Team USA topped the medals table at the Paris Olympic Games with 40 gold medals and a total of 126.
China, who were the last team apart from the U.S. to top the medal table when they did it at home at the 2008 Beijing Games, also won 40 golds. But because they managed only 27 silvers, they finished second on the medals table. The U.S. earned 44 silver medals.
The U.S. women's basketball team secured Team USA's final gold medal by edging host nation France in a thrilling match that came down to the last shot.
In addition to the medals, which are unique to each Olympic Games, some winners will get additional awards from their home nations. Cash prizes, cows or even apartments are some of the rewards medal winners in some sports or from certain countries will enjoy. And while some athletes will set world records in Paris , those can be set at other international competitions. Olympic medals, however, are only earned at the Games.
Which country had the most medals in the 2020 Olympics?
The 2020 Olympic Games , held in Tokyo in 2021 after a COVID-related delay, were a much more sober affair than most Games due to to the coronavirus pandemic. There, the U.S. narrowly edged out China for most gold medals, 39 to 38, but remained comfortably ahead in overall medals, with American athletes taking home 113 medals to second-place China's 89.
Which country had the most gold medals in the 2022 Olympics?
In the 2022 Winter Games, held in Beijing , the U.S. was third in both the gold-medal count and overall medals, with nine golds and 25 overall. Norway topped the count with 16 golds and 37 total medals, followed by Germany in both gold medals, with 12, and overall medals, with 27. Host nation China tied the U.S. in the number of gold medals, but trailed in the total medal count, with 15.
Which country has the most medals overall?
According to the Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage, the U.S. leds the all-time medal count going into the Paris Games with a total of 2,975 Olympic medals, followed by the now-defunct Soviet Union, with 1,204 medals, and Germany, with 1,058 medals.
And, as hoped, the U.S. added to its medal haul at the 2024 Games, topping 3,000 total medals within the first week of competition. The American team is helped by the sheer number of competitors representing Team USA at the Paris Games: 594 athletes, of the about 10,500 athletes competing. Four countries in this year's games have only one athlete taking a shot at medal glory: Belize, Liechtenstein, Nauru and Somalia.
And since Russia was banned for this year's games, any medals garnered by its few athletes competing as individual neutral athletes won't be tallied as part of the country's overall haul. The first individual neutral athlete to medal in the Games was Viyaleta Bardzilouskaya of Belarus, who took silver in women's trampoline.
Which country has the most gold medals overall?
The U.S. will also hope to keep its ranking as the nation with the most gold medals: a total of 1,179 ahead of the Paris Games, according to the Olympic Foundation. Following is the Soviet Union , with 473 gold medals. Germany takes third, with 342 gold medals.
The U.S. notched its first gold medal of the Games with a gold in the men's 4x100 freestyle relay. And, of course, Simone Biles and the U.S. women's gymnastics team turned in dominant performances to bring home individual and team gold, and swimmers Katie Ledecky and Torri Huske each added to the tally.
Running phenom Noah Lyles narrowly notched the gold in a photo finish to the 100 meters, and Cole Hocker pulled off a stunning upset to give the U.S. a gold in the 1500 meters, coming from behind to beat the two favorites in the field. Quincy Hall also came from behind, nabbing the U.S. first gold medal in the 400 meters since 2008.
This story was originally published by CBS News on Aug. 11, 2024 at 8:03 p.m. ET.
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