Power ranking every single sport at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics

3. Swimming (Individual)

Some of the biggest moments to happen in Olympics history happened in a pool. Mark Spitz's breaking records at the 1972 Olympics come to mind. Michael Phelps shattering all Olympic records (23 gold medals when nobody else at the time of this writing has 10 is bonkers) is a bevy of moments. Eric Moussambani represented Equatorial Guinea in 2000. The individual swimmers are going to make history again in 2024. 

Caeleb Dressel looks to build on his seven gold medals after being forced to leave the sport after a health scare in 2022. Katie Ledecky is looking to become just the second athlete ever to have double-digit gold medals (she currently has seven and is in four events in Paris). Leon Marchand is one of the best swimmers in the world, and he’s competing in front of his home crowd. Bobby Finke is looking to become one of the greatest distance swimmers ever. And there is this contingent of future stars in the women’s field looking to dominate Paris. Canada's Summer McIntosh, Australia's Mollie O'Callaghan, and the U.S.’s Kate Douglass can become household names come August.

Everything from short swims to longer heats tend to be as close as humanly possible. Each swimmer is within fingertips of winning the race. We’ve seen gold, silver, and bronze decided between 10ths of a second. Phelps beat Milorad Cavic in Beijing in the 100m by less than five millimeters. In 1972, the 400m was decided by two hundredths of a second. When the race was announced, both Tim McKee and Gunnar Larson had been given the top spot until more research was done to declare Larson the winner.

Swimming is all about the finish. It’s impossible not to get usurped in the moment. Whether there’s a rooting interest or not, this sport stops you in your tracks and forces you to see how this finishes. It’s also a dominant event, with 28 individual swimming gold medals awarded in Paris. There is so much to watch when it comes to swimming this year.