Plus ça change: after more than two weeks of frenetic competition across 32 sports involving more than 10,000 athletes, the US finished the Paris Olympics top of the medal table once again, although they required victory in the final event of the Games to do so.
The US entered Sunday with 38 golds, one behind China’s tally of 39, although they were heavy favourites for victory in women’s basketball, an event the Americans have won at every Olympics since 1996. The US also had chances for gold in track cycling, wrestling and volleyball, while China could add to their tally in weightlifting.
Li Wenwen did her part for China, winning gold in the women’s +81kg weightlifting, while the USA’s women’s volleyball team and the wrestler Kennedy Blades had to settle for silver. But the US had a reigning Olympic champion, Jennifer Valente, in the omnium and she came through to leave the US one gold behind China with the final event of the Games, women’s basketball, to come. Few in the American camp would have been nervous about the outcome, though: the US were on a 60-game winning streak at the Olympics and seeking their eighth straight title. They then beat France in the final seconds of a thrilling contest, leaving the US and China level on 40 golds each, with the Americans edging into first on silvers won, 44 to 27.
Japan were in third place with 20 golds, the same position they finished in 2021 in Tokyo. Australia, who enjoyed their best-ever medal haul, finished fourth with 18 golds. Host France were fifth with 16 golds, their best result since they topped the table in 1900, when Paris also hosted the Games.
It was a mixed Games for Team GB, who finished seventh, their lowest finish since 2004. However, they may want to consult the medal table in the American media, where countries are usually ranked by total medals rather than gold. According to that method, Great Britain’s total medal count of 65 is good for third in the table. It is also one more medal than they won in Tokyo.
The US will be expected to top the medal table in four years’ time, when Los Angeles hosts the Games. Nations traditionally have strong performances in the medal table when they are on home soil and the US, used to domination in the Summer Olympics, will be especially keen to make an impact. The Winter Olympics are another story: the last time the US topped the table there was in 1932. Norway, with a population of less than 6 million, has finished top at the Winter Games for the last two editions.