Team USA topped the Paris Olympic Games medal tally, with 42 bronze, 44 silver, and tied with China’s 40 gold after all events were completed on Sunday.
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The closing ceremony began at 9 p.m. CEST (3 p.m. EDT) and lasted about 3 hours.
Here is the latest:
Dupont Hands Over French Flag to Paralympian
Antoine Dupont, French rugby star and one of the two flag bearers for France during the closing ceremony, passed the French flag to Nantenin Keita, a Paralympic track and field runner. The handover symbolized the transition from the Olympics to the Paralympics.
Olympic Flame Goes Out in Paris
The Olympic flame went out in Paris, officially ending the 2024 Games as Los Angeles took over for 2028.
Meanwhile in Paris
In an abrupt transition from the party on-screen in LA back to the floor in the Stade de France, the Olympic torch was carefully brought on stage by Léon Marchand as athletes rushed back toward the center of the stadium.
The fans greeted him with chants of “Léon! Léon!”
Tom Cruise Descends on Cable From Top of France’s National Stadium
Hollywood star Tom Cruise descended from the top of the stadium on a cable to shake hands with athletes, before taking the Olympic flag from star gymnast Simone Biles, putting it on the back of a motorcycle, and riding out of the stadium.
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Olympic Flag Handed Over to Los Angeles
The Olympic flag was handed over from Paris to Los Angeles, the host of the next Summer Games in 2028.
LA Mayor Karen Bass received the Olympic flag from Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.
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Off Go the Fireworks
The rings were interlocked to form the Olympic logo, which hung in the middle of the stadium as fireworks went off all around them.
Time for the Light Show
The lights went down and the orchestra began to play. A light show illuminated the roof of the Stade de France.
Women’s Marathon Medals Awarded at Closing Ceremony
For the first time, the women’s marathon concluded the Olympic Games. The medals for that event were also presented at the closing ceremony for the first time.
Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands (gold), Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia (silver), and Hellen Obiri of Kenya received their medals on a platform surrounded by other athletes.
Colombia Is Here to Party
Among the bubbliest of delegations was Colombia’s, which walked into the stadium wearing massive striped Colombian sombreros and bright yellow jerseys. In true Colombian fashion, they began to dance—and had to be herded back into place by volunteers.
4 Screens Go Dark In Stadium
The four massive screens in the stadium went dark momentarily as the athletes continued circling the stage, in what was the first technical glitch of the evening.
More Than 10,000 Athletes Competed at the Paris Olympics
The athletes enjoyed having the world’s spotlight on them one last time. Over 19 days of competition, more than 10,000 athletes competed in some 32 sports at over 35 venues across France and Tahiti (surfing).
Many of the athletes in attendance sported their medals around their necks. Each left the Games with a piece of Paris—each medal contains 18 grams of iron from the Eiffel Tower itself.
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Americans Arrive
The United States delegation arrived wearing Ralph Lauren jackets with the American flag on the back. The United States tied China for the most gold medals with 40, and had the most medals overall at 126.
Some Athletes Wear Traditional Outfits for Closing Ceremony
Some athletes, like those representing the delegations from Afghanistan, Cameroon, and Benin, among others, wore traditional clothing from their home countries. Others donned tracksuits or official uniforms.
Katie Ledecky Says She’d ‘Love to Swim in 2028’
As she carried the American flag into the closing ceremony, Katie Ledecky said she’d “love to swim in 2028, I think swimming in front of a home crowd would be incredible. I am going to take it one year at a time.”
Ledecky says this is the first Olympic Games where she has stayed the second week after swimming concluded and where she could attend other events, including multiple basketball games. “I’ve gotten to meet so many athletes from so many different sports. I’ve just been cheering my head off,” she told NBC.
Ledecky, Mead Carry US Flag
Katie Ledecky left the Paris Games with gold medals in the women’s 800-meter freestyle and 1,500-meter freestyle, which increased her career haul to nine Olympic golds. She carried the U.S. flag with rower Nick Mead, who helped the United States win its first Olympic gold medal in the men’s four class since 1960.
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Léon Marchand Carries the Olympic flame
French swimmer Léon Marchand, wearing a black suit and tie, walked around the Olympic cauldron, before picking up a lantern carrying the Olympic flame. The Stade de France roared as Marchand was shown on the giant screens. Marchand was perhaps the most celebrated athlete at the Paris 2024 Olympics, with 4 gold medals and 1 bronze.
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‘The Last Supper’ Opening Ceremony Scenes Left Out of Video Montage
A video montage from the opening ceremony showed boats, cyclists, and more. But it omitted the scenes with drag performers and other characters that were criticized for perceived references to “The Last Supper.”
Paris Olympics Closing Ceremony
The Paris Olympics closing ceremony began at the gardens overlooking the Louvre museum where the Olympic flame had been on show to the public since the start of the Games, before moving to the Stade de France where many of the world’s top athletes competed in recent weeks.
The 2.5-hour show, which initially saw the delegations parading in the stadium, included a theatrical sequence entitled “Records,” which promised a dream-like immersive journey through time led by a “Golden Voyager.”
His odyssey began at the origins of the Olympic Games before proceeding to a science-fiction-filled dystopian future where the Olympic Games had vanished and had to be rediscovered.
Along the way, the Voyager discovered the symbols of peace and unity than underpin the values of Olympism.
Grammy-winning artist H.E.R. performed the U.S. national anthem live in Paris, while Tom Cruise performed a stunt worthy of Mission Impossible.
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Paris Olympic Games Set to Close
Paris will bring down the curtain on the Summer Games, handing over the baton to Los Angeles, the next host of the 2028 Games.
The ceremony, which begins at 9 p.m. local time (3 p.m. ET), will conclude two weeks of sporting drama that saw China and the United States duke it out for top spot in the medal table right down to the last event.
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US Women Rally to Win 8th Straight Gold in Basketball
A’ja Wilson scored 21 points and the U.S. women’s basketball team survived the biggest challenge of its unprecedented run to eight straight Olympic gold medals with a 67–66 win over France at the Paris Games on Sunday.
No team had been able to push the Americans that far during their impressive streak of 61 consecutive wins. Only two of those victories had been by single digits before the game against France.
The eight straight golds broke a tie with the American men’s team that won seven in a row from 1936–1968. The women’s victory came less than 24 hours after the U.S. men’s team also beat France in the title game. This was the first time in Olympic history that both gold medal basketball games featured the same two teams.
Unlike the men’s game, this one came down to the final minute and one last shot by France that was just inside the 3-point line.
Police Arrest Climber Who Tried to Scale Eiffel Tower
A climber scaled the north face of the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Sunday, the last day of the Olympics, before he was intercepted by police halfway up, French law enforcement said.
“At 2:45 pm, an individual was seen climbing the Eiffel Tower. The police immediately intervened and arrested the individual,” a police spokesman said.
Videos posted on social media showed the bare-chested climber skirting the Olympic rings as he made his way up the tower without ropes.
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USOPC to Appeal After Jordan Chiles Stripped of Bronze Medal
U.S. Olympic officials say they will appeal a court ruling that resulted in American gymnast Jordan Chiles being asked to return the bronze medal she won in the Paris Olympics floor exercise.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) voided an on-floor appeal by Chiles’ coach that vaulted her to third, saying the appeal came 4 seconds after the 1-minute time limit for scoring inquiries.
The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) said Saturday night it would respect the court’s decision and elevate Barbosu to third. The International Olympic Committee confirmed the ruling Sunday, announcing that it was reallocating the bronze from last Monday’s women’s floor final to Romanian Ana Barbosu.
“We firmly believe that Jordan rightfully earned the bronze medal, and there were critical errors in both the initial scoring by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and the subsequent CAS appeal process that need to be addressed,” the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) statement said.
CAS ruled Saturday that Team USA coach Cecile Landi’s inquiry to have 0.1 added to Chiles’ score came outside the 1-minute window allowed by the FIG. The CAS ad hoc committee wrote that Landi’s inquiry came 1 minute and 4 seconds after Chiles’ initial score was posted.
The IOC said in a statement that it will be in touch with the USOPC regarding the return of Chiles’ bronze, and will work with the Romanian Olympic Committee to discuss a reallocation ceremony honoring Barbosu.
“The initial error occurred in the scoring by FIG, and the second error was during the CAS appeal process, where the USOPC was not given adequate time or notice to effectively challenge the decision,” said the USOPC statement, which was released Sunday.
It was unclear what exact process the appeal would take at first. The two potential places the USOPC could take the appeal would be to Switzerland’s highest court, the Swiss Tribunal, or the European Court of Human Rights.
Italy Beats US to Win Gold in Women’s Volleyball
Italy beat the United States 3–0 to win the women’s volleyball gold on Sunday.
Brazil beat Turkey 3–1 on Saturday to take the bronze medal.
Jennifer Valente Defends Omnium Gold
American Jennifer Valente won the gold medal in the women’s omnium to conclude the Olympic bike racing on Sunday, winning a second gold in the discipline—though this time without the drama of a last-minute crash that nearly cost her the Tokyo title.
Valente comfortably retained her crown in France’s sweltering National Velodrome with a consistent performance across the four races.
Poland’s Daria Pikulik finished with the silver medal, while New Zealand’s Ally Wollaston was third.
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Flying Dutchman Lavreysen Wins Gold in Men’s Keirin
Flying Dutchman Harrie Lavreysen confirmed his status as the king of men’s sprinting by winning the Olympic keirin cycling competition on Sunday to complete a remarkable hat-trick at France’s National Velodrome.
Lavreysen flew around the final corner to beat Australia’s Matthew Richardson, who took silver. Australia’s Matthew Glaetzer was third.
The 27-year-old Lavreysen also won the team sprint and sprint earlier in a great week for the Dutch, repeating his feat from Tokyo where he could only manage a bronze in the keirin.
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Japan’s Kiyooka Wins Wrestling Gold
Kotaro Kiyooka of Japan won the men’s 65 kg freestyle wrestling gold, while Iran’s Rahman Amouzadkhalili took silver.
Sebastian Rivera of Puerto Rico and Albania’s Islam Dudaev took bronze.
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Hungary Wins Gold in Women’s Modern Pentathlon
Hungary’s Michelle Gulyas showed the steady eye and hand of a sharpshooter to win the women’s modern pentathlon gold medal with a world record points haul at the Paris Olympics on Sunday.
France’s Elodie Clouvel took the silver, after starting the final laser run with a 13-second advantage before losing it with a series of agonizing misses in the target shooting event in front of a home crowd.
South Korea’s Seong Seung-min collected the bronze.
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Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan Wins Gold in Women’s Marathon
The Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan deployed her famous late kick to win the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics on Sunday, adding the gold to her bronze medals she won in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters earlier in the week.
Hassan battled with Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia and managed to shake her in the last stretch, crossing the finish line in an Olympic record time of 2 hours, 22 minutes, and 55 seconds.
Assefa, three seconds behind her, took silver while Kenya’s Hellen Obiri claimed bronze in 2:23:10.
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Team USA Looking for Another Gold in Basketball
The French women face a tall order to win their first Olympic gold medal in basketball at 3:30 p.m. local time (9:30 a.m. ET) on Sunday. They must beat Breanna Stewart and the seven-time defending champions United States at Bercy Arena. Team USA is looking to win their 10th gold since the women’s competition started at the 1976 Games. The final is a rematch from the London 2012 title showdown, which the United States won. In the bronze-medal game, Belgium faces Australia.
IOC Orders US Gymnast Jordan Chiles to Return Bronze Medal
American gymnast Jordan Chiles must return the bronze medal she won in the Paris Olympics floor exercise after sport’s highest court voided an on-floor appeal by Chiles’ coach that vaulted Chiles to third, the International Olympic Committee confirmed Sunday.
The IOC announced it was reallocating the bronze from last Monday’s women’s floor final to Romanian Ana Barbosu after the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) said Saturday night it would respect the court’s decision and elevate Barbosu to third.
The decision came less than 24 hours after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) voided a scoring appeal made by Team USA coach Cecile Landi during the competition that placed Chiles on the podium.
The CAS ruled Saturday that Landi’s appeal—which added 0.1 to Chiles’ score—came outside the 1-minute window allowed by the FIG. The ad hoc committee wrote that Landi’s inquiry came 1 minute and 4 seconds after Chiles’ initial score was posted.
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US Looks to Defend Women’s Volleyball Title
The U.S. women are looking to defend their gold against Team Italy, who are appearing in their first final and are guaranteed a first medal. Italy’s previous best finish at the Olympic Games was fifth. Italy’s outside hitters Myriam Sylla and Loveth Omoruyi will look to cause an upset. The match starts at 1 p.m. CET (7 a.m. ET).
Closing Ceremony
While the opening ceremony was held on the River Seine, the closing ceremony will be staged in the 80,000-capacity Stade de France, which hosted athletics events after the rugby sevens competitions.
The Olympic flame will be extinguished and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo will pass the flag to her Los Angeles counterpart Mayor Karen Bass, a symbolic handover to the next hosts for the 2028 Games.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.