The Paris 2024 Olympics has come to an end.¹ It closes after almost three weeks of extraordinary feats and dramatic monuments, as well as some controversy.²

This edition has been a hit. Sportswriter Bruce Arthur has suggested it might be "the best Olympics ever". But when the hype dies down, what lessons can its athletes teach us?

1. Sportsmanship is alive and well. Many believe that sport can teach fair play, courage and hard work. Paris 2024 showcased athletes with morals.

Japanese gymnast Daiki Hashimoto shushed his cheering fans so that his rival could concentrate. And after South Sudan's Lucia Moris collapsed, her Laotian opponent Silina Pha Aphay ran back to help her.

2. Humans have no limits. Records were smashed. French swimmer Leon Marchand set an Olympic record in four categories. Guatemala's trap shooter Adriana Ruano broke the women's high score. And Sweden's Armand Duplantis broke his own pole vault record for the ninth time.³

Some scientists think that one day there will be a record no one can smash. But the Olympics show people striving to beat them.

3. Migration is good for nations. The Olympics shine a spotlight on how immigration can push a country's sporting prowess to new heights.

In London 2012 over a third of Britain's medal winners were born abroad or had a foreign parent or grandparent. Paris 2024 was equally diverse.

4. Winning is all about maths. The nerds took over Paris. Marchand is a computer science student. American champion 200m runner Gabby Thomas studied neurobiologyThe biology of the nervous system. at HarvardA top US university, founded in 1636. . And these are just two of many academically inclined athletes.

And who knows, science and maths might even help them to assess risk, calculate angles and experiment.

5. Age is just a number. A new generation of young stars has emerged. China's 11-year-old skateboarder Zheng Haohao is one of the youngest Olympians of all time,⁴ and 14-year-old Australian skateboarding champion Arisa Trew won Gold after becoming the first woman to land a 720.⁵ 

Older athletes also shone. Team GB skateboarder Andy Macdonald is 51. Chilean table tennis ace Zhiying Zeng is 58, and Spanish horse rider Juan Antonio Jimenez competed aged 65.

Was Paris the best ever?

Yes: Smashed records, stars young and old, touching moments and a French joie de vivre, after Tokyo's Covid-era coldness - Paris 2024 might usher in a new era for the Olympics, one that is friendly and full of nerds.

No: Shameful controversies, a rain-soaked opening ceremony, brutal injuries, signs that athletes are reaching their limits. Paris 2024 had its triumphs, but otherwise it was Olympic business as usual.

Or... All Olympics have their light and shade. Paris 2024 is no exception. But ultimately the Olympics are a brief sideshow. Whatever we feel today will be forgotten by the time the next one comes along.

FOR YOUR SUMMER READING CHALLENGE CLUE GO TO STEP SIX IN THE SIX STEPS TO DISCOVERY BELOW.