Yet across the globe there is one constant: these lists are dominated by a Paris Olympics seared into the memory. Nothing else came close.
Pick your day, relive the moment. Keely Hodgkinson, Alex Yee, Simone Biles, Leon Marchand, Mondo Duplantis, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and a men's 1500m final for the ages; I was fortunate to see them all up close. But even that list barely scratches the surface. As Christophe Dubi, the executive director of the Olympics, put it to me recently, Paris 2024 was like the Dude in the Big Lebowski: the right Games at the right time and place.
In fact it was so good, it even provided the most thrilling moments of the year in tennis and basketball - two sports where the Olympics are usually an afterthought not the pinnacle. Novak Djokovic's victory over Carlos Alcaraz was one of the great men's matches, while Steph Curry's "golden dagger" provided one of the great moments, and memes, in the dying embers of Team USA's triumph against France.
The TV figures were also strong, with the BBC's live coverage winning the ratings battle every day. So during this period of excess and reflection, a provocative question comes to mind. Would it be that wrong to stage the summer Games, this wondrous celebration of sport, more frequently? Perhaps, even, every two years?
This story is from the December 30, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the December 30, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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