A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
From athletes on boats to gymnastics GOATs...
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
(Laughter).
MARTÍNEZ: ...It was a Summer Olympics that pretty much had it all.
INSKEEP: Yeah, and the 2024 Paris Games ended last night. Millions and millions of people watched the Games on TV. I don't know about you, A, but my family was among them. We saw the boats. We saw Simone Biles win again and again. We saw Cole Hocker come out of nowhere to win the 1,500 meters. How did he even do that? The U.S. had the most medals overall, although China tied the Americans for the most golds.
MARTÍNEZ: Here to wrap it all up for us is NPR sports correspondent Becky Sullivan, one last time from Paris. Becky, before we get to the big picture, still one thing to kind of resolve, and that's U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles - questions about whether she'll have to give back her bronze medals.
BECKY SULLIVAN, BYLINE: Yeah.
MARTÍNEZ: Tell us about that.
SULLIVAN: Yeah, this is really a confounding situation. This all centers at the very end of the floor exercise final, which was one week ago today. Chiles, a U.S. gymnast, was awarded bronze after a last-minute score inquiry by her coach had boosted her score by a tenth of a point, which, in gymnastics, was enough to boost her from fifth place into third place, over a Romanian gymnast. Then Romania protested. They claimed the inquiry had come too late, and, over the weekend, an independent arbitrator agreed. There is a one-minute deadline to make this kind of inquiry for Jordan Chiles' position. Chiles' coach, this arbitrator said, filed that inquiry four seconds too late, and so the final results were revised. Yesterday, Olympic officials said Chiles would have to return the bronze, and then - twist - all of this could go out the window, maybe. USA Gymnastics says they have video evidence that the inquiry was, in fact, filed on time, meaning the score should stand. They have challenged the ruling. This still has a way to go before it's resolved.
MARTÍNEZ: If it was me, I wouldn't know what I'd do with the bronze medal. I don't know where I put it.
(LAUGHTER)
MARTÍNEZ: Too bad, IOC. (Laughter) OK, now, Becky - now that the games are over, how did it all go?
SULLIVAN: You know, I think for the U.S, it was good. You guys mentioned some of those highlights. I mean, a little bit of disappointment in the pool, a little bit of disappointment here and there on the track, but I think overall, a terrific Games for the U.S. - a lot of huge wins - and here in Paris, the mood is that this was a huge success, too. I mean, for all the fuss that you heard from the French about the Olympics and how annoying it was going to be, they ended up being very into it. I mean, you couldn't go anywhere around town these past two weeks without seeing people decked out in their France gear, the tricolor flags painted on their cheeks. And then the TV audiences - as you say, millions of people watched. They had actually cratered for the last Summer Olympics in Tokyo, back in 2021. This year, they were back. NBC reported that the overall audience was up 77% over the last Olympics, which is just massive.
MARTÍNEZ: So what, of all the things, sticks out to you?
SULLIVAN: (Laughter) So many things. I mean, I got to see some of the greatest athletes of a generation compete. That included Biles, like you said Katie Ledecky, the French swimmer Leon Marchand, the Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis. I mean, those guys were incredible. And, you know, 2 1/2 weeks ago, A, you and I were talking about the NBA star Steph Curry, who was appearing in his first...
MARTÍNEZ: Oh, yeah.
SULLIVAN: ...Olympic Games. He talked about wanting to, quote, "be where his feet were" and, like, take it all in, and he did. He introduced the table tennis team to other NBA players. He went to see gymnastics. He traded autographs and pins. And, of course, he won the gold medal. Here's how he reflected on that.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
STEPH CURRY: From start to finish, being a fan of other athletes winning gold medals, being at medal ceremonies, at gymnastics - like, it's awe-inspiring, and it's all about representing your country the right way. And there's just a different sense of pride being on that podium, getting your gold medal.
SULLIVAN: And even though a lot of us aren't winning gold medals, I think people felt that way - proud to root for Americans. I had a lot of fun being here, A. I hope you guys had fun watching.
MARTÍNEZ: That's NPR's Becky Sullivan. Thanks. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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