Esprit sportif: Top 30 moments of respect from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (Moments 11 to 20)
Excellence, friendship, and respect, the 3 foundations of Olympism were once again on display in Paris.
We’ve compiled the top 30 respect, leadership, and ‘esprit sportif’ (sportsmanship) moments from the 2024 Olympics Games that brought the world closer through the power of sport. #JeuxOlympiques
Here’s the next instalment of the series: Moments 11 to 20. Enjoy!
11. Mollie and Ariarne – Respect on the podium
In the 200m freestyle, Australian swimmers Ariarne Titmus and Mollie O’Callaghan are no ordinary rivals – they are the two fastest of all time, yet they train together in Brisbane in the same club, in the same pool, with the same coach, Dean Boxall.
At the Paris Olympics, Ariarne Titmus had already won a gold medal defeating O’Callaghan in the 400m freestyle, but when O’Callaghan turned the tables and won gold in an epic 200m contest for the ages, Ariarne embraced her teammate joyfully and after collecting their medals they both burst into tears.
Mollie was all class as she invited Ariarne to join her on the top step of the podium and share the gold medal dais during the Australian anthem, melting hearts across the world.
After the race Mollie was full of praise for Titmus:
“She is an absolute gun and it’s an honour to train alongside her and have such a great team around us.” Mollie said.
Ariarne replied: “I know what it’s like to be Olympic champion and happy that Mol gets to feel that now,”
“Honestly I felt up there that I had won as well and I couldn’t have been happier. Feeling very proud to be an Australian right now.”
An amazing moment in Australian sport history and thanks for showing us that the fiercest competitors can also be champions, amazing athletes and friends.
And a reminder that without rivals to drive and inspire, it is hard for elite athletes to motivate themselves and achieve next level performances.
A salute to Mollie and Ariarne for taking respectful rivalry to a new level.
Credit: Channel Nine
12. Botswana Celebrates
The bigger more resourced countries dominate the medal counts, but every Olympics features small country gold medals that mean so much to their people.
The people of Botswana joyfully celebrated their first ever gold medal when Letsile Tebogo, their 21-year-old sprinter won the 200m, defeating the USA favourites Kenny Bednarek and Noah Lyles.
When Tebogo and his fellow Botswana athletes returned home, a public holiday was officially declared by presidential decree and 30,000 people crammed into the Gaborone’s National Stadium to welcome home the athletes in an open top bus.
Great to see respect for the hard work and achievements of athletes from the government and the people.
13. Respect for a legend
After being soundly defeated by Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon, many thought 37-year-old Novak Djokovic could never return to his elite best and the changing of the guard was complete.
Djokovic had won every major honour possible except for Olympic gold, a gap in his otherwise incredible resume.
When he faced Alcaraz in the final of the Paris Olympics, he did so with the unwavering support and respect of his family, especially his daughter Tara who held up signs in Serbian that read ‘Tata je najbolji’ or ‘Dad is the best’.
In a performance for the ages, Djokovic turned back the clock with a victory over Alcaraz to claim gold and the crowd witnessed incredible emotional scenes as Djokovic embraced his daughter, family and team.
With his Olympic gold, Djokovic is only the 6th tennis player to complete the ‘Golden Slam’ consisting of every major and an Olympic gold joining Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Dylan Alcott, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf.
And the most inspiring moment of all was a hug from his daughter.
Credit: Eurosport
14. Oldest Olympian at Paris: 61 Year Old Ni Xialian
Ni Xialian won two world titles in team and mixed doubles table tennis for China in 1983, before moving to Luxembourg in 1991 and retiring from the international game.
After a break she decided to play for her adopted country at the Sydney Olympics and the Paris Olympics was her 6th Games participation at the age of 61.
“In the beginning, I don’t think I wanted to play for another country, it’s not my goal and that’s why I gave up 1996,” Xialian said.
“But when you are living there more years, you have feelings with the people, you understand sports is only sports, it’s nothing to do with politics or nationality.”
Xialian became the oldest Olympian in Paris and the oldest Olympian to win a table tennis match in history.
Her smile, passion, ability and joyful attitude endeared her to the crowd who gave her a standing ovation after her last match where she was eliminated in the round of 32.
Beautiful to see the respectful crowd acknowledge a legend of the sport.
15. Dream Team’s respect through tradition
As the US basketball Dream Team prepared to win its 5th Olympic gold in a row, Coach Steve Kerr and Team USA management were faced with a challenge.
How do you motivate a group of multi-millionaire global basketball superstars including all time greats Lebron James and Steph Curry?
The answer was respectful education – letting them know the history and legacy of those that went before them.
Great initiative from Grant Hill from Team USA and Nike to provide a list of all the players who have worn the player numbers and present the lineage to each Dream Team player providing clarity on what they are representing – not just their family, neighbourhood and nation but those that have worn the number.
Beautiful to see the little boy in Steph Curry light up when he sees Allen Iverson’s name.
Respect through lineage and connection to tradition. Simple yet powerful.
Credit: NBA
16. Arshad and Nadeem – Overcoming politics through sport
At geopolitical level Pakistan and India are fierce rivals with uncompromising politicians fuelling the flames of division.
At the Olympic level it is a different story with athletes showing respect and camaraderie for each other and showing the unifying power of sport.
Olympic Javelin gold medallist Arshad Nadeem is the Olympic spirit personified, an incredible rags to riches story that ended Pakistan’s 40 year gold medal drought and delivered its first ever individual medallist.
Nadeem was born into a poor family in Khanewal in Pakistani Punjab and his father was a hard working mason who wanted a better life for his son and he helped rally the village which helped fund his son’s dreams.
Without any javelin facilities, Nadeem trained where he could, including his backyard and he received no government funding for the Tokyo Olympics.
He came 5th in Tokyo behind the gold medal winner, Neeraj Chopra, the Indian cult hero who before Paris 2024, Nadeem had not beaten in 8 years of competition.
Onto Paris, where he swept aside all comers, twice throwing more than 90 metres and setting a new Olympic record of 92.97m with a beautifully balanced throw.
Heartwarming to see the respect and friendship with fellow Punjabi Neeraj Chopra during and after the event, two competitors for whom shared bloodlines and the joy of competing in sport overcame the political situation between India and Pakistan.
A salute to Arshad Nadeem and Neeraj Chopra for showing us the human side of a beautiful rivalry and that respect for fellow competitors can overcome politics.
Credit: Eurosport
17. Harry Garside – respect in defeat
After winning a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, Australian boxer Harry Garside was hoping to go for gold, but was beaten in a shock first round loss.
His raw post fight interview was applauded by millions in Australia for his honesty and vulnerability about his mental health and his feeling that he let people down.
Like every athlete that puts so much dedication into their dream, to be interviewed right after his most disappointing moment must have been disorienting, but he finished off with a beautiful message for aspiring kids watching.
Respect to Harry Garside for the way he handled defeat.
Credit: Channel 9 / Wide World of Sports
18. He Jing Bao – A gesture of solidarity
When Chinese badminton player He Bing Jiao stepped up on the Olympic podium to receive her silver medal in the women’s badminton singles, she did so carrying a Spanish Olympic pin to show her support and solidarity for Spanish player Caroline Marin.
Marin had been forced to forfeit her semi final match against He Jing Bao after injuring her cruciate knee ligaments and Jing Bao decided to show respect for the former Olympic champion.
On social media Marin thanked her opponent for the podium gesture: “The moment on the podium is one of the kindest gestures I have ever had towards me and I will always be incredibly grateful to her.”
Competitors not enemies, that is what the Olympic movement is all about.
19. Shariati bows out with respect
In a show of true Olympic sportsmanship, Olympic wrestling bronze medal winner Amin Mirzazadeh of Iran carried his opponent Sabah Saleh Shariati of Azerbaijan around the mat on his shoulders, after Shariati lost in his final match before retiring.
Mirzazadeh decided to give his opponent a hero’s send off after winning the bronze medal in the men’s 130kg division.
Shariati and Mirzazadeh had been rivals for 20 years and Mirzazadeh’s gesture is the spirit Olympic founder Pierre De Coubertin would have been proud of.
20. Respect for the Brazilian Queen
Having won a total of 6 Olympic and 9 World championship medals, Brazil’s Rebeca Rodrigues de Andrade is the most decorated Brazilian gymnast of all time and much loved by her competitors for her positivity and sharing of knowledge.
When the girl from Guarulhos won gold, her fellow competitors Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles celebrated her victory and status with an iconic shot, celebrating the sisterhood of gymnastics.
Biles and Chiles understood the journey that Andrade had been on, recovering from three brutal ACL tears, and she came back every time, never giving up on her dream.
Simone Biles in particular would have been disappointed with her performance but she added to her legend with this gesture that personified the spirit of the Olympics.
Biles and Chiles didn’t win gold but won a lot of hearts and provided a great role modelling moment with their humility and mutual respect.
After some controversy Ana Barbosu was awarded the bronze medal over Chiles but the respect between competitors and celebration of each other’s achievements still stands as one of the iconic moments of the Paris Olympics.
Click here for moments 21 to 30! >
Patrick is a founder of Cultural Pulse, a leading multicultural marketing and engagement agency that has worked for the past 15 years on sports participation and fan engagement programs for over 100 communities. He is an author and both of his books ‘The Big O, The Life & Times of Olsen Filipaina‘ and ‘Celestial Footy – The Story of Chinese Aussie Rules‘ have gone into reprint. As a storyteller, his stories on the intersection of sport, history and culture have been published by The Guardian Australia, The Age, the Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, The Daily Telegraph and The Australian Financial Review. He is passionate about celebrating the role of match officials in sport and is currently the proud coach of the Rockdale Raiders Under 6 Intermediate mixed football team.
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