The 2021 Tokyo Olympics Games: Recap & Highlights

Julia Gong, Staff Writer
October 4, 2021

The US men’s 4×100 freestyle relay (Ryan Murphy, Michael Andrew, Caeleb Dressel and Zach Apple) pose with their gold medals after a record-breaking race. Image courtesy of Team USA.

Despite the numerous difficulties and obstacles faced during the pandemic, thousands of athletes from around the world came together in Tokyo this summer to compete in the Olympics. With 33 different sports and 339 events, numerous records were broken and many athletes stood out in their events. The United States came on top, winning a total of 113 medals. Go USA!

Top 5 Country Medal Counts:

US: 39 gold, 41 silver, 33 bronze

China: 38 gold, 32 silver, 18 bronze

Japan: 27 gold, 14 silver, 17 bronze

Great Britain: 22 gold, 21 silver, 22 bronze

ROC (Russian Olympic Committee): 20 gold, 28 silver, 23 bronze 

Records Broken:

  • Sydney McLaughlin (United States) set a new world record for 400-meter hurdles with a time of 51.46 seconds. 
  • Karsten Warholm (Norway) and Rai Benjamin (United States) broke the world record for 400-meter hurdles. Warholm won the race with a time of 45.94 seconds. 
  • Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz won the Philippines its first gold medal in the women’s 55kg weightlifting category. 
  • Yulimar Rojas broke the world record for women’s triple jump, jumping an astounding 15.67 meters. She was also the first woman to win a gold medal from Venezuela. 
  • Caeleb Dressel set two world records for swimming in the 4×100 meter relay (total relay time of 3:36:78) and 49.45 second 100 meter butterfly. 

USA Basketball 

USA has got it when it comes to the hoops! The men’s basketball team won their fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal in basketball, and the team is maintaining its winning streak of 55 Olympic games. Kevin Durant played an integral role in the games the team played. He scored 29 points in the quarterfinal against Spain, 23 in the semifinal against Australia, and 29 in the final against France, leading the US to a 87-82 win over France. 

Kevin Durant celebrates the win against France in the Olympic finals. Image courtesy of Time.

Suni Lee in Gymnastics

Prior to the Olympics, Suni Lee won the silver medal for the women’s all-around competition and gold medal for uneven bars in the 2019 World Championships. She was definitely one to watch in the Olympics! After Simone Biles withdrew from the team final, Suni stepped up and competed in the floor exercise along with uneven bars and balance beam. She truly shone in her event when she earned the score of 15.300 (combined difficulty and execution score) on uneven bars and helped the US women’s team earn a silver medal in the team category.

Despite the pressures and stress of the pandemic, Suni Lee earned 2 more medals through impressive performance. She won the bronze medal for uneven bars and the most coveted gold medal for the individual all-around event.

Suni Lee proudly holds her individual all-around gold medal. Image courtesy of The Cut.

 The Tokyo Olympics definitely was an exciting event for athletes around the world. We can’t wait to see what new records these athletes will break in 2024!