Paris 2024: The most underperforming athletes

Paris 2024 was an unforgettable sporting spectacle, but some athletes did not live up to the hype created around them in the run-up. We have listed the most underperforming athletes of the Paris Olympics.

We had no expectations for Van De Velde as our only experience with him was seeing his name pop up in headlines alongside the words “convicted”, “rapist”, and “pedophile” but still, the fact he was there was an affront to athletes from around the world and was a black mark on what was otherwise a fantastic Games.

Dressel is an incredibly decorated Olympian already, but it was disappointing to see him struggle in almost every solo event. Per CBS News he was seen crying after being knocked out in the 100m butterfly semi-final, so it was clearly a tough week in the pool for him too. He did still win the 4x100m freestyle, so it wasn’t all bad.

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Breaking was new to Paris 2024 and received mixed reviews in part due to Australian breaker Raygun who’s performance scored a whopping 0 points per The Daily Mail. The Aussie has a PhD in breakdancing yet could only muster a series of moves that made some fans question if she was mocking the sport.

Team GB’s Molly Caudrey was one of the favourites for gold in the women’s pole vault competition yet failed to clear the lowered qualification height of 4.55m meaning she failed to reach the expanded final. Caudrey was emotional after her event, telling the BBC, “It’s honestly heartbreaking.”

Norwegian middle-distance runner Jakob Ingebrigtsen is another athlete who achieved Olympic gold yet still didn’t quite live up to the hype. The men’s 1500m final had been billed as a matchup between Ingebrigtsen and Kerr, yet both were so determined to beat the other, they left the door open for Cole Hocker to storm home and take the gold.

We know marathon-great Kipchoge is 39-years-old and heading towards the end of his career, but seeing the once indomitable Kenyan DNF in the men’s marathon was still hard to see. Maybe disappointing is the wrong word, but a grand finish would have been an excellent way for Kipchoge’s Olympic career to end.

To single Fraser-Price out is perhaps being harsh as the Jamaican was reportedly blocked from entering the stadium to warm up before her 100m semi-final, however, she was the biggest name in a Jamaican sprint team in Paris that failed to win a single gold medal. Kishane Thompson lost heartbreakingly in the men’s 100m in what was an overall disappointing Games for the island nation.

Lyles won the 100m gold in incredible style having started slowly, however, his COVID-hampered 200m final saw him finish miles behind the winner Letsile Tebogo. Lyles talks a lot, which is great when he can back it up, but given he told The Inside Track podcast, “In the 200 meters, I have that idea of 19.10s constantly in my head,” earlier this year, finishing third with a time of 19.70 was disappointing.

Are there any obvious disappointments we’ve missed from the Paris Olympics? Let us know in the comment section!

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