By Leada Gore
The U.S. took home the most medals from the 2024 Summer Olympics Games in Paris but tied for the greatest number of gold medals, according to official Olympic tracking.
The U.S. and China each won 40 gold medals. The U.S. added 44 silver and 42 bronze to bring its total to 126 compared to a total of 91 for China – 40 gold, 27 silver and 24 bronze.
Rounding out the top 10 gold medal-winning countries were:
Japan – 45 total, 20 gold
Australia – 53 total, 18 gold
France – 64 total, 16 gold
Netherlands – 34 total, 15 gold
Great Britain – 65 total, 14 gold
Korea – 32 total, 13 gold
Italy – 40 total, 12 gold
Germany – 33 total, 12 gold
Olympic medal rankings are determined by the most gold medals won during the games . The last time the U.S. didn’t top the standings was in 2008 for the Beijing, Olympics when Americans received 36 gold to China’s 48.
The Paris Olympics marked the first time a member of the Refugee Olympic Team won a medal. Boxer Cindy Ngamba won the bronze medal representing the team created by the International Olympic Committee in 2015 to draw attention to the plight of refugees worldwide. The delegation sent 37 members to Paris to compete in 12 sports.
Ngamba was born in the Central African country of Cameroon before moving to England at age 11. She has been repeatedly denied British citizenship despite living in the country for over a decade. According to NPR, Ngamba, who is gay, cannot return to Cameroon where same-sex relationships are punishable by up to five years in prison.
