2024 was the year of Girl Power for the United States at the Olympics.
With the Paris Olympics officially drawing to a close on Sunday, the United States ended up with a share of first place in total gold medals, winning 40 of them to tie China for the most by any nation. The U.S. also thrashed the field when it came to overall medals, finishing with 126 of them (compared to 91 for second-place China and 65 for third-place Great Britain).
ESPN shared a wild fact on Sunday breaking down the gold medal count for the United States. Of the 40 gold medals won by the U.S., 26 of them were won by women (65 percent). That is the highest gold medal count ever for a country’s team of women in a single Olympic Games.
The U.S. women's 26 gold medals are the MOST by a women's team in a single Olympics pic.twitter.com/FCIjxpWazo
— ESPN (@espn) August 11, 2024
U.S. women won gold in several major individual events, including in gymnastics, swimming, and track-and-field. They also took home key gold medals in team competitions such as basketball, soccer, and relay races (with some absolutely commanding victories along the way).
The men did a great job for the United States as well with some massive gold medal wins in basketball, track-and-field, golf, rowing, and other events. But they also left some gold medal opportunities on the table and probably have the women to thank for the United States ultimately earning the tie atop the overall gold medal leaderboard.
