Tokyo Olympics: U.S. Tops Final Medal Count, Narrowly Beats China For The Most Golds

ToplineAs the Tokyo Olympics comes to an end, the United States won the most medals of any country in the Olympics. They also took home the fewest gold medals after China had led the Games in gold medal count.Sunisa Lee, from Team USA, poses with her gold medal following winning the Women's Allround... [+] Final at Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Sunisa Lee is pictured here with her gold coin. Getty ImagesThe Key FactsThe United States won 113 medals. 39 are gold, 41 silver, and 33 bronze. China was second with 88 medals. 38 of these were gold. Great Britain (71 total medals), Japan (58) and Great Britain (65 each) followed closely. As late as Sunday, the U.S. trailed China in gold medals. This sparked fears that China would eventually win the most golds. However, the U.S. won the women's basketball, cycling, and women's volleyball events, winning their first ever gold medal. Sunisa Lee won the Tokyo Games women's all-around competition in Gymnastics. Caeleb Dressel, Katie Ledecky and April Ross were the swimmers. Alix Klineman was the women's beach volleyball player. The men's basketball team won the women's 4x400m relay. McLaughlin earned individual golds. Mu won the women's 4x400m relay. CNN reports that the U.S. won the top ranking win. Also, Brazil, China Taipei, Japan, New Zealand and Chinese Taipei set new records in terms of the number of medals these countries have received at the Olympic Games. For the first time in Tokyo, San Marino, Turkmenistan and Burkina Faso won Olympic medals. In total, 94 countries were awarded medals.Big Number1,061. This is the total number of gold medals that the USA has won in the Olympics. It's more than any other country after coming to Tokyo with 1,022 golds.Important QuoteCNN reports that Sarah Hirshland (CEO of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee) said Sunday that she kept her team safe and was returning home with a successful medal haul. I am overwhelmed with gratitude and pride for the incredible Tokyo 2020 Games.Important BackgroundThe U.S. is a dominant country in medals at Olympics. NBC reports that the U.S. has topped the medal count for 15 of the 27 Summer Games it participated in since 1896. According to NBC, this is the seventh consecutive year that the U.S. has led in the Olympic medal count. The U.S. is still ahead of the other countries in medal count, but it's still lower than the 2016 Rio Olympics when the U.S. won 121 medals, including 46 golds. Yahoo points out that the U.S. took home fewer gold medals than usual this year due to the U.S. not earning an individual gold in track events, no U.S. men winning a gold medal in women's soccer, and Simone Biles, a gymnastics star, withdrawing from most of her scheduled events to preserve her mental health. Biles, along with her U.S. teammates, won a bronze medal at the balance beam finals and a silver medal at the women's team finals.Continue readingU.S. U.S. Leading the Charge for Olympic Gold Medal LeadHere's How It Could Overtake China (Forbes).U.S. wins Tokyo Olympics gold medal count (Yahoo Sports).US Olympic Medal Records: A History of Our Country’s Greatest Wins (NBC).