlete, it was revealed that he’s a retired police officer and quite absurdly owns a very cute cat. 

Yusuf’s completely nonchalant pose

This has led to several memes of him being a real-life John Wick who would protect his pet with his life. Both silver medallists have spurred on the fanfiction community with how they portray main characters of a dystopian/cyberpunk fic. 

Weighlifting Wonder—Mohamad Aniq Kasdan

22-year-old Mohamad Aniq made his Olympic debut in the 2024 Olympics, joining the men’s 61 kg category of weightlifting. He performed tremendously above any expectations, successfully lifting 130 kg to break the previous national record of 129 kg. 

Mohamad Aniq Kasdan

Unfortunately, the weightlifting star missed the bronze medal by just 1 kg. He had a total of 297 kg, which was surpassed by American lifter Hampton Morris, who secured the podium with 298 kg.

Despite this disappointment, Mohamad Aniq vowed to continue performing well and bring home medals in the future. He is surely one to watch as he continues his weightlifting career. Coaches note that he shows endless potential, and hopefully we will see him return in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Gender Confusion— False Claims and Allegations

Imane Khelif’s match with opponent Angela Carini ended after just one well-aimed punch—one that ended with Carini in tears, claiming that she quit “to save her own life.” This opened up a huge debate regarding the gender eligibility of Imane Khelif, subjecting her to unwarranted abuse.

In 2023, Khelif and Lin Yu-ting, who hail from Algeria and Chinese Taipei, respectively, were banned from competing in the International Boxing Association’s World Championship in New Delhi after failing “gender eligibility” tests, the details of which are strictly confidential. However, the International Olympic Committee determined that the two boxers are eligible and comply with entry regulations. 

Khelif (left) and Carini (right)

It is biologically possible to have female reproductive organs and have the XY (male) chromosome due to causes such as Swyer’s Syndrome. Many people online, including celebrities such as J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk, have chimed in with remarks, implying that they believe Khelif to be transgender and she should not be allowed to compete.

J.K. Rowling’s now deleted tweet

It is important to note that Khelif is registered as female on her passport. In addition to that, childhood photos of the boxer have surfaced online, which clearly show Khelif as a young girl. As a result, Khelif has announced that she will take legal action against those who have made defamatory remarks about her gender online and participated in cyber-harassment.

Keirin Heartbreak

Aside from badminton and diving, Malaysians had consistently placed their medal hopes on Datuk Azizulhasni Awang, otherwise known as the Pocket Rocketman. To the dismay of all Malaysians, Azizulhasni’s medal hopes ended in disqualification during his keirin event.

Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang

According to the Olympic Committee, Azizulhasni overtook the derny before it pulled off the track completely, which resulted in a technical disqualification. Azizulhasni, 36, looked downcast as he sat down next to the track. The appeal made by the Malaysian team was rejected by the jury. 

In a heartbreaking turn of events, the 36 year-old track cyclist could only accept his disqualification. According to Azizulhasni, he planned to retire from professional track cycling after the 2024 Olympics. However, his career hangs in the balance as he contemplates his retirement and the possibility of joining the 2028 Olympics.

Paralympic Pride

Malaysia sent a team of 30 paralympians to compete in 8 sports in the Paris Paralympics 2024, earning us a haul of 2 golds, 2 silvers, and 1 bronze. The gold medallists were Cheah Liek Hou and Bonnie Bunyau Gustin, who competed in the men’s single event in badminton and 72 kg men’s powerlifting, respectively. Gustin also broke his own world record, which sits comfortably at 232 kg now. 

Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli bagged silver in the men’s shot put F20 event, whereas Abdul Latif Romly also got silver in the men’s long jump in the T20 category. Eddy Bernard, who hails from Sabah, also won the bronze medal in the men’s 100m sprint in the T44 event.

These achievements have made Malaysians everywhere exceedingly proud as netizens have showered the athletes with praise and encouragement online, with some diehard supporters even showing up to receive the athletes at KLIA. May this serve as a reminder to us all that the sky’s the limit. 

Cheah Liek Hou

Bonnie Bunyau Gustin

And there you have it! A complete wrap-up on the most memorable moments that you may have missed during the Olympics. Congratulations, and thank you to every one of them who has given their all to be able to embrace this heartfelt moment. The Olympics truly encapsulate the celebration and coming together of people, regardless of backgrounds, transcending languages to build a peaceful and better world.

Written by: Sarah Wong and Poorani

Edited by: Tisyha