At the conclusion of the Paris Olympics, the United States led the world in total medals and was tied with China for the most gold medals.
China held a narrow lead over the United States until Sunday, claiming its last gold medal with Li Wenwen’s victory in the women’s over-81 kilogram weightlifting class. The Americans closed the gap on China with Jennifer Valente’s gold in women’s cycling and a nerve-wracking win over France in the women’s basketball gold medal game.
The USA and China leave Paris with 40 gold medals each. This is the first time that two countries have won the same gold medal at the Summer Olympics. At the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, there was a tie for gold, when Norway and Sweden each won four gold medals.
In Paris, the Americans were the leaders with 126 medals, while China came second with 91. Places 5 to 7 are occupied by Great Britain (65), host France (64) and Australia (53).
The U.S. team’s 126 Olympic medals are the country’s third-highest total and the largest haul since the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Medal table at the Olympic Games in Paris
|
country |
Gold |
Silver |
Bronze |
In total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
United States of America |
40 |
44 |
42 |
126 |
|
People’s Republic of China |
40 |
27 |
24 |
91 |
|
Great Britain |
14 |
22 |
29 |
65 |
|
France |
16 |
26 |
22 |
64 |
|
Australia |
18 |
19 |
16 |
53 |
|
Japan |
20 |
12 |
13 |
45 |
|
Italy |
12 |
13 |
15 |
40 |
|
Netherlands |
15 |
7 |
12 |
34 |
|
Germany |
12 |
13 |
8 |
33 |
|
Republic of Korea |
13 |
9 |
10 |
32 |
You can see the entire medal table here.
Required reading
(Photo of Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson and Sophia Smith of the U.S. Women’s National Team: Tnani Badreddine / DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
