Every four years, the Olympic Games generate high expectations not only to see which athletes will climb onto the podium but also to see what Olympic records can be achieved, both at the world and Olympic level. Paris Olympics 2024 is no exception and after fifteen days of activity, there are 35 new Olympic records.

Also Read: Olympic Records in Athletics: From Bolt to Kipyegon, every Olympic record in Athletics

Difference between world records and Olympic records

As the name suggests, the basic difference between the two is the context in which they are recorded. In the case of the world record, it is the best performance recorded globally in a specific discipline. These records are approved by the corresponding international federations and are obtained in official competitions such as World Cups, World Championships, qualifiers, etc. For this reason, they can be constantly updated since they are not limited to the frequency of the event and can be set at any time.

An Olympic record, on the other hand, is only set during the Olympic Games, so the possibility of breaking it occurs every four years. So, although an Olympic record may sometimes be lower than a world record, it carries with it a very specific prestige.

Also Read: Paris Olympics 2024: Medal winners by dates

Olympic Records created at the Paris Olympics 2024

Lim Si-Hyeon set new world and Olympic record

With a score of 694, the South Korean archer set a new world and Olympic record in the qualifying round for Paris 2024. In the case of the former, she surpassed the mark achieved by her compatriot Kang Chae-young in 2019 at the World Archery Championships. While in the Olympic mark, she surpassed the one achieved by An San in the Tokyo Olympics, of 680 points.

South Korean women's archery team

During the first day of the discipline, Lim Sihyeon, Hunyoung Jeon, and Nam Suhyeon also set a new Olympic record of 2046 points, 14 more than the one achieved in Tokyo 2020. On that occasion, it was San An, Minhee Jang, and Chaeyoung Kang who set a new mark.

Pan Zhanle surpassed Caeleb Dressel

The Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle surpassed the record set by American Caeleb Dressel in Tokyo 2020. The multi-world medalist had a time of 46.92, ten hundredths more than Dressel, although he was eight short of the world record, which Pan himself recorded at the Doha World Championships in February of this year.

Australian women's swimming team beat their own Olympic record

Mollie O'Callaghan, Shayna Jack, Emma McKeon, and Meg Harris claimed Olympic gold for their country in the relay event, beating the representatives of the United States and China. With a time of 3:28.92, they beat their Olympic record of 3:29.69, which they had achieved in Tokyo 2020, by 77 hundredths of a second.

Gretchen Walsh was two-tenths short of the world record

The American swimmer Gretchen Walsh recorded a time of 55.38 in her semi-final heat, beating the Olympic record of 55.48 set in Rio 2016 by Sweden's Sarah Sjöström. However, Gretchen was two-tenths short of the world record, which she achieved herself in Indianapolis in June this year.

Asians' domination

Four of the five records that have been broken recently have been set by Asian athletes, with the rifle and pistol disciplines being where athletes Ban Hyo-jin, Sheng Lihao, and Oh Ye-jin have set records in Paris 2024. The only non-Asian athlete to set a new record in a discipline was Frenchman Léon Marchand, who set a time of 4:02.95 in the 400-meter event, leaving behind a record held by Michael Phelps.

Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem wins gold with new Olympic record

Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem set a new Olympic record of 92.97m to walk away with the gold, the first track and field gold medal for his country at the Olympic Games. Nadeem threw an Olympic record of 92.97m for victory. Before Arshad, Pakistan had never won an individual gold medal at the Olympics.

All of Pakistan’s previous three gold medals came in field hockey, with their team winning gold in 1960, 1968, and 1984. Prior to Arshad Nadeem, only two Pakistan athletes had won individual medals of any color, with a wrestling bronze in 1960 and a boxing bronze in 1988. Since the 1992 Barcelona Games, Pakistan has not won a medal of any kind.

Olympic Records Created at Paris Olympics 2024 | Full List

Discipline	Test	Athletes	Type
Archery	Mixed Teams	Nam Suhyeon, Jeon Hunyoung, Lim Si-hyeon	Olympic Record
Archery	Women's Individual	Lim Si-hyeon	Olympic Record and World Record
Archery	Women's Teams	Kim Woojin, Lim Si-hyeon	Olympic Record
Swimming	Butterfly - Women (100m)	Gretchen Walsh	Olympic Record
Swimming	Freestyle - Women (4 x 100m)	Meg Harris, Emma McKeon, Shayna Jack, Mollie O Callaghan	Olympic Record
Swimming	Freestyle - Women (200m)	Mollie O Callaghan	Olympic Record
Swimming	Freestyle - Men (100m)	Pan Zhanle	Olympic Record
Swimming	Individual Medley - Male (400m)	Léon Marchand	Olympic Record
Shooting	Women's Air Pistol (10m)	Ye Jin Oh	Olympic Record
Shooting	Men's Air Rifle (10m)	Lihao Sheng	Olympic Record
Shooting	Women's Air Rifle (10m)	Hyojin Ban	Olympic Record
Shooting	Women's Rifle 3P (50m)	Sagen Maddalena	Olympic Record
Shooting	Women's Trap	Adriana Ruano Oliva	Olympic Record
Shooting	Women's Rifle 3P (50m)	Zhang Qiongyue	Olympic Record
Swimming	Freestyle - Women (200m)	Mollie O’Callaghan	Olympic Record
Shooting	Men's Trap	Nathan Hales	Olympic Record
Swimming	Backstroke - Women (100m)	Kaylee McKeown	Olympic Record
Swimming	Freestyle - Men (800M)	Daniel Wiffen	Olympic Record
Swimming	Women's 100 metre backstroke	Regan Smith	Olympic Record
Shooting	Women's Trap	Adriana Ruano	Olympic Record
Swimming	Freestyle - Women (1500m)	Katie Ledecky	Olympic Record
Swimming	Butterfly - Men (200m)	Léon Marchand	Olympic Record
Swimming	Breaststroke - Men (200m)	Léon Marchand	Olympic Record
Swimming	Relay - Women (4x200m)	Mollie O’Callaghan, Lani Pallister, Brianna Throssell, Ariarne Titmus	Olympic Record
Swimming	Butterfly - Women (200m)	Summer McIntosh	Olympic Record
Swimming	Women's 200 metre individual medley	Summer McIntosh	Olympic Record
Shooting	Women’s Rifle 3P (50m)	Chiara Leone	Olympic Record
Swimming	Backstroke - Women (200m)	Kaylee McKeown	Olympic Record
Swimming	Individual Medley - Men (200m)	Léon Marchand	Olympic Record
Swimming	Individual Medley (50-m freestyle)	Sarah Sjöström	Olympic Record
Track & Field	Men’s 10,000 meters	Joshua Cheptegei	Olympic Record
Track & Field	Men's Javelin Throw	Arshad Nadeem	Olympic Record
Track & Field	Men's 1,500m	Cole Hocker	Olympic Record
Track & Field	Women's 3,000 metres steeplechase	Winfred Yavi	Olympic Record
Cycling Track	Men's team sprint	Harrie Lavreysen, Roy van den Berg, and Jeffrey Hoogland	Olympic Record

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