Paris Olympics: NBA stars, world-record breakers and main-character energy – top 5 debuts

Stephen Curry celebrates after securing the men's basketball gold against France. Photo: Reuters

• Some debutants left with newly found fame, while others simply added another page to their storied careers

You only get one Olympics debut, and from preteens and veterans to global sporting superstars, Paris had it all over the course of two-and-a-bit weeks.

Some newcomers left with new-found fame, others simply added another page to their storied career, while there were those who even became memes.

But whatever else happens in the rest of their lives, they'll always have Paris. Here's a look back at five who stood out in the French capital.

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Letsile Tebogo

First time proved to be a charm for the Botswanan, and what better stage to shine than in a marquee event?

Tebogo turned the 200-metre final into his personal victory lap of the Stade de France, pounding his chest in triumph as he crossed the finish line.

And no, that wasn't a show of arrogance but a proud salute to Botswana's first Olympic gold, which Tebogo dedicated to his late mother, Elizabeth Sertiwa.

An African record of 19.46 seconds and now deemed a Botswanan lionheart, Tebogo had skates on his feet in his Games debut.

Stephen Curry

"Greatest shooter in basketball history" and "debutant" sound like an awkward pairing.

And they are, because it being Curry's first Games sounds abnormal, but his wizardry on Bercy Arena was anything but.

The 36-year-old shared his superstar status with the world, or at least with anyone not already familiar with the NBA.

After averaging 6.7 points through USA's group phase slate, "Chef Curry" stomped on the green light and dropped 36 points en route to a narrow semi-final victory over Serbia.

His records provided the sharp shooter two more accolades - the second-most points by an American Olympian and Olympic gold.

Stephen Nedoroscik

Name doesn't ring a bell? How about "Pommel Horse Guy"?

It wasn't just becoming an overnight internet sensation that glossed Nedoroscik's Olympic debut; he also left with a little extra weight in his luggage.

The US gymnast won bronze medals for artistic team all-around and, of course, the pommel horse.

But it was ahead of the team final, when he woke up from a nap and whipped his glasses off to perform a metal-clinching routine, that may prove to be his ultimate legacy.

Luo Shifang

An Olympic record, and then some. Luo delivered China's third weightlifting gold in Paris, writing three chapters of Games history for good measure.

Her individual snatch, and clean and jerk lifts all hit new heights in her 59kg gold medal performance.

And amid her steel-like intensity and tigerlike focus, she unwound with a pink blanket and pillow, catching a nap between record-breaking lifts.

Eclipsing one record in the greatest show on earth is telling - doing it three times is the stuff of legend.

Kim Ye-ji

First-timers do not typically have "aura", but this South Korean was a little bit different.

Kim clinched a silver in the women's 10m air pistol, just 1.9 points shy of gold.

But the medal's colour wasn't the end of the tale. Kim's "sci-fi assassin look" had social media buzzing.

What people described as "main character energy", Kim rocked sci-fi shooter glasses, an ice-cold stance and a stoic expression, all while her daughter's elephant-shaped stuffed animal dangled from her waistband. Talk about swagger.

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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.

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