Team USA is known for taking home the most medals at the Olympics, and this year was no different. The United States won the most medals overall, the most bronze and silver medals, and was tied with China for the most gold medals.
The following charts show the US team’s big medal win in Paris.
The race for the gold medal
Some say gold medals are the most important thing, and the USA and China were neck and neck throughout the Olympics. Here’s how it went:
MEDALS WON DURING THE DAY
Team USA had a medal surge on the eighth day of competition, winning a total of 18 medals. This is what it looked like on the remaining days:
MEDALS WON IN MEN’S AND WOMEN’S EVENTS
Throughout the Games, the Americans won medals more consistently in the women’s event than in the men’s event. Female athletes competing in the women’s events won nearly twice as many gold medals as male athletes.
In some sports, the inequality in gender competitions is greater than in others. The largest differences were in gymnastics (women led with 5 medals), cycling (6) and swimming (9).
The great swimming rivalry
The USA and Australia continued to battle for dominance in the pool. Even though the overall medal count in swimming was not quite as close, the USA was one medal ahead of Australia in the gold medal.
COMPLETE MEDAL TOTALS BY SPORT FOR TEAM USA
Although Team USA often excels in all areas, the U.S. is stronger in some sports than others. At this year’s Games, the sports in which the U.S. won the most medals were track and field (34 medals) and swimming (28).
These sports offer many events in which the United States can win medals. In comparison, sports like basketball or soccer only award one bronze, one silver, and one gold medal.
TOP PERFORMERS OF TEAM USA
Swimmer Torri Huske won the most medals of any athlete on the US team with five medals. Gymnast Simone Biles and swimmers Gretchen Walsh, Katie Ledecky and Regan Smith took second place with four medals.
Huske, Biles and skater Gabby Thomas were tied for the most gold medals with three each.
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE A COUNTRY’S OLYMPIC PERFORMANCE
Every four years, countries like the USA, China, Russia and the United Kingdom are ahead in the race for Olympic medals.
However, it is no surprise that these nations perform well at the Olympics, as these countries have a larger pool of potential Olympians and more national wealth to invest in their Olympic teams.
If you compare the medals won with the population or gross domestic product of a country, the overall medal ranking changes considerably.
Click through the slides below to see how the U.S. team’s performance changes when viewed against the backdrop of certain advantages.
Check out the table below to see how countries fared relative to population, GDP and number of athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
FULL MEDAL TABLE
Countries’ Olympic performances can be broken down in many ways. But ultimately, the main interest of viewers is in the gold, silver and bronze medals. The table below contains all the medals won at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
