US, China share most gold medals at Paris Olympics
With the Paris Olympics now behind us, the US tops the medal table, equaling China for the most gold medals.
China had a narrow lead over the U.S. going into Sunday, claiming its latest gold medal with Li Wenwen’s weightlifting victory in the women’s +81 kilogram division. The Americans overtook China with Jennifer Valente’s gold in the women’s cycling and a nail-biting victory over France in the women’s basketball gold medal match.
The U.S. and China both leave Paris with 40 gold medals, marking the first time two countries have tied for gold medals at the Summer Games. There was a tie for gold at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, when Norway and Sweden each won four.
In Paris, the Americans led the way with 126 medals, with China finishing second with 91. Great Britain (65), host France (64) and Australia (53) rounded out the top five.
Team USA’s 126 Olympic medals are the third-most for the country and the largest collection since the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Paris Olympic Games medal count
|
Country |
Gold |
Silver |
Bronze |
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 |
|
The Netherlands |
15 |
7 |
12 |
34 |
|
Germany |
12 |
13 |
8 |
33 |
|
Republic of Korea |
13 |
9 |
10 |
32 |
You can see the full medal table here.
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(Photo of Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson and Sophia Smith of the U.S. women’s national team: Tnani Badreddine/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
