With the 2024 Paris Olympics about to close, the United States will end the Summer Games as the country that has won more medals than any other nation. However, the battle for which country would win in the gold medal category came down to the last sporting event of the Games as the United States moved into a tie with China at 40 each on the strength of the U.S. women's basketball team securing a 67-66 victory over France Sunday morning.
Both countries added to their gold stockpiles throughout the Games' final day. China added its latest gold medal after Li Wenwen prevailed in the women's weightlifting +81kg division. The U.S. had an opportunity to answer in the women's volleyball final, but fell to Italy en route to a silver medal. The Americans did, however, add another gold to the board with Jennifer Valente winning the women's omnium track cycling final, pulling to 40-39.
Team USA was heavily favored to defeat France, but the host nation gave America's team of WNBA all-stars all it could handle. With the victory, the U.S. extended its Olympic winning streak to 61 games and eighth straight gold medal, and sixth for veteran Diana Taurasi.
Team USA will lost one bronze medal in controversial fashion , however. Gymnast Jordan Chiles has to return her hardware after taking third in the Aug. 5 women's floor exercise final. The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that a scoring inquiry that leapt Chiles from fifth to third came four seconds late, so Romania's Ana Bărbosu will be declared the new bronze medalist.
The United States won the overall medal count by a wide margin -- 35 to be exact -- with a final tally of 126. The United States also has the outright lead in silver and and bronze with 44 and 42 in each category, respectively. Overall, China is second with 91 medals, with Great Britain (65), France (63) and Australia (53) rounding out the top five.
The United States entered these Games with the most medals ever won in the Summer Olympics. The U.S. also holds the record for most gold medals won in a single games with 83 captured in 1984, one of the country's host years that took place as the Soviet Union led a 12-nation boycott of the Los Angeles Games. Such lofty totals will obviously not happen in 2024, although America was able to build upon its showing of 113 medals at the Tokyo Games of three years ago. The U.S. won one more gold than it did in the Tokyo Games three years ago, and America has gone plus-three in its silver tally, up from 41, and far surpassed the previous number of bronze medals won, posting a plus-nine, up from 33.
Check out the 2024 Paris Olympics medal count below. It will be updated regularly as events conclude through the conclusion of the Summer Olympics on Aug. 11.