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What Are The Top Five Most Watched Olympic Sports?
By: Elsie Mohr
Date: 01/10/2025
The Olympics is one of the biggest sports competitions in the world. Over 200 countries with about 2,900 athletes participate in it every year! There are 74 different sports played in the Olympics, including archery, fencing, swimming, boxing and tennis. The Olympics happen every four years. The next Olympic games will be in 2028, in Los Angeles, United States. Last summer, at the 2024 Paris Olympics many famous athletes competed, such as Simone Biles (USA gymnast), Caroline Marks (USA surfer), Noah Lyles (USA track runner) and Summer Mcintosh (Canadian swimmer). Lots of people love to watch the Olympics, but what are the most watched sports during the Olympic games?
The top five most watched Olympic sports are soccer, track & field, gymnastics, swimming and basketball. I can see why these sports are the most popular to watch. They are all fun filled sports and extremely interesting. Highlights from these events during the 2024 Paris Olympics include Spain winning gold in men's soccer. They had a final score of a 5 - 3 win over France. For track & field, Noah Lyles won the men's 100 meter gold with a final time of 9.784 seconds. Simone Biles led the women's artistic gymnastics team to a gold medal. It's the fourth time the U.S has won gold in that event at the Olympics! In swimming, Kate Douglass won gold in the 200 breaststroke with a final time of 2:19.24 minutes. Kathrine Berkoff won bronze in the 100 backstroke, her final time was 57.98 seconds. Kathrine’s father David Berkoff is a previous world record holder in the same event. He is known for what is called “The Berkoff Blastoff.” A basketball highlight is the men's U.S team defeated France in a huge game of a 98 - 87 win! Steph Curry scored 24 points, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant both scored 15 points, and LeBron James scored 14 points. Another question Olympic watchers ask is, what are famous athletes in each event?
Korbin Albert - U.S Olympic Women's Soccer Team
Korbin Albert is a one time Olympian, she won her first medal, a gold, in Paris last summer. Korbin is 21 years old and a sophomore at Notre Dame, where she plays as a midfielder. At Notre Dame she intends to major in animal behavior. Korbin Albert grew up in Grayslake, IL and is the youngest of six children. Korbin’s mother Janet played sports in college. She was an All American in Track and Field. Some of Korbins siblings played soccer in college as well. Her brother, DJ, played at the University of Cincinnati and her other brother, Keaton played at Indiana Wesleyan University. Korbin’s sister, Teagan played soccer at points in her life, but in the end she joined the diving team at Olivet Nazarene University. Korbin was a huge contributor to the U.S. olympic team and she hopes to get a medal again in the next Olympics.
Jade Carey - U.S Olympic Women's Gymnastics Team
Jade Carey is a two time olympian with two gold medals and one bronze. Jade participated in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics where she won gold in her floor exercise with a finishing score of 14.366. In the 2024 Paris Olympics, Jade won another gold in the team all - around final. In the same games, she also added a bronze medal to her collection in the vault final. Jade grew up in Phoenix, AZ and went to Mountain Ridge High School. Jade is currently a senior at Oregon State University and is studying Digital Communication Arts. Jade committed to Oregon State at just 14 years old, after this, she waited 4 years to start school there. According to the article “Sharing My Story” published on the Oregon State website Jade is very excited to finish her journey at Oregon State University.
Chris Bailey - U.S Olympic Men’s Track and Field Team
Chris Bailey is a one time Olympian and a one time Olympic medalist. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Chris was on the men’s 4x400 relay team that won gold in the final. Along with getting a gold at the Olympics, Chris set an Arkansas College 400 meter record with a final time of 45:09 seconds. Chris grew up in Atlanta, GA and attended Carver High School. He graduated from the University of Tennessee, completing his degree in Kinesiology in May 2022. In the article “Christopher Bailey - Track and Field” Chris says “I chose the University of Tennessee because of the new experience I was looking for, not only athletically but academically. I feel as though being here will provide me with what I require to better myself on and off the track.” Clearly the University of Tennessee helped Chris on the path he hoped for because two years after graduation he won gold at the 2024 Olympic games.
Regan Smith - U.S Olympic Women's Swimming Team
Regan Smith is a two time Olympian with one bronze, five silver and two gold medals. Regan attended the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the Paris 2024 Olympics. Regan specializes in backstroke, butterfly and freestyle. Achieving a world record in the 100 - meter backstroke (long course) and a junior world record in the 200 - meter backstroke. Regan grew up in Lakeville, MN and attended Lakeville North High School. Regan attended Stanford University from 2021 - 2022, but left to go professional and started practicing with Arizona State. Regan continues to set records and personal best times so it will be exciting to see what she will do in the future.
Bam Adebayo - U.S Men’s Basketball Team
Bam Adebayo is a two time Olympian and a two time Olympic gold medalist. Bam competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics where he won his first gold medal and the 2024 Paris Olympics where he won his second. Bam grew up in Newark, NJ and attended high school at High Point Christian Academy. The article that Team USA wrote called “Bam Adebayo” says “Full name is Edrice Femi Adebayo but goes by the nickname “Bam,” which was given to him at the age of one after flipping over a table while watching The Flintstones, resembling the character Bamm-Bamm Rubble.” Not only is Bam an Olympian but he is also a two time NBA all star (2020 and 2023). Bam was the 14th overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft by the Miami Heat. He spent one year at the University of Kentucky before declaring for the NBA draft. As of 2023, Bam has played for the Miami Heat his entire career. Bam Adebayo is one of the NBA’s top defensive players so it will be fun to see Bam play throughout the rest of his career.
Clearly the Olympics are an amazing time of the year. It can be so fun to watch and enjoy the Olympic games with friends and family. The 2028 Olympics will hopefully be extremely entertaining and exciting. It will be amazing to watch these athletes on television or even in person change and make history forever.
These are the sources I used to gather my information:
•https://athleticsweekly.com/aw-promotion/5-most-popular-olympic-sports-1039964748/
•https://olympics.com/en/news/paris-2024-football-men-spain-win-gold-over-france
•https://www.teamusa.com/profiles/korbin-albert
•https://fightingirish.com/roster/korbin-albert/
•https://www.teamusa.com/profiles/jade-carey-1095482
•https://osubeavers.com/news/2023/10/31/womens-gymnastics-sharing-my-story-jade-carey
•https://www.teamusa.com/profiles/chris-bailey-1188355
•https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/athlete/christopher-bailey_1960604
•https://utsports.com/sports/track-and-field/roster/christopher-bailey/13907
•https://www.teamusa.com/profiles/regan-smith-1005704
•https://gostanford.com/sports/womens-swimming-diving/roster/player/regan-smith
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