Whether you’re a sports fanatic or only a passive football viewer to catch Taylor Swift, the Olympics invite all of us to be dazzled by the world of athletics. This year, competition was steeper than ever. In case you missed swimming for RayGun or volleyball for track, The Wellesley News is happy to quickly recap all of the biggest stories from the Games.

Swim

The biggest story in Olympic swimming this year is undoubtedly the domination of Léon Marchand, the 22-year-old French phenom who took gold in every individual event he entered, along with helping France win bronze in the 4x100m medley relay. It was not Marchand’s first Olympics for France, but his first he went medal-less. He has since spent four years developing on the University of Florida’s swim team, building to a performance where he broke a Phelps record and went unchallenged in most fields. The best part? He got to do it at home.

On the women’s side, it was a tough contest between the Australians and the Americans, with the US narrowly winning more gold medals, 8-7. Katie Ledecky continued her untouchable streak in the 800m freestyle, along with winning the 1500m freestyle. In the 1500, she won by a comically large margin of 10 seconds.

Courtesy of NBC

The Americans also set a world record for the 4x100m medley relay, defeating the previous record by .75 seconds. However, women’s swim was not completely dominated by the US and AUS; Canada’s Summer McIntosh, at just 18 years old, won gold comfortably in the 200m butterfly, 200m IM and 400m IM. 

Additionally, the Wellesley News is incredibly proud of Lara Dashti ’26’s participation in the 100m Breaststroke representing Kuwait. We look forward to watching you this season!!

Soccer

They’re BACK! After a long drought in American dominance in women’s soccer worldwide, the US women’s team managed to pull off a gold medal finish in this year’s Olympics. New coach Emma Hayes was hired only last November, and made some dramatic changes to the roster only months before the competition began. Soccer experts seemed to come to the consensus that the team was too fresh, not sufficiently bonded, and that more experienced teams would go the distance this year. That was until the US dominated their group stage and pulled off a win against Japan in the quarterfinals. Most then expected their journey to end against Brazil in the finals, yet they managed to emerge victorious, having silenced the doubts surrounding their team and proven that the dynasty US women’s soccer has been revived.

Track

Speaking of people who are back, Sha’Carri Richardson, in her Olympic debut, earned silver in the 100m and gold with her teammates in the 4x100m relay. In the 100m race, she was bested only by St. Lucia’s Julien Alfred. Though it could have been a devastating moment, Richardson’s sportsmanship was admirable, and Alfred’s reaction to winning St. Lucia’s first ever olympic gold medal was heartwarming. 

The Americans did earn gold in many other individual events, but the victories of Gabby Thomas and Sydney McLaughlin were the most impactful. Thomas, a Harvard graduate who works in a healthcare clinic for people without insurance, was coming off of a slightly disappointing bronze medal in her Tokyo olympic debut. She was the overwhelming favorite this year, and she delivered, finally winning her gold. Then, of course, there is Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, the best 400m hurdles track runner the world has ever seen. She has broken the world record in the event six times; this year, with an outstanding time of 50.37 seconds. She dominated the field, while fellow American Sierra Cockrell earned silver.

Gymnastics

The best comeback story in history. Simone Biles returned to Olympic competition as if she had never missed it; she won the gold medals in the individual and team all-around competitions as well as the vault and silver on floor, making her career collection 11. The most decorated gymnast of all time had the performance of her life at 27 years old. Should you get the chance, the Wellesley News urges you to watch her performances on YouTube — she defies physics. Her teammates Suni Lee and Jordan Chiles also saw incredible performances, and Jade Carey won silver in the vault competition. Biles was often followed in ranking by Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, who at 25 years old proved that the age at which female gymnasts can perform is not just larger on Biles’ account. Andrade performed beautifully on floor in the individual competition, the only one in which she bested Biles, but the two share an inspiring friendship. Women’s gymnastics not only brought us inspiration, but a shining example of women supporting women.

Contact the editors responsible for this story: Julee Sharma ([email protected]) and Finley Tipton ([email protected])