Here’s how the top 5 of the Paris 2024 Olympics medal table ended
The curtains fell on a historic Paris 2024 Olympics on August 11, marking the end of an event that brought together over 10,000 athletes from around the world.
Competitors vied for supremacy across 32 sports, to claim one of the 329 medals on offer, while also setting new records.
As expected, the battle for the top of the medal table was fiercely contested between the United States and China. Both nations secured 40 gold medals, but it was the United States that clinched the number one spot, thanks to their superior haul of 44 silver and 42 bronze medals compared to China's 27 silver and 25 bronze.
Notable achievements by American athletes played a significant role in their success. Noah Lyles ended the 20-year drought in the Men’s 100-meter race by winning gold, a victory that broke the dominance of the Usain Bolt era. Gymnastics star Simone Biles added to the gold count, while basketball legends LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and the men's basketball team secured victory over the host nation, France, contributing to a 40 gold medal tally.
China also celebrated significant victories, with Huang Yuting and Sheng Lihao winning the first gold medal of the 2024 Olympic Games in the 10m air rifle team event. Swimmer Zhang Yufei, although not winning a gold, became the most-awarded athlete at this year’s Olympics, earning one silver and five bronze medals, adding to China’s impressive total of 91 medals.
Japan finished in the same position as when they hosted the games in 2021 in Tokyo with 20 gold medals. Australia finished fourth, enjoying their best-ever medal haul of 53 with 18 of them being gold medals. Host France was fifth with 16 out of their total 64 medals being gold, their best medal haul since they hosted the event in 1900 where they ended at the top.
