How will we remember Paris in the years to come? The Games where, for the first time, there were as many women as men competing? Or the Games where an ugly fight between the sexes over a female boxer revealed how persistent misogyny is?

Games where women made headlines and made history? Or Games where hijabs were not considered a means of inclusion for French female athletes?

For the first time, there were childcare and breastfeeding opportunities – a recognition that athletes can be pregnant – like archer Yaylagul Ramazanova of Azerbaijan and Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez – and still compete; that they can be mothers and still compete. On the day Elle St Pierre qualified for the 5,000m, she got her first period since the birth of her 17-month-old son. But that didn’t stop her from posting the fastest time by an American.

The color of the first-ever medal, bronze, won by the Olympic refugee team – a grim reminder that 117.3 million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes – didn’t matter. It was won by Cindy Ngamba, who can never return to Cameroon because she is a lesbian and homosexuality remains illegal in her country of birth. Breaker Manizha Talash wore a cape that read: Free Afghan Women. She was disqualified, but her message resonated around the world.

And yes, let’s hear the men out. The camaraderie between silver medallist Neeraj Chopra, who acknowledged that the day belonged to Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who broke the Olympic record, was a picture of grace, matched only by his mother Saroj Devi, who said Nadeem was like her son. Across the border, Nadeem’s mother Raziah Parveen echoed the sentiment. “They are not just friends, they are brothers,” she said.

Neeraj then insisted that hockey legend PR Sreejesh should carry the flag along with shooter Manu Bhaker at the closing ceremony tonight.

Sheer determination

The shocking disqualification of Vinesh Phogat just before the finale, in which she was assured of silver, if not gold, dashed billions of hopes and led to Phogat, who had so far appeared unfazed by the challenge, announcing her retirement at the end of her life. “I have no strength left,” she tweeted.

As expected, there were some truly vile statements, including from the Sports Minister listing how much money was spent on her training, while elsewhere athletes and MPs blamed her while the trolls were out in full force.

And yet, in a country obsessed with winning and counting medals, the overwhelming consensus is that Phogat remains a winner. Abhinav Bindra, India’s first Olympic gold medallist who has emerged as an ambassador for decency at these Games, reminded Phogat and us: “Not all victories look the same. Some end up as a glittering souvenir in a glass cabinet, but the ones that mean more find their way into the stories we tell our children.”

Phogat is fighting to keep her silver. The Court of Arbitration for Sport has heard her appeal and at the time of writing the verdict is still pending.

And yet she persevered

If you only want to frame one photo for your children and grandchildren, this should be it.

It tells so many stories. Of generosity in defeat; of the power of the first all-black gymnastics Olympic podium; of friendship and solidarity.

Of perseverance. Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, who took gold in the floor final, is one of eight children born to a single mother who was too poor to afford the bus to the gym, so she and her brother walked the two-hour route. And yes, she is recovering from three ACL injuries. Simone Biles, who took silver, is now the most decorated gymnast in history after putting her mental health first and becoming a strong advocate for both women in the sport and mental health. Jordan Chiles was ready to quit gymnastics, but Biles told her to stick with it and invited her to join her gym in Texas.

If you need another reason to frame this photo, it’s this one. It reminds you that despite the rivalry, competition, form, and pressure to win, sport is supposed to be fun.

The little one fits everywhere

It took two women to put their small Caribbean states on the map. The first was Julian Alfred, who overtook the American Sha’Carrie Richardson in the 100-meter race to win the first ever gold medal for St. Lucia, which has a population of 183,000.

Watching her was Thea LaFond, a 30-year-old former teacher who was born in Dominica, a city of 72,000 people. “Damn, she won gold,” she thought. “I have to do that now.” And she did: gold in the triple jump, Dominica’s first ever medal in any color.

LaFond was born on an island without a race track. When she was five, her parents emigrated to America, but returned every summer. “I was never allowed to forget where I came from,” she says. She is of course happy to receive the prize money. She will use it to build a race track for the children at home.

A masterpiece in terms of rivalry

American Katie Ledecky is 27 and the best long-distance freestyle swimmer in the world with records over 800 and 1500 m. Australian Ariarne Titmus is 23 and has swum records over 200 and 400 m.

Titmus says she got into swimming when she won four golds from Ledecky in Rio in 2016. Then she snatched gold from Ledecky in the 400-meter dash at Tokyo 2021.

Since then, the two have been chasing each other, setting new records and personal bests. The rivalry led to the 400-meter race in Paris being named the “race of the century.” In the end, the Australian defeated the American and took bronze.

Revenge was not long in coming. Ledecky won gold in the 800-meter race, while Titmus took silver despite a personal best. After her defeat, Titmus admitted that her rival had “made me a better athlete. I fully respect what she has achieved in this sport, more than anyone else.”

Ledecky returned the compliment. “Thanks for cheering me up. I think we bring out the best in each other.”

The rivalry was again evident in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, where Ledecky became the most decorated Olympic swimmer of all time with 13 Olympic medals, but had to settle for silver while Australia took gold and set a new Olympic record.

The ugly face of misogyny

Remember this, because one day it will show you that even the 2024 Olympic Games, with the greatest possible gender equality, have not been able to free themselves from misogyny.

In the photo you see an athlete who feels validated by her gold medal. What you don’t see is the indignation, the relentless harassment and the incredible stress that Algerian boxer Imane Khelif went through to finally win her gold.

Born a woman, registered as a woman on her passport and someone who has lived as a woman her entire life, Khelif still had to make it clear after winning the gold medal: “I am a woman like any other woman. I was born a woman. I lived as a woman. I competed as a woman. There is no doubt about that.”

The controversy began when her Italian opponent Angela Carini stopped the fight after 46 seconds because she said Khelif’s punches hurt too much. Carini later apologized, but by that time the debate had already been overshadowed by the controversial issue of transgender athletes participating in women’s sports. The problem: Khelif is neither transgender nor male. She has always competed as a woman and even lost as a woman in the quarterfinals in Tokyo.

The Russian-led International Boxing Federation (IBA), which failed both Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting on unspecified gender suitability tests, has provided no evidence that the athletes have differences in gender development that would have given them an advantage. In 2023, the IOC excluded the IBA for being too opaque and arbitrary, a decision upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

So who decides who is female and who is not? Khelif may not look like a woman in the Western world, but she is a woman. The fact that she has to say that over and over again will forever be a stain on these games.

The following article is an excerpt from this week’s HT Mind the Gap. Subscribe here.