We are nearing the end of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and a lot has happened since the tournament started on July 26.

Sport brings people together and the Olympics is fun to watch because athletes from all over the world participate in various physical activities that everyone enjoys.

With that said, let us look at some of the most iconic moments at the Paris Olympics.

South Africa’s first gold medal

So far, South Africa has four medals – two bronze, one silver and one gold. When Tatjana Smith won gold in the women’s 100m breaststroke, everyone was happy for her because she went from position four to first place in split seconds.

It was unbelievable but she did it and made South Africa proud.

South African gold medallist swimmer Tatjana Smith. Picture: Instagram

Simone Biles’s cheesy caption

When Biles and her team won a gold medal in the women’s artistic team all-around, she posted a picture of themselves on Instagram with the caption: “Lack of talent, lazy, Olympic champions.”

Fellow gymnast McKayla Maroney responded to Biles’s picture: “It doesn’t get more iconic than this. She f’d around and found out fr (for real). Feels like I need to apologise just to redeem my first name.”

This comes after a content creator posted a video on social media, labelling the US gymnastics team as “lazy”.

The US gymnastics team. Picture: Instagram

The music choice on Sofia Lexi Jacqueline Frank

When the Filipino-American figure skater won the gold medal, she got someone to record the awards ceremony.

When she posted the video on her social media pages, she used Kanye West’s famous line, “Everybody wants to know what I would do if I didn’t win. I guess we’ll never know”, as she climbed the podium.

Oh she did that 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/hmr23sq7Do
— Ichigo Niggasake (@SomaKazima) July 31, 2024

The sharpshooter with no protective gear

Olympic silver medallist Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec broke the internet when he went viral for shooting without protective gear and a hand in his pocket.

After his moment, he shot his shot at Elon Musk, asking him if they could collaborate.

“Hi Elon, do you think future robots can win medals at the Olympics with their hands in their pockets?😎🇹🇷 How about discussing this in Istanbul, the cultural capital that unites continents?”

And the tycoon responded by saying he looks forward to visiting Istanbul.

Gold medallist Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec. Picture: Instagram

South Africans supporting Imane Khelif

When the Algerian boxer was accused of being a man after defeating Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng, South Africans supported her because they knew what she was going through.

Khelif experienced the same discrimination and hate that South African runner Caster Semenya experienced in the past years until she retired from the Olympics.

That sparked a conversation about how the West shows prejudice against women of colour by questioning their womanhood should they dare be better than those they deem worthy of the titles.

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif. Picture: Instagram

The Olympic Games Paris 2024 ends on August 11.

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