USA goes gold
Illustration by Ollie Hoffmaster.
Hayden Braun, Contributing Writer
Jenny Allen, Contributing Writer
The United States led the world in most won medals at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, totaling 126. Team USA won 42 bronze medals, 44 silver and tied with China for winning 40 gold medals.
Out of the 126 total medals, 67 of them were won in women’s events according to Yahoo Sports.
In total, the U.S. now has 2,793 medals, with 1,117 Gold, 884 Silver and 792 Bronze, according to the Olympics.
Team USA also broke six world records during this year’s Olympics, according to USOPC.
Team USA track and field, earned more than half of the total athletics medals winning 34 in total, with 14 being gold, according to USA Today.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone not only won a gold medal for the team, but also broke her own personal world record running a 400m hurdle in 50.37 seconds, according to World Athletics.
Team USA Swimming also had a significant contribution to USA’s medal count, winning a total of 28 medals, eight being gold medals, according to CBS News.
Since the addition of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer team in 1985, the U.S. has made history. The USWNT currently holds the most gold medals in Olympic women’s soccer history. No other country has more than one gold medal, and in this year’s games, the team won its fifth gold medal, according to US Soccer.
The U.S. men’s and women’s basketball also kept up their reputation at the Olympics
The U.S. women’s basketball team won its eighth gold medal at this year’s Olympics, becoming the first basketball team in Olympic history to win eight consecutive gold medals, according to USA Today.
This year, the U.S. men’s basketball team won its fifth gold medal in a row. In total, the men’s team now has 17 Olympic gold medals, according to USA Basketball.
Other notable victories include Ian Barrows and Hans Henken winning a bronze medal in the men’s skiff event, giving the U.S. its first sailing medal since the 2016 games, according to US Sailing.
Noah Lyles also won a bronze medal in the 200m event while being positive for COVID-19, according to ESPN. Lyles won gold in the men’s 100m just a few days prior and was hoping for double gold but due to the illness settled for a bronze finish.
Italy will host the Winter Olympic games in 2026, giving the opportunity for Team USA to continue their legacy and create new benchmarks that will be remembered forever.
