China Narrowing the Gap with the U.S. in Medal Count at 2024 Olympics
On August 9th, China continued its impressive performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics, winning four more gold medals and closing in on the United States in the overall medal standings. China now trails the U.S. by only a few silver and bronze medals.
China’s latest gold medals came from Sun Mengya and Xu Shixiao in the women’s canoe double 500m, Chen Yiwen in the women’s 3m springboard diving, Wu Yu in the women’s boxing under-50kg category, and the men’s table tennis team featuring Wang Chuqin, Fan Zhendong, and Ma Long.
While the U.S., Japan, and Germany each secured three gold medals on August 9th, the U.S. managed to maintain its lead, thanks to victories by Rai Benjamin in the men’s 400m hurdles, the women’s 4x100m relay team (Sha’Carri Richardson, Gabby Thomas, Melissa Jefferson, Twanisha Terry), and Olivia Reeves in the women’s 71kg weightlifting.
Japan’s three golds helped them climb three spots to fourth place, while Germany moved up one spot to ninth. Meanwhile, host nation France was pushed down to sixth place by the UK and Japan, as they failed to secure any new gold medals.
As of now, 86 countries have won at least one medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Singapore recently appeared on the medal table, thanks to 18-year-old Maximilian Maeder, who won a bronze medal in kiteboarding. Southeast Asian nations have collectively won 16 medals.
With just two days of competition left, August 10th will be the most eventful day of the 2024 Olympics, with 39 gold medals up for grabs. Among the highlights, Eliud Kipchoge will aim for his third consecutive gold medal in the marathon, starting at 1 p.m. The U.S. women’s soccer team will compete for the gold against Brazil at 10 p.m., and the U.S. men’s basketball team will face host France in the final at 2:30 a.m. on August 11th.
The final day of competition on August 11th will see 13 more medals awarded before the closing ceremony.
