2024 provided lots of American athletes that showcased deep talent throughout their seasons. 2024 was a summer olympics year, and the US won 126 medals. USA Track and Field showed their talent extremely well. March Madness was as exciting as ever, with UConn, Purdue, Alabama, and surprise NC State, led by DJ Burns. UConn took the title with impressive wins throughout the tournament. College football has undergone so many changes over the past few years, and this year introduced the new College Football Playoff format. Travis Hunter was just awarded the Heisman over candidates Ashton Jeanty from Boise State and Cam Ward from Miami. Lots of people to pick from for this list, but these five really dominated their competition.
- Noah Lyles (USA Track and Field)
The fifth spot on this list was hard to pick, and unfortunately Steph Curry (Golden State Warriors, NBA), Aaron Judge (New York Yankees, MLB), and Chris Sale (Atlanta Braves, MLB) did not make it. The fifth spot goes to Noah Lyles, the face of USA’s men’s track and field. Lyles won the 100 meter dash, making him the first from USA track to do so since Justin Gatlin in the 2004 Athens olympics. Usain Bolt won the next three olympic gold medals, blocking several very talented USA sprinters from winning gold. In Tokyo, Italian Lamont Marcell Jacobs grabbed a surprise victory. Ahead of this year’s olympics, Lyles was a favorite to win the olympics, but Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson quickly came onto the world stage and became the favorite. They both qualified for the olympic final. They both sprinted ahead of the competition and finished in 9.79 seconds. A photo finish ending that didn’t show a clear winner, but after reviewing the pictures, Lyles won by the slimmest of margins. Lyles didn’t let another Jamaican take the gold from the US. Sprinter Fred Kerley won bronze, making this a good comeback year for him in the 100 meter. Lyles could have been much higher on this list, since taking the 100 meter back to the US was so huge, but Lyles couldn’t win the 200 meter. The 200 meter was Lyles best event, but he got stunned by Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo and Lyles ended up taking bronze.
- Saquon Barkley ( Running Back Philadelphia Eagles)
Barkley has had an up and down career, but 2024 may be his best season so far. 2024 is his first season as the Philadelphia Eagles tailback, as he played for the New York Giants previously. His first two years were very solid, but he has had some off years. Barkley has missed many games through injury during his career, with ankle problems being the cause of several. In 2020, he suffered an ACL tear during his second game of the season. He had a good year in 2022, gaining 1312 rushing yards. 2024 however has become a huge turning point. He has been an extremely explosive player on the Eagles offense. He went viral for his insane run where he juked one Jaguars defender, hit a spin move on another, and then hurdled, backwards, over another defender. That moment blew up on the internet, and the reverse hurdle is definitely the most outstanding play in football this year. He has continued dominance during the season, and was within reach of breaking Eric Dickerson’s single season rushing record (2,105 yards). While he wasn’t able to break the record, he did enter into the 2,000 yard club, becoming the ninth running back to do so. He had 2,005 rushing yards through 17 games. He absolutely should win the NFL comeback player of the year award, as this season brought him back to relevance. Not only that, but this season he has surpassed his worth on the New York Giants from his early career.
- Simone Biles (Team USA Gymnastics)
Simone Biles, the gymnast who absolutely took the sporting world by storm in the 2016 Rio Olympics, has once again gotten into the spotlight. She is the most decorated gymnast of all time, with eleven olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals.
“She deserves to be on this list because she is one of the oldest gymnasts to compete in the olympic games and still surpasses her opponents taking the gold medals”, senior Ava Newman said.
This year at the National Championships, she won all-around, making her the oldest female to win it. She had a big comeback from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where she withdrew from many events and only one a team silver medal and a bronze in the balance beam. 2024 presented her with the opportunity to get back in the spotlight, and she killed it. This year, the team took gold, and she won the gold medal in the Vault and All-Around. In the all-around, she beat defending champion Sunisa Lee. She ended up falling behind because of a mistake during the uneven bars, but she recovered with top scores in the balance beam and floor exercise, securing the gold for the All-Around. She also took a silver medal in the Floor Exercise. She is now tied for second in olympic gymnastics medals.
“Simone Biles is the greatest woman gymnast the US has ever seen”, senior Sam Griffin said.
At the conclusion of the Olympics, Biles was part of the closing ceremony where she took the Olympic flag from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. The ceremony showed the passing of the Olympics from Paris 2024 to Los Angeles 2028. Her future in the World Championships and the olympics will be interesting to watch, as she gets older and may not be able to compete at the olympic level by 2028.
- Ashton Jeanty (Running Back, Boise State Football)
Jeanty was not really on the map during his previous two seasons at Boise State, but this year he has been an unstoppable force for their offense. The running back for the Broncos ended his season with 2,601 rushing yards, falling short of the collegiate rushing record of hall of famer Barry Sanders by 28 yards. Jeanty has absolutely revamped Boise State football, and landed them into the college football playoff. The Broncos ended the season as the eighth ranked team, the highest they have been rated since 2011. Jeanty exploded on the internet early in the season because of his unique stance in the backfield. Pre Snap, Jeanty would be in a relaxed standing stance, and the internet immediately took note of Jeanty. Throughout the rest of the season, Jeanty took an insane amount of carries throughout the year and destroyed defenses. The entire defense is keying in on him, but he still pummels them. Boise State nearly beat the top ranked team, Oregon, in a 34-37 loss. Jeanty got snubbed of the Heisman award, which was given to Travis Hunter of Colorado.
“Ashton Jeanty deserved it because of the record breaking numbers he has put up this season and the way he has burst onto the college football scene and established himself ahead of the NFL draft”, junior Louis Raffin said.
Most students shared the sentiment that Jeanty deserved the Heisman more than Hunter. Hunter is a unique player that starts on both offense, as a receiver, and defense, as a defensive back. While his stats are impressive, many believe that the selection committee chose him just because he plays on both offense and defense.
“Travis Hunter is overrated!” calculus teacher Chris Hackett stated.
Although Hunter played on both sides of the ball, Jeanty had a bigger impact on his team’s success. Unfortunately for Jeanty, Boise State lost to Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl to end their season.
- Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA Track and Field)
McLaughlin-Levrone has displayed the most dominance of any athlete this season. Competing in the 400 meter hurdles, she has broken her own world record this season. Team USA dominated on the track this year at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and McLaughlin-Levrone was at the center of attention. In the Olympic final, she won the gold medal by more than a full second, crossing the line way ahead of the rest of the pack.
This season, it is the norm for her to cross the finish line as if she was in her own race. When she gets in the starting blocks for the hurdles, everyone else is just racing for second. She also competes in the open 400 meter, the 4×400 meter relay, and the 200 meter dash. At the olympics, she was the second leg of the 4×400 meter relay which took gold and was the second fastest time in history. In the performance lists for 2024, she ranks number one in the 400 meter hurdles, one for the 400 meter relay team, fourth for the 400 meter dash, eighth for the 200 meter dash, and 42nd in the 100 meter dash. She is the most versatile runner that team USA had this year. Being able to compete at the world stage in the 400 meter hurdles and the 100 meter dash is ridiculous. The barriers which she has broken and continues to break in the 400 meter hurdles land her at the number one spot.
