The London Athletics Meet, the final Wanda Diamond League event before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, took place on Saturday, showcasing several athletes who delivered record-breaking performances and will head to France aiming for gold. The 2024 Paris Olympics is already historic for being the first ever to feature an equal ratio of male and female athletes, promising even more record-breaking achievements this year in France.
Equality at the Olympics
— The European Correspondent (@EurCorrespond) July 16, 2024
The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris achieve full gender parity for the first time, with men and women competing in equal numbers across all events. This achievement represents a significant stride toward equality in sports.
✏️ Created by Mandy Spaltman. pic.twitter.com/tf5LGEuhfV
Table of Contents
Athletics Records Broken At 2024 London Meet
Women’s 400m
- Nickisha Pryce, in her Diamond League debut, broke the Jamaican national record and the Diamond League record with a time of 48.57, the fastest 400m since Tokyo 2020.
Men’s 400m
- Matthew Hudson-Smith broke his own European record with 43.74, making him the first European man to run under 44 seconds and the fastest 400m time this year.
Women’s 800m
- Keely Hodgkinson broke her own British record of 1:54.61
Men’s 3000m
- Dominic Lokinyomo Lobalu won with a meeting time of 7:27.68, the fastest outdoor time this year.
Athletes to Watch in Paris
Noah Lyles
American sprinter Noah Lyles has become dominant in the running world winning three gold medals in the 2023 World Championships. Lyles has his sights set on winning gold for all four of the events he is competing in in Paris after only claiming the 200m bronze at Tokyo 2020. This year Noah competed in 19 races and finished first in 17 of them, the other two he placed second. Currently, Lyles holds the third fastest time ever for the 200m but has occasionally struggled with the 100m. Lyles will be competing in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay, and the 4x400m relay.
Gabby Thomas
At the London meet Gabby Thomas made a last-second upset in the 200m dash, originally Thomas looked like she would place second but a last-minute burst of energy gave her the win over Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred. This win puts Gabby in a good spot headed into Paris where she will face fierce competitors with historic rivalries.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is a two-time gold medalist, four-time silver medalist, and one-time bronze across four different Olympics. She is regarded as one of the best sprinters of all time, running the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m. She has announced that the 2024 Paris Games will be her last competition. On July 16th, Fraser was supposed to compete in her first international race of the season at the Spitzen Leichtathletik Luzern in Switzerland but ended up pulling out of the race due to discomfort during warmups. This has caused speculation on how well she will be able to perform in Paris this year.
Shelly-ann Fraser-Pryce has pulled out of the 100m at the Luzern Athletics scheduled to run today. pic.twitter.com/pOmhBI2Vn9
— RoriDunk (@FitzDunk) July 16, 2024
Yulimar Rojas
Yulimar Rojas is one of the triple jump’s leading athletes, even being nicknamed “Queen of the Triple Jump”. In 2022 she set the world record for women, jumping 15.74m. She also became the first Venezuelan woman to win an Olympic gold medal.
¡NUEVO RÉCORD DEL MUNDO INDOOR Y PRIMER TRIPLETE MUNDIAL DE LA HISTORIA!
— Yulimar Rojas (@TeamRojas45) March 20, 2022
⏩1️⃣5️⃣.7️⃣4️⃣⏪
✔️ 15.19
❌
✔️ 15.04
❌
✔️15.36
✔️1️⃣5️⃣.7️⃣4️⃣
🇻🇪 🥇🥇🥇 + 🥇🥇 pic.twitter.com/cHJBQe1EOl
Neeraj Chopra
Neeraj Chopra is one of the frontrunners for the javelin throw ahead of the Paris games. Chopra is the reigning world and Olympic champion, winning in 2023 and 2020 respectively. Chopra is also the second Indian ever to win an Olympic gold medal, he will look to win his second in Paris however has faced some injuries in the past few months which may cause some problems for him.
