Olympics: Decoding the performance of USA
What's the story
The rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympics will be underway on July 23 behind closed doors amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the years, the United States of America have been the most prolific country in the Olympic sports. The nation topped the medals tally in last edition (2016) that took place in Rio. Here we decode the performance of the US at Olympics.
Medals
A staggering 2,523 medals won at Summer Olympics
As stated, the US lead the all-time medals tally at Olympics. The Americans have won a total of 2,523 medals, including 1,022 gold at the Summer Olympic Games. Meanwhile, the nation has 305 medals (105 gold) at the Winter Olympic Games. The total 2,828 medals includes 1,127 gold, 907 silver, and 794 bronze medals. Notably, the nation has a massive lead at the top.
Rio
121 medals in the Rio 2016 Olympics
The US won most medals (121) in the last Olympics edition (Rio 2016). As expected, they won most gold medals (46) at the Games. Notably, the side won its 1,000th Summer Olympic gold medal overall in that edition. Great Britain finished second in terms of gold medals (27). Meanwhile, China followed the UK with 27 gold medals (70 overall).
Information
A record 802 medals in athletics
The US has won most of its medals in athletics (802). This includes 335 gold, 260 silver, and 207 bronze medals. Meanwhile, the American swimmers have clinched 553 medals (246 gold, 172 silver, 135 bronze). The nation also excels in Diving (138) and Wrestling (133).
Michael Phelps
Former American swimmer Michael Phelps has bagged 23 gold medals
Former American swimmer Michael Phelps has been the most dominant sportsperson in the history of the Olympic sports. The legendary swimmer has won a staggering 23 gold medals in the global event. Phelps has claimed a total of 28 Olympic medals (most Olympic medals won by a swimmer). He made his Olympics debut in 2000 as a 15-year-old.