U.S. leads Olympic medal count in Paris but there’s more to the story

Gold medals are nan large prize successful Paris. China and nan U.S. are moving cervix and cervix erstwhile it comes to gold. But connected a per capita ground mini Australia is punching supra its weight. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

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PARIS — The badge count astatine nan Paris Summer Games will alteration accelerated successful nan days ahead, but a mates of large trends person emerged that are nosy to examine.

First, yes, nan U.S. is leading overall (at nan moment) successful some Olympic golden medals and full medals. American athletes, often shouted connected by family who’ve made nan travel to Paris, person mostly deed their marks and often outperformed expectations, garnering much than a 100 medals.

Behind that basal stat, things get much analyzable and successful immoderate ways much interesting.

China keeps it close

Let’s commencement pinch China. The badge count this twelvemonth shows China has firmly established itself arsenic nan large Olympic rival of nan U.S., particularly erstwhile it comes to golden medals.

Anchored by 3 sports, diving, shooting and array tennis, Chinese athletes person kept nan golden badge title close. The U.S. has a fastener connected nan full badge count, but it’ll spell down to nan ligament whether nan U.S. aliases China comes distant from Paris pinch nan astir gold.

If China wins nan golden badge race, it’ll beryllium a first clip it accomplishes that feat since nan 2008 Summer Games successful Beijing.

Tiny Australia is an Olympic superpower

The adjacent notable badge capacity – successful immoderate ways nan astir singular – is Australia. The state has a comparatively mini organization – astir nan aforesaid arsenic Texas.

But anchored by a stunningly talented aquatics team (and a beardown group of canoe racers) Australian athletes person racked up a crazy number of full medals (43 currently), including 18 gold. It’s Australia’s best badge performance ever.

That represents an unbelievable per capita badge score. Consider this: The U.S. is winning astir 1 Olympic badge for each 3,500,000 cardinal citizens. Australia is winning 1 badge for each 570,000 citizens.

The Old World is still really bully astatine this Game

Turning to Europe, it tin beryllium easy to deliberation of Old World countries for illustration France, Germany, and Italy arsenic stodgy relics of nan Chariots of Fire era of nan Olympics. But taken arsenic a whole, Europe still dominates nan Summer Games that Greece invented.

The European Union (not including Britain, of course) has won much than 160 full medals successful Paris. That’s much than China and nan U.S. combined. Host state France has done particularly well, racking up much than 50 medals.

What happened to Russia?

Finally we person to talk astir the devastating collapse of Russia’s engagement successful these Summer Games. Russia has typically vanished successful nan top-5 among nations successful wide badge count.

But this year, plagued by doping scandals and treated by nan International Olympic Committee arsenic a pariah pursuing nan 2022 penetration of Ukraine, Moscow sent only a fistful of athletes.

So far, those Russians person grounded to triumph a azygous Olympic badge astatine these Games, while Ukraine has scored 8 medals, including 3 gold.

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