From Sha'Carri Richardson to Noah Lyles: 5 shocking defeats endured by athletes in Olympic year 2024

The 2024 track and field season was witness to an incredible amount of sporting action. With athletes zeroed in on giving their best at the 2024 Paris Olympics, fans got to see some enthralling performances.

As is typical of all major sporting events, the 2024 Games saw some big upsets on the track. A handful of fan favorites for the gold medal were forced to settle for less, leaving audiences stunned. On that note, here are the top five biggest upsets of this season.

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#5. Femke Bol, 400m hurdles

Bol at the Paris Olympics (Image Source: Getty)

Femke Bol entered the 2024 season as the reigning World Champion in the 400m hurdles. She was largely considered to be the one who would give Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone a run for her money, especially after she ran a personal best of 50.95s a month before the Paris Olympics, making her the only woman other than McLaughlin-Levrone to dip under the 51 second mark.

Fans were poised for a strong battle between the two at the Games, but Bol’s campaign in Paris didn't quite go according to expectations. McLaughlin-Levrone claimed a dominant win, and her compatriot Anna Cockrell outdid Bol to finish second. This marked the Dutch hurdler’s second consecutive bronze medal finish in the 400m hurdles at the Games.

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#4. Noah Lyles, 200m

Lyles at the Paris Olympics (Image Source: Getty)

After a historic ‘three-peat’ at the 2023 World Championships, Noah Lyles looked poised for another dominant season this year. While the American’s chances of a gold medal finish in the 100m was a point of contention amongst fans, the 200m crown looked practically his for the taking.

Nevertheless, the story unfolded quite differently at the Games. Lyles beat Jamaican sensation Kishane Thompson by thousandths of a second to win the 100m crown. However, a few days later, the American faced a shock defeat in his speciality event, the 200m, as Botswana's Letsile Tebogo took gold, and America’s Kenny Bednarek took silver, forcing Lyles to settle for bronze.

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#3. Sha'Carri Richardson, 100m

Richardson at the Paris Olympics (Image Source: Getty)

Sha'Carri Richardson first marked herself out as a threat as early as 2020, when she won the US Olympic Trials. However, she wasn't allowed to participate at the Tokyo Games as a result of testing positive for cannabis. Post this, she had a couple of lukewarm seasons, but made a roaring comeback to the international stage in 2023, storming to the 100m World Championships gold in Budapest.

With that, Richardson established herself a favorite for gold at the Paris Olympics, especially after Jamaican superstars Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shelly-Anne Fraiser-Pryce were out of the running. However, on finals day, the American was outdone by Saint Lucia's Julien Alfred, much to the surprise of the audience.

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#2. Jakob Ingebrigtsen, 1500m

Ingebrigtsen at the Paris Olympics (Image Source: Getty)

The men's 1500m was perhaps one of the most widely discussed events in the track and field community ahead of the Paris Olympics. The discussion was centered around Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr. Ingebrigtsen entered the year as the reigning Olympic champion, while Kerr was the reigning World Champion, having beaten the Norwegian in Budapest last year.

Fans were divided between the two European runners, but a different name emerged victorious at the Paris Olympics. Team USA's Cole Hocker made a late surge to the front of the pack in the 1500m finals at the Games, clinching gold. Kerr settled for silver, while Ingebrigtsen was relegated to bronze.

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#1. Eluid Kichoge, Marathon

Kipchoge at the 2023 BMW Berlin-Marathon (Image Source: Getty)

Eliud Kipchoge has established himself as a legendary marathon runner, making his performance at the Paris Olympics all the more shocking. The Kenyan holds three of the ten fastest marathon times ever recorded, and entered this year as a two-time Olympic champion, having won gold in both Rio and Tokyo.

At the Paris Olympics, Kipchoge was a strong contender for a podium finish, but he left fans shocked when he pulled out of the marathon mid-way through the race. He cited discomfort around his waist as the reason for his withdrawal. This marked the 40-year-old’s first-ever career DNF.