In pictures: Recapping the 2024 Olympics

The Olympic flame was extinguished during yesterday’s closing ceremony – which also featured an appearance from Tom Cruise – officially ending the 2024 Paris Games. Here’s a picture-driven recap of all the action:

🏄 Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina, a three-time world champion, ends a run in Tahiti’s “Place of Skulls” with potentially the most iconic photo to come out of the 2024 Olympic Games. The event also saw Free Willy make an appearance.

🕺 Canada's Philip Kim, known as Phil Wizard (👆), took home the men’s breaking gold medal in the sport’s first (and potentially only) appearance in the Olympic Games, while Japan’s Ami Yuasa (B-Girl Ami) took home the women’s gold. But it was Australia's Rachael Gunn, aka Raygun, who garnered the most attention.

🏀 The US beat France by a matter of inches to secure the women's basketball gold medal yesterday; France's Gabby Williams almost made a three-point buzzer beater to tie the game at 67 and force overtime (👆), but her foot was deemed to be on the line so the basket only counted for two (final score: 67-66). Team USA also took home the men’s basketball gold medal, defeating France 98-87 in the title match.

🏌️‍♀️ New Zealand women’s golfer Lydia Ko can now add a gold medal to her trophy case, after taking silver in Rio in 2016 and bronze in Tokyo three years ago. Her Paris win qualifies her for the Ladies Professional Golf Association Hall of Fame; this pic was taken on the podium following her victory.

This pic speaks for itself🏅💪🇺🇸. Check out the full medal count here.

More Olympics reading:

• US gymnast Jordan Chiles' bronze medal to be reallocated to Romania
• Algerian boxer Imane Khelif wins gold in face of political controversy
• The best broadcasting calls of the 2024 Games
• The most tear-jerking moments of the Paris Olympics
• Was the shallow pool in Paris really slowing Olympic swimmers down? What the science says
• Paris 2024: A record-breaking Olympic Games, on and off the field