The Olympics Most Impactful Moments
By Martin Cordova, Optimization and Reporting Manager
Big Stretch
There’s no sugar coating it; the mood going into the 2024 Paris Olympic games felt off. The previous summer games in 2020 were mired by unease and protocol over a global pandemic, and it seemed like the press wasn’t sure if the Parisian infrastructure or its citizens would be hospitable to the swarming crowds. Perhaps the world just didn’t care about the Olympic Games anymore.
Fortunately…the data told a different story.
Look at the Tape
Based on mentions of “Olympics” keywords made throughout the duration of each Olympic Games from the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics on, live social engagement this year blew previous years’ totals out of the Seine’s water. Mentions increased by 14% compared to 2020 and 990% compared to 2022, doing away with any concerns that the Olympics were no longer the cultural titan they once were.
Moments That Got Our Heart Rate Pumping
Diving deeper into engagement with this year’s Games, the Paris 2024 Olympics and associated coverage drove over 40 million mentions and reached 4.7 trillion users across all tracked digital platforms.
Key spikes in engagement occurred on 8/1 when Simone Biles took the gold in the individual all-around gymnastics category for the second time in her career, Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikeç took the world stage, and the Algerian boxer Imane Khelif sparked debate worldwide on competition in women’s sports. While Raygun failed to impress her peers with her unconventional Breaking style, her “dance like no one is watching” attitude was an inspiration to all of us at Athena.
Winners, Cheerleaders, and Meme Dealers
This year’s podium had space for more than just three winners, so we wanted to shout out some of our favorite standouts.
Favorite Winner
In addition to silencing her haters and being among Team USA’s top performers, Simon Biles earned the highest number of mentions out of anyone on Team USA and in the gymnastics category.
Martin’s Musings
The multi-hyphenated GOAT that she is.
Favorite Cheerleader
If you watched this year’s Olympic Games, it seemed like wherever you looked, there was Snoop. Whether he was dancing with the horses, giving out highly sought-after medals, or just showing support for the athletes, Snoop Dogg brought the party to wherever he showed up (and he showed up A LOT).
Favorite Meme Dealers
While he may not have taken home the gold this time, Turkish sharpshooter Yusuf Dikeç was the top-memed athlete from this year’s Games, inspiring leagues of fan art and homages from his Olympic colleagues across the globe.
Martin’s Musings
Silver is nothing to scoff at.
@nbcolympics Drop it like it’s hot! 🔥 Jordan Chiles, Simone Biles, and Snoop Dogg were. #ParisOlympics ♬ original sound - NBC Olympics & Paralympics
Dude looks like he just decided to join the Olympics when he woke up this morning😭 pic.twitter.com/3BAmtFfho5
— September’s very own 𓅓 (@edml0ver) August 1, 2024
Passing the Torch
There’s no question that this year’s Olympics has and will continue to have a meaningful impact on popular culture. Despite engagement in previous years’ trending unfavorably, the return to the Olympic Summer Games as scheduled stuck the landing and brought with it the full force of the cultural zeitgeist we all know and love.