Five stars from Paris 2024 that we will likely see again at L.A. 2028

The Olympic torch is no longer burning, but the drive for Olympic gold continues within many athletes who are looking to dedicate their lives to their sport for at least the next four years.

Between the athletes, the audience and the atmosphere, the Olympic Games Paris 2024 saw unprecedented success and officially became the most-streamed Olympics of all time with a combined average of 30.6 million viewers across NBCU’s platforms (CNN).

There were breakout stars like Leon Marchand and Letsile Tebogo, and there were returning greats like Teddy Riner and Simone Biles, but here are five stars that are likely to make headlines once again at the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028.

Sky Brown

After being plagued with injuries for months leading up to the Olympic Games Paris 2024, British skateboarding phenom Sky Brown is looking to return to the Olympics in L.A. in top shape - and not just in one sport.

Making its debut at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, skateboarding has made an appearance at two Games so far and Brown has clinched the bronze medal at both. She was hoping to top her bronze from Tokyo in Paris, but after a torn medial cruciate ligament (MCL) three months before the Games and a dislocated shoulder just days before the women’s park final, winning the bronze medal was a pretty incredible accomplishment. Speaking to Olympics.com after the Games, the 16-year-old said “the injury timing is not the best timing, but I do feel like I’m just going to get stronger from this,” she said, also proclaiming “I’m just going to keep surfing and skating and for sure got my eye on L.A. for two gold medals…I think it’ll be really special to be a double Olympian.”

Brown attempted to go for both sports in Paris, but missed out on qualifying for surfing after missing out on her goal and therefore the qualification standards at the 2024 ISA World Surfing Games.

Leon Marchand

22-year-old Leon Marchand became somewhat of an overnight sensation at Paris 2024 when he not only won the gold medal in four of his four individual races, but also broke an Olympic record in every single one of them.

A newfound French hero, Marchand was celebrated by the masses across his home country as he left his competition, including the reigning Olympic champions in three of the four races, well in his wake. For the last four years, he has been training with Michael Phelps’ old coach, Bob Bowman, and considering the Phelps’ held over five Olympic Games - including his 23 gold medals - it is hard to imagine that Marchand will retire anytime soon. Now on everyone's radar, the world will look to see if the French star can continue his reign in L.A. and work his way towards Phelps’ incredible medal record.

Katie Ledecky

After becoming the most decorated female American Olympian of all time in Paris with a whopping 14 pieces of hardware, Katie Ledecky is not done yet.

“I would love to compete in L.A.,” the four-time Olympian said to CBS News following her historic run in Paris. “I think an Olympics in the United States [is] a unique opportunity. Not every athlete gets to compete in an Olympics on home soil, so it would be special,” she added. L.A. 2028 would mark Ledecky’s fifth Olympic Games, and she would likely collect more hardware and break more records. Most notably, if she is able to clinch the gold in the women’s 800m freestyle at the Games in four years, she would be the first woman and second person ever (after Mijaín Lopez in Paris) to achieve five consecutive Olympic gold medals in the same event.

Mondo Duplantis

In a truly unbelievable fashion, Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis broke the world record for a ninth time in Paris, but then went on to break it again just 20 days later at the Silesia Diamond League, reaching an unparalleled 6.26m.

At just 24 years old, Duplantis has been redefining the limits of his sports since he broke his first world record in February of 2020 when he cleared 6.17m. Nearly five years later, Duplantis shows no signs of slowing down, so the world will watch to see how many more times he will break his own world record and if he makes an appearance in L.A., if he can add a third-consecutive Olympic title to his resume.

Summer McIntosh

Kicking off what will likely become a glorious Olympic career in Paris, 18-year-old Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh tallied an incredible three gold medals and one silver through her Olympic debut, cementing her name in the Canadian history books as the first person from her country to ever win three gold medals in a single Olympics in any sport. And she did it all before her 18th birthday.

Still so young, it makes McIntosh “emotional” to think that there are kids watching her on TV, looking at her as a role model. “I was once in their shoes not that long ago,” she said to Olympics.com after the Games. The swimmer she looked up to was Ledecky, whom she beat in the 400m freestyle in a surreal fashion in Paris. Walking out of Paris with four pieces of hardware after her Games debut is a feat accomplished by so few, it is hard to imagine that she will not attempt to extend her reign through L.A. and beyond.

Snoop Dogg…

Though it wasn't exactly in the typical fashion of an Olympic superstar, Snoop Dogg definitely stole the show more than once through his time at Paris 2024.

From being fully-fitted out in equestrian gear to walking around with Olympic ring sunglasses and interacting with many of Paris’ star athletes, Snoop Dogg’s most memorable moment may have been during the Closing Ceremonies, where he stood on the stage in Los Angeles, waving the Olympic flag and signifying the handover to the next edition of the Games, also hinting that he too will likely be a part of the action at L.A. 2028.