5 best moments in Track and Field in the Olympic year ft Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone's back to back World Records

2024 has been a rather incredible year in track and field. Several athletes continued to maintain their supremacy, like Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone did in women's 400m hurdles, breaking the world record not once but twice this year.

However, the Olympic year also gave some unexpected results, that nobody thought of in their wildest dreams, be it Julien Alfred scripting history with a 100m gold, or Letsile Tebogo winning the 200m event.

On that note, let's take a look at the five greatest track and field moments in the Olympic year 2024:

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5 memorable track and field moments in the Olympic year 2024 ft. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone

1) Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone at Olympic Trials and Paris Olympics :

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone with the 400m hurdles gold medal at the Paris Olympics 2024 [Image Source : Getty]

After a long injury break, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone returned to the track in 2024. Though she held the world record in the 400m hurdles, the 25-year-old hurdler was far from being the undisputed bet for an Olympic gold medal, with Dutch athlete Femke Bol catching up.

However, McLaughlin-Levrone laid all the doubts to rest with her performance at the US Olympic Trials. She broke her world record for the fifth time with a timing of 50.65 seconds, qualifiying for the Paris Olympics. She nearly broke the 50 second barrier, with a timing of 50.37 seconds at the 400m hurdles finals in Paris Olympics, winning the gold medal for the second consecutive time.

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2) Julien Alfred at Paris Olympics and Diamond League :

Julien Alfred after winning the gold medal in women's 100m at the Paris Olympics [Image Source : Getty]

Though she had won a silver medal at the Youth Olympics in 2018, nobody expected Julien Alfred to do the unthinkable at the Paris Olympics. However, in a rather rainy final, she ran her way to Olympic glory, upsetting the strong favorite, Sha'Carri Richardson, with a new national record of 10.72 seconds, thus becoming the first Olympic medalist in the history of Saint Lucia.

Alfred continued her good form at the Diamond League Finals in Brussels, winning the 100m event after clocking 10.88 seconds.

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3) Armand Duplantis throughout the year :

Mondo Duplantis at the Paris Olympics [Image Source : Getty]

While Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone re-established her supremacy by breaking the world record twice, one athlete broke the world records as if it was child's play. This was Swedish-American pole vaulter Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis, who broke the world record in men's pole vault event not once, not twice, but thrice, taking his count of breaking the world record to a record amount of 10 attempts!

Duplantis first broke the record at the Xiamen Diamond League, making a jump of 6.24m. When he was assured of another Olympic gold medal at Paris, the pole vaulter went for another shot at the world record, breaking his own mark by 1 cm. Duplantis broke the record for the third time as he won the Silesia Diamond League, with a mark of 6.26m!

4) Letsile Tebogo at Paris Olympics:

Letsile Tebogo at the Paris Olympics [Image Source : Getty]

Like Julien Alfred, this sprinter from Botswana turned out to be the dark horse of track and field at the Paris Olympics. Though he missed out on a podium finish in the 100m, Tebogo didn't waste a moment in the 200m, breaking the African record by clocking 19.46 seconds to win the first ever Olympic gold medal for Botswana. Tebogo topped it off with a silver medal in the men's 4*400m relay event.

5) Noah Lyles's gold medal in 100m at Paris Olympics:

Noah Lyles after winning the 100m gold at Paris Olympics [Image Source : Getty]

The USA has been the dominating force in track and field since the beginning of the modern Olympics. Yet, for more than two decades, an Olympic gold medal evaded the American in the 100m event, irrespective of gender.

However, Noah Lyles had other ideas. Though he had won several medals, including a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics in the 200m event, he wasn't the top bet for a gold medal in the men's 100m event.

In the finals, Lyles gave it his all, running neck-to-neck with Kishane Thompson of Jamaica before edging him out by the barest of margins to win back an Olympic gold medal for the USA in the 100m after two decades.

The American, however, was unable to replicate these exploits in the 200m event, as he won bronze. Nonetheless, 2024 was a year to remember for Noah Lyles.