Olympic firsts that will amaze you

composite image showing two olympic athletes celebrating behind an image of the eiffel tower with the five olympic rings on display — Image caption,
St Lucia has won a medal at the Olympics for the first time in history, but what other firsts have happened at the Paris Olympics 2024?

5 August 2024

The Paris 2024 Olympics have been historic for many reasons.

The organisers of this year's Olympics are hoping to be the first carbon neutral Games, meaning organisers want to make sure they offset the carbon impact of the event.

It's the first Olympics to have almost the same number of men and women competing - 5630 male athletes and 5416 female athletes in total.

Individual athletes are making history too - let's take a look at some of the firsts from this year's Games.

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Image source, PA Media
Image caption,
The Caribbean country St Lucia won its first ever medal thanks to athlete Julien Alfred.
She stunned spectators during the women's 100m sprint at the Stade de France, achieving a national record of 10.72 seconds.
St Lucia has a population of fewer than 200,000 people and has sent athletes to seven previous Olympic Games without winning a medal.
Image source, Retuers
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Gymnast Carlos Yulo is coming away with not one but two gold medals.
Not only that but he's got a lifetime supply of ramen, mac and cheese and grilled chicken waiting for him when he returns to the Philippines.
The Philippine government are also gifting the 24-year-old 10 million Philippine pesos which is around £135,400.
The country earned its first Olympic gold medal in Tokyo 2020 but Yulo has made history as the country's first double Olympic gold medallist.
Image source, Reuters
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Another Caribbean country - Dominica - is also celebrating an historic gold medal.
Thea LaFond managed a national record of 15.02 metres in the triple jump, winning Dominica's first ever gold medal.
Her winning jump was earned in the third round and she was the only woman in the competition to jump over 15 metres.
LaFond said that this win was “absolutely beyond my wildest dreams” and celebrated by ringing the ceremonial bell at the Stade de France.
Image source, Reuters
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He's one of the best tennis players in the world, but did you know Novak Djokovic hasn't won an Olympic gold medal in tennis... until now!
It was Djokovic's fifth attempt at a gold medal in the men's singles and he was up against tough competition - Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, the same player who beat him in the Wimbledon final just a few weeks ago.
Djokovic is now one of very few people to have completed the Golden Slam - that means he's won all four major tennis competitions and the Olympic gold medal.
He joins a small group of people who have achieved the same feat: Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf.
Image source, Reuters
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Boxer Cindy Ngamba has guaranteed her first medal after reaching the semi-finals in the 75kg category.
She's part of the Refugee Olympic Team who played in the first Olympics Games in 2016 in Rio.
The 25-year-old will become the first ever refugee to win a medal at the Olympics.
She was born in Cameroon and moved to the UK when she was 10-years-old, but can't compete for Team GB because she doesn't have a British passport.
We've yet to see which medal she'll return with, but no matter what, it's a huge achievement!

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