Paris Olympics 2024 will be a brand new experience for athletes from around the world. At the same time, they will also be the last chance for many champions to show their athletic might, and show the world one last time why have been a force to reckon with.
Here are some of the champion athletes, for whom the Paris Olympics will be their last appearance:
Athletes who will be making a final appearance at the Paris Olympics ft. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Mutaz Barshim
# 3) Gianmarco Tamberi [Italy - Men's High Jump]:
Gianmarco Tamberi surprised everybody at the Tokyo Olympics when he shared the gold medal for the men's high jump at the Tokyo Olympics with Qatari athlete Mutaz Barshim.
For both Qatar and Italy, this was their first Olympic gold medal in the history of this sport.
While a hamstring injury threatens his bid for the Paris Olympics, the 32-year-old Tamberi has assured that he won't go out without fighting. Both Tamberi and Mutaz Barshim have indicated that the Paris Olympics would be their final attempt at Olympic glory.
# 2) Mutaz Essa Barshim [Qatar - Men's High Jump]:
This 33-year-old high jumper from Qatar has recently announced his retirement, revealing that the Paris Games will be his final appearance.
According to an excerpt from his Instagram post,
"Between the joy of achieving a dream and the sadness of its ending, the Paris Olympics 2024 will be my last Olympic participation..." [in translation]
Barshim is a triple Olympic medalist and currently has the 2nd highest jump of all time to his name, with a personal best of 2.43 m. He won a silver each at the London Olympics 2012 and the Rio Olympics 2016. At the Tokyo Olympics, Barshim was part of a unique moment in sporting history when he won a joint gold medal for the men's high jump with Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy, both having set a mark of 2.37 m.
# 1) Shelly-Ann Fraser- Pryce [Jamaica - Women's 100 m and 4 x 100 m relay]:
Another legend who will be hanging up her boots after the Paris Olympics is the Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, one of the most decorated female sprinters in the history of track and field.
Fraser-Pryce has officially confirmed her retirement, and she will be taking part in the women's 100 m and women's 4x100 m relay at her last Olympics.
The 37-year-old sprinter from Kingston, Jamaica, has 8 Olympic medals and 16 World Championship medals to her credit. Having begun her career at almost the same time as Usain Bolt, Fraser-Pryce has been often compared with him in terms of her historic achievements. She won a silver medal in the 100 m and a gold medal in the 4x100m relay at the Tokyo Olympics.
Out of the 4 races she has run in 2024 till now, Fraser-Pryce has run the 100 m under 11 seconds thrice, including a seasonal best of 10.91 in the semi-finals of the Jamaican Olympic trials. She will be participating in her fifth Olympic Games in Paris this year, where she looks likely to be a real presence and not there just to make up the numbers.