The Paris Olympics 2024 came to an end with a grand closing ceremony on Sunday and the United States reigned the medals count in the competition with the most medals overall in a close race with China.
According to NPR, the US won a total of 126 medals, including 40 gold medals during the Paris Olympics while China bagged 91 medals overall. Both countries tied in winning gold medals.
While China cemented itself as America’s chief rival in the Summer Games, Pakistan secured the 62nd rank on the list with only one medal which was bagged by Arshad Nadeem for the javelin throw.
The country’s only medal in the Paris Olympics quickly became the most celebrated one because it was its first gold in 40 years and first Olympic medal in 32 years.
Pakistan had won its last medal in 1992 at the Barcelona Olympics when the national hockey team clinched bronze.
The 27-year-old’s 92.97-metre throw surpassed the previous record of 90.57 metres set at the 2008 Olympics by Norwegian track and field athlete Andreas Thorkildsen.
In contrast, the once-dominant Olympic participant Russia had minimal participation in Paris, with only about 15 athletes competing in the games and a low medal count.
US athletes excelled in swimming and track, which contributed to nearly half of its total medal count.
Led by swimmers Katie Ledecky and Torri Huske, the US swimming team earned 28 medals, including eight gold medals. Meanwhile, US track athletes bagged an impressive 34 medals, with 14 gold medals.
These two disciplines contributed to nearly half of the total US medal count for the 2024 Olympics.
China, on the other hand, garnered most of its gold medals from diving, shooting, table tennis and wrestling.
The country won eight gold medals for diving while it bagged five gold medals each for shooting, table tennis and wrestling.
France also performed exceptionally as the host country for the Summer Olympics, winning a total of 64 medals, including 16 gold.
Additionally, Australia achieved an impressive 53 medals in total, 18 gold medals.
The International Olympic Committee fielded a team this year of refugee athletes to represent displaced persons around the world from which Cameroon’s Cindy Djanjeu Ngamba won a single bronze medal in boxing.
