It was a history-making year for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics. From first-time medals to world records, American athletes achieved some unforgettable milestones over the last two weeks of competition. Related video above: Katie Ledecky sets Olympic records and makes history at the Paris OlympicsHere's a look at some of the firsts, records and achievements from Paris:CyclingThe American women's pursuit team won its first gold medal in 12 years at the Paris Games.Road race champion Kristen Faulkner, time trial bronze medalist Chloe Dygert, Jennifer Valente and Lilly Williams soared to a big early lead on New Zealand in their head-to-head showdown, then held on through a ragged finish to finally win the gold medal.The American women's pursuit program had been chasing gold ever since the 2012 London Games, when it finished second to Britain. It lost a rematch four years later in Rio de Janeiro, and then in Tokyo, the U.S. had to beat Canada for bronze.Artistic swimmingTeam USA won its first artistic swimming medal in 20 years with second-place finish in Paris.Team USA, who did not even qualify for the 2020 Olympics, won silver medals with a score of 914.3421. This is the United States' first podium finish in 20 years. Americans took bronze in both the team and duet artistic swimming events at the 2004 Summer Games in Athens. Video below: No male athletes in Olympic artistic swimming teamWeightliftingHampton Morris, a 20-year-old who trains in his garage at home in Marietta, Georgia, became the first U.S. men's weightlifter to take home a medal of any color at the Games in four decades. Narrowly missing out on a world record that would have gotten him silver, Morris followed Mario Martinez and Guy Carlton from Los Angeles in 1984 as the most recent American men to medal at the Olympics. BasketballNBA star Kevin Durant made U.S. Olympic basketball scoring history in Paris while playing for Team USA's men's basketball team. Durant became the career leader in points for the U.S. in Olympic competition, passing Lisa Leslie for the mark during the Americans’ quarterfinal game against Brazil. Durant’s basket with 3:06 left in the third quarter gave him six points in the game and 489 in his four Olympic appearances. Leslie finished her four Olympic appearances with 488 points and four gold medals. Video below: Team USA faces stiff competition in Paris Olympics basketballTrackTeam USA marked numerous milestones in track events in Paris. American Cole Hocker pulled an upset in 1,500 meters, beating his personal-best time by more than 3 seconds to outrace two favorites for the title.Hocker won the race in an Olympic record 3 minutes 27.65 seconds, pulling from fifth to first over the final 300 meters.Hocker, a 23-year-old product of the University of Oregon, was listed as much as a 30-1 long shot for the race. American Yared Nuguse also came from behind to win the bronze.It was the first U.S. win in the metric mile since Matt Centrowitz took gold in 2016. It was the first time Americans put two men on the 1,500-meter podium since the Stockholm Games in 1912.Related video below: Noah Lyles claims title of world's fastest man, making his mark at the OlympicsQuincy Hall also had an out-of-nowhere comeback on the track, sprinting from far behind in the 400 meters to capture the gold medal. Hall, buried in fourth place as the runners rounded the last bend, outran the runner on his outside, then two more to the inside to cross the line in 43.40 seconds, the fourth-fastest time ever. He then dropped to the track to do snow angels to celebrate. Hall became the first American since LaShawn Merritt in 2008 to capture gold in the one-lap race. Speed climbing Sam Watson left the Paris Games with another world record in speed sport climbing but without the Olympic gold medal.The American broke the speed world record for a second time at the 2024 Paris Olympics, but the feat came in the fight for the bronze after he was eliminated in the semifinals.The 18-year-old Watson, the heavy favorite for the gold, lost to Wu Peng of China in the semifinals before setting a record of 4.74 seconds in the third-place heat. Video below: Team USA climber Sam Watson sets a new world record in speed climbing and initiates a unique "Selfie Olympics" at the Paris Games.SwimmingTeam USA also broke records and made history in the pool.Katie Ledecky, a four-time Olympian, added four medals in Paris to become the most decorated U.S. swimmer of all time and the fifth most decorated Olympian in history with 14 medals. She's the seventh Olympian to win four consecutive gold medals in the same event and the second swimmer to do so after Michael Phelps. The United States also set two world records on the final night of swimming at the Paris Olympics, winning the gold-medal count over rival Australia. Bobby Finke set a new standard in the 1,500 freestyle and the American women closed a thrilling nine days at La Defense Arena with another record in their 4x100 medley relay.Lilly King made up for a disappointing showing in her individual events by powering the Americans to the lead on the breaststroke segment.Then it was Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske, two of the biggest U.S. stars at these games, bringing it home in 3 minutes, 49.63 seconds to break the record of 3:50.40 set by the U.S. at the 2019 world championships. GymnasticsSimone Biles also made history in Paris. Biles became the most decorated American gymnast in history in Paris, when the U.S. women's artistic gymnastics team won gold in the team final. By clinching her eighth Olympic medal, Biles surpassed Shannon Miller's long-standing record of seven Olympic medals. Biles and Miller had been tied at seven since the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The 27-year-old ended up with four Olympic medals by the end of the Games — gold in the team, all-around and vault finals and silver in the floor exercise final. Video below: Seven-time Olympic medalist Shannon Miller reacts after Simone Biles breaks her medal recordIt brought Biles' medal total to 11 (including seven gold, two silver, two bronze),tying her to Czechoslovakia’s Vera Caslavska for the second-most by a female gymnast in Olympic history.The U.S. men's gymnastics team also earned bronze in their team final to secure their first medal since 2008.After qualifying in fifth place, the U.S. men ended a 16-year drought to the delight of the dozens of fans waving American flags who chanted “USA! USA!”The Americans edged Britain for the bronze. Frederick Richard and Brody Malone were at the top of their game, and every member of the U.S. team contributed. Stephen Nedoroscik, the pommel horse specialist, joined his teammates on the final rotation. Video below: Team USA’s ‘Clark Kent’ pommel horse hero Stephen Nedoroscik speaks with CNN's Coy WireFencingLee Kiefer became the first American fencer to win three Olympic gold medals as the U.S. got its first-ever team fencing gold in women's foil at the Paris Olympics.The U.S. earned four fencing medals at the Paris Olympics and two gold medals in fencing at the same Olympics for the first time, as well as a first-ever team gold for the U.S. Video below: Team USA fencers shine at the 2024 Paris Olympics, both on and off the fieldRowingThe team of Liam Corrigan, Justin Best, Michael Grady and Nick Mead won gold in the men's four class — the first rowing gold for the U.S. at the Paris Olympics and the first rowing gold medal in the event since 1960. The last time the U.S. men’s four had stood on the Olympic podium was in 2012 in London, where it won bronze.Corrigan, Best, Grady and Mead were at the Tokyo Games three years ago but left without any medals. Mead went on to be selected as a U.S. flag bearer for the closing ceremony in Paris.Video below: Team USA names flag bearers for Paris 2024 Olympics closing ceremonyRugbyIn a thrilling last-second victory over Australia, the USA women's rugby team secured a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, marking a historic moment in women's rugby.Rugby Sevens, a variant of the traditional 15-person rugby, became a medal sport at the Olympics during the 2016 games in Rio. The USA women's rugby team's victory marks a significant milestone in the sport's history. Video below: Team USA women's rugby players Ilona Maher and Naya Tapper talk about who inspires themSoccerThe U.S. men's soccer team advanced to the quarterfinals of the Olympic men's soccer tournament for the first time since Sydney 2000. Although it ended a 24-year wait for the U.S. to reach the knockout phase, the team lost to Morocco in the quarterfinals. WrestlingAmerican wrestler Amit Elor, 20, became the youngest Olympian wrestling gold medalist in U.S. history, male or female, with a win in the 68-kilogram final at the Paris Games. She became the third American woman to win gold, following Helen Maroulis in 2016 and Tamyra Mensah-Stock in 2021. Women started wrestling at the Olympics in 2004. The Associated Press contributed to this article.