Power ranking every single sport at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics
By Nick Villano
2. Track (Dash)
The dash portion of track and field and swimming have similar reasons they are so fun to watch. It’s the thrilling finish to a pure race that keeps us coming back for more. However, unlike track, swimming does not have the history that track does. It’s rooted in the very beginnings of Olympic-style games. The original Games were trying to figure out who was the best athlete, and speed was primed on the top of the list. We know track athletes all the way back to 776 B.C.
Many great moments happened in the stadium built around the 400m track. Jesse Owens broke people’s perceptions in 1936. Tommie Smith and John Carlos held up fists in Mexico City. Carl Lewis broke records in 1984. Usain Bolt destroyed the barriers we thought for human speed. This sports history makes it so much more exciting when we see the next athlete on the list breaking it.
This year, there are stars on stars competing in all types of individual track events. That’s how they drove more than 4 million viewers to the track and field Olympic trials. People are very excited to see Sha’Carri Richardson and Noah Lyles dominate their field.
It’s going to be amazing to see these athletes in sprint events. There are world champions looking to build their resumes on the biggest stage. These are moments we could remember forever.