USA Overtakes China at the Last Minute in the 2024 Paris Olympics
In a dramatic finish on August 11, the USA edged out host nation France to clinch the top spot in the overall Olympic medal standings at the Paris 2024 Games.
The women’s basketball final proved more thrilling than anticipated, with the USA narrowly defeating France 67-66. Despite a late surge by France, with Gabby Williams scoring five points in the final seconds, the host nation fell short of forcing overtime.
This victory marks the eighth consecutive Olympic gold for the USA in women’s basketball. Guard Diana Taurasi has also made history as the first athlete to win gold in six consecutive Olympic Games. The triumph propelled the USA to tie China with 40 gold medals, but they secured the top position due to having 17 more silver medals (44 compared to 27) and a superior bronze medal count (42 compared to 24). This is the first time in Olympic history that the two leading nations have an equal number of gold medals.
Japan claimed third place in Paris, excelling in wrestling, judo, and gymnastics, with a total of 20 gold medals, 12 silver, and 13 bronze. Australia finished fourth (18-19-16), followed by host nation France (16-25-22).
In the last eight Olympics, the USA has led the medal tally seven times, with their only second-place finish occurring in Beijing 2008. At Tokyo 2020, they topped the standings with 39 gold medals, just one ahead of China, with the final rankings only confirmed on the last day of competition.
This year, the competition between the USA and China remained fierce. The USA showcased their dominance in swimming and athletics, winning eight and 14 gold medals respectively. China excelled in technical and non-combat sports, securing all eight gold medals in diving and five each in table tennis, shooting, and weightlifting.
The USA was the only nation to surpass 100 total medals at the Olympics this year, amassing 126, while China came close with 91. China also became the only nation to win gold in two exclusive sports—diving (8) and table tennis (5). Additionally, China became the third country in history to surpass 300 gold medals (303), following the USA (1,105) and the Soviet Union (395).
At the Paris 2024 Olympics, 91 countries earned medals out of a total of 206 participating nations. A total of 63 nations won gold, and 22 nations secured more than 10 medals.
Regionally, the USA and China led their respective continents, with Australia dominating Oceania (18-19-16), France leading Europe (16-26-22), and Kenya representing Africa (4-2-5).
In Southeast Asia, five nations secured medals. The Philippines led the region with two golds and two bronzes, finishing 37th. Indonesia followed in 39th place (2-0-1), with Thailand in 44th (1-3-2), Malaysia in 80th (0-0-2), and Singapore in 84th (0-0-1).
