RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- There is an unwritten tradition at every Olympic Games: a young local hero emerges to stir the hearts of the public, carrying the weight of the nation's hopes and etching their story into the collective memory.

Nobody did this more at the Paris 2024 Games than swimmer Leon Marchand, whose historic four-gold-medal performance made him the standout performer in the pool.

The 22-year-old from France's southern Occitania region claimed gold medals in the 200m individual medley, 400m individual medley, 200m butterfly and 200m breaststroke, becoming the first swimmer ever to win the latter two events at the same Games. Only Michael Phelps, Mark Spitz and Kristin Otto have claimed more gold medals in a single edition of the Olympics.

"It was kind of shocking at first to have 15,000 people cheering for me," Marchand said of the electric atmosphere at La Defense Arena every time he competed.

"I had goosebumps over my entire body and I was really using that energy to swim as fast as possible."

The magic of Paris wasn't confined to Marchand alone. Another young swimmer who captured the attention of sports fans was China's Pan Zhanle.

In the 100m freestyle, Pan smashed his own world record to win gold in 46.40 seconds - over a second ahead of silver medalist Kyle Chalmers of Australia. Even a late-night doping test ahead of the final failed to rattle the 20-year-old. "It's part of the rules," Pan told the press, dismissing any notion of frustration.

Pan's dominance extended to the men's 4x100m medley relay, where he anchored China's team - alongside Xu Jiayu, Qin Haiyang and Sun Jiajun - to a historic victory. Their triumph ended the United States' 40-year stranglehold on the event, dating back to the Los Angeles 1984 Games.

Another future star to emerge in Paris was Zheng Qinwen, who secured China's first-ever Olympic gold medal in tennis singles with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Croatia's Donna Vekic in the final.

It marked the biggest title of her blossoming career, following her runner-up finish at the Australia Open in January.

"My father always talked about Grand Slams and the Olympics. I know the Olympics means more to him than a Grand Slam," she said after the final. "I felt like I represented all of Chinese tennis, and winning the gold made all the hard work and struggles worthwhile."

Meanwhile, Ma Long became the most decorated table tennis player in Olympic history as he helped China clinch gold in the men's team event.

Victory in the final against Sweden earned the 35-year-old his sixth Olympic gold medal, making him China's most successful ever athlete at the Games.

One of the most surprising results of Paris 2024 was Julien Alfred's triumph in the women's 100m sprint. The 23-year-old became Saint Lucia's first ever Olympic champion by clocking 10.72 seconds in the final to finish ahead of Americans Sha'Carri Richardson and Melissa Jefferson. Alfred later added to her success by claiming silver in the 200m.

While the Olympics dominated the global sporting landscape in 2024, there were also achievements of note elsewhere.

It was a busy year in international football, with several continental titles decided. In February, Akram Afif scored a hat-trick of penalties as Qatar retained their AFC Asian Cup title by defeating Jordan 3-1 in the final at Lusail Stadium.

Later that month, Cote d'Ivoire claimed their third Africa Cup of Nations trophy, edging out Nigeria 2-1, with Sebastien Haller scoring the decisive goal.

In July, Spain beat England in the UEFA European Championship final, while Argentina claimed their second consecutive Copa America crown by edging past Colombia in the final. Spain also won the inaugural UEFA women's Nations League.

In Formula 1, Red Bull's Max Verstappen secured his fourth consecutive World Drivers' Championship with a fifth-placed finish at last month's Las Vegas Grand Prix.

The Dutchman, who secured the title with two races remaining, joins Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel on four world championships. Only Juan Manuel Fangio (five), Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher (both seven) have won more.

One of the highlights of the season was Verstappen's victory at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in early November, when he gave a wet-weather masterclass by recovering from 17th position to finish more than 19 seconds ahead of second-placed Esteban Ocon.

Italy's Jannik Sinner confirmed a changing of the guard in tennis by ending the year as the top-ranked player for the first time in his career.

The 23-year-old's eight tournament victories in 2024 included two majors - the Australian Open and US Open - plus the ATP Finals. It marked the first time since 2002 that none of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic won a Grand Slam title.

It was also an important year in cricket with the staging of the men's and women's Twenty20 World Cups.

India ended an 11-year ICC trophy drought in June by winning the men's title with a seven-run victory over South Africa in the final. It was India's second T20 World Cup crown, 17 years after their first. In October, New Zealand claimed their first women's T20 World Cup trophy by beating South Africa in the final. Enditem

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