An Olympic year is always a banner year for Athletics. Unlike many other sports which have an annual cadence of marquee events, the Olympics remain the pinnacle of achievement for Track & Field athletes to stamp their legacy in the sport. For us recreational runners, it’s a chance to see the very best push their limits, and remind us of why we love the sport. 2024 was a year to remember that offered running fans many moments to cherish, not just at Paris in the summer, but all year round. Let’s recap some of the unforgettable ones:
The jaw-dropper: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s Record-Breaking 400m Hurdles
The 2024 Olympics more than lived up to its billing as the showpiece event of the year, with spectacular performances, World Records and inspiring stories across a range of distances. Let’s start with the easy pick: on the jaw-drop scale, Sydney Mclaughlin Levrone blitzkrieg-ing her way to the 400m H win in a World Record time would be most fans’ choice as THE performance on the track. While WRs are almost a matter of routine for SML now, the really astounding facet of her run was the gap between her and the competition, which included the formidable Femke Bol – in fact, Bol found the scorching pace set by SML in the first half so hard, she had no energy left and faded to 3rd place at the finish. Bol, however had her own moment of glory with her stirring anchor leg in the 4x400m Mixed Relay – the way she closed that race is worth watching on repeat.
Sifan Hassan’s Heroics
Paris also saw one of the all-time great athletic achievements over the course of a fortnight, in Sifan Hassan’s unbelievable triple-medal heroics. Following up her bronze in the 5K & 10K, she strode to a scarcely believable Gold in the marathon, which was just a day after a gut-busting 10K finish. Sifan Hassan showed us that determination, heart, and grit can take you places you never thought possible. Truly, the modern-day Emile Zatopek of our times.
Race of the Year: Men’s 1500m at Paris
The race of the Olympics was undoubtedly the men’s 1500m. The hotly anticipated match-up between Norwegian superstar Jakob Ingebrigsten and Brit Josh Kerr lived up to the hype, with Jakob throwing down the gauntlet with a blistering pace from the start, and Kerr refusing to back down. But what really made this race so special was the plot-twist at the end, when USA’s unheralded Cole Hocker put in one of the great surges to upset the apple cart and take Gold. Not just the race of Paris, it was the race of the year – the folks at LetsRun agree with this assessment too, in this superb recap.
Other super stars also shone bright. Faith Kipyegon reasserted her claim as the greatest miler in history with her 3rd straight Olympic 1500m gold. Beatrice Chebet had a spectacular year overall (World Cross Country title, first woman to go sub 14 mins in the 5K, etc.) and crowned it with a 5K/10K Olympic double title in Paris. Noah Lyles rose like a phoenix from the ashes after a slow start in the 100m and pipped Kishane Thompson by 0.05 seconds - to put that in perspective, 0.05 seconds is an order of magnitude shorter than the time it takes for your eye to blink once. The margins in elite sport are truly insane!
While I remain a running fan at heart, one other Olympics vignette will remain etched in memory – the sliver-haired Turkish shooter who waltzed his way to a Silver medal, while making it look like it was a minor stopover on his way to pick up his kid from school or something similar. So casual and cool.
Geeks on Feet has a lovely podcast segment on the Olympics in the yearly recap episode, catch it here.
Tragic Loss
Among all the highs of 2024, we also had one of the darkest days ever. Kevin Kiptum, the undisputed to-be-next marathon superstar, tragically died in an accident in February. With the GOAT Eliud Kipchoge finally succumbing to the ravages of Father time this year, the world was eager to see if Kiptum would have taken marathoning to newer heights, which he clearly seemed capable of. Alas, fate had other plans. Rest in peace, champ.
A marathon for the ages
The year also laid claim to what will go down in history as a ‘what-did-I-just-see’ race, when Ruth Chepngetich smashed the 2:10 barrier for the women’s marathon on a cool October morning in Chicago. It’s easy to overlook women’s achievements in the marathon, especially when there’s no “2:00 hr barrier” to focus on, which makes mainstream awareness of this stupendous feat difficult to comprehend for the general public. In percentage terms, the gap between the men’s and women’s WR is now the lowest in the last couple decades, when women started to really take giant strides in the marathon. Make no mistake, Chepngetich’s 2:09:56 is one of the greatest ever athletic performances of all time and just on its own merit, made 2024 a year to remember.
Looking Ahead
As we look to 2025, let’s carry the energy and inspiration from these incredible performances into our own running journeys. Whether we’re running for health, racing a 5K or training for a marathon, the stories of the world’s best remind us why we love to run. Here’s to a year filled with more unforgettable moments!
Happy 2025, and happy running to you everyone!
Satish started running in his 40s and has been a serious recreational runner for a decade. He has run many marathons, HMs and other distances and is now looking forward to new challenges like Ooty & Comrades. Satish believes that running has been a truly transformative force in his life & passionately advocates running as a lifetime sport.