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The U.S. team retained their traditional place atop the Olympic medal table, although it took a streak of late medals – and the help of a Welsh boxer – on the final day in Tokyo to hoist them above from China.
The United States entered Sunday with two gold medals shy of China, but Jennifer Valente’s victory in the women’s omnium and a seventh consecutive title for the women’s basketball team – arguably the biggest dynasty in Olympic history – level both countries with 38 gold medals each. The Americans then took the lead after beating Brazil in the women’s volleyball final. China could have tied the United States’ gold medal in the women’s middleweight boxing final, but Britain’s Lauren Price easily beat Li Qian on a points decision.
The hosts, Japan, finished with 27 gold medals, the most they have ever won at the Olympics, to finish the Games third on the medal table – the same position as when they were held in Tokyo in 1972. Great Britain was fourth, with 22 gold medals, up from 27 they won in 2016, but still one of the team’s most successful Olympics.
The media in the United States tends to rank nations based on the total number of medals won rather than gold. The United States also won by this method with 113 medals in total against 88 for China.
Sunday’s wins ended a mixed Games for the United States. Although they finished top of the medal table, their traditional dominance in swimming and track and field has been called into question. For the first time since 1980, when the Americans boycotted the Moscow Olympics, the US men’s track team failed to win an individual gold medal. In the pool, the United States were pushed by the good performances of Australia and Great Britain.
However, their 39 gold medals improved their total to five of the last eight Summer Olympics. The last time a nation other than the United States topped the medal table was in 2008, when host China won 48 gold medals against 36 for the Americans.
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