After two weeks of intense competition featuring over 10,000 athletes from around the world across 32 sports, the United States secured the top position on the medal table at the Paris Olympics, though their victory was marked by suspense until the very end.
As the final day of the Games approached, the US was trailing China by a single gold medal, with China leading the standings at 39 golds compared to the US’s 38. The closing events of the Games were crucial in determining the ultimate champion.
China’s Li Wenwen clinched gold in the women’s +81kg weightlifting event, bringing her country’s total to 40 golds.
The US found hope in cyclist Jennifer Valente, the defending Olympic champion in the omnium, who rose to the occasion and won gold, narrowing the gap to just one gold medal behind China as the Games headed into the final event – women’s basketball.
The US, favourites in women’s basketball – a sport they have dominated since 1996 – entered the final against host nation France with a lot at stake. In a thrilling match, the US emerged victorious, winning 67-66 and securing their eighth consecutive gold medal in the event.
This gold brought the US level with China in the gold medal count, but the US claimed the top spot due to their higher number of silver medals, finishing with 44 silvers compared to China’s 27.
Host nation France ended up in fifth place on the medal tally with 16 golds and 63 medals in total.
The final top five nations in the Paris Olympics 2024 medal standings were:
| Team | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA | 40 | 44 | 42 | 126 |
| China | 40 | 27 | 24 | 91 |
| Japan | 20 | 12 | 13 | 45 |
| Australia | 18 | 19 | 16 | 53 |
| France | 16 | 25 | 22 | 63 |
India concluded their Olympic journey on Saturday after wrestler Reetika Hooda, the last remaining Indian athlete, was eliminated in the quarterfinals. India finished 71st at the Paris Olympics with one silver and five bronze medals. However, there remains a possibility of another silver being added to India’s tally, pending the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision on Vinesh Phogat’s appeal. Phogat was disqualified before the gold medal bout in women’s 50kg freestyle wrestling for exceeding the weight limit by just 100 grams.
Should the decision favour Vinesh, India would move up to 68th place in the medal tally, equaling their total medal count from the previous Tokyo Olympics, though this time without a gold.
