Team USA was predictably dominant at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, claiming 126 overall medals and 40 golds, narrowly edging out China for the lead by a tiebreaker. Fourteen of those golds and 34 of Team USA’s medals came on the track, again no surprise, but the shock over the two weeks of track and field competition at Stade de France was American distance running. Not only did the American men produce the fastest man on earth, Noah Lyles, but American men medaled in all but one event on the track (800m). The 2024 Summer Olympic Games gave us the year of American distance running.
- Joshua Yourish
FanSided Staff Writer
Best fan moment of the year
It’s hard to pick just one moment from the 2024 Olympics, but Cole Hocker’s kick to win the 1500m is about as good as it gets. Only four American men have ever won the 1500m at the Olympics, Jim Lightbody in 1904, Mel Sheppard in 1908, Matthew Centrowitz in 2016, and Hocker in Paris this past summer. Oh, and Grant Fisher’s 5K–10K bronze–bronze double made him just the fourth American man to medal in the 10,000 meters.
Why you should join this fandom
Aside from golf, there aren’t many sports that as a fan, you can still participate in. And while you’ll likely never play Augusta National, you can easily run a 5K, 10K, marathon, or even find a track and see how close or far you are from Hocker’s ridiculous 3:27.65. Speaking of majors, former Olympic gold medalist sprinter Michael Johnson is bringing the concept to the track with Grand Slam Track, which kicks off its inaugural season in 2025, so there’s never been a better time to be a fan of distance running or track and field.