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Who Won the Olympics? All the Ways We Could Think Of to Track the Medal Count.
Which country won the most events involving nets, balls or weapons? We (over) analyzed the medal standings in Paris.
The United States had an excellent showing at the Summer Olympics in Paris. It won the most medals by far, and tied with China for most gold medals — the first such tie at a Summer Games.
| United States | 40 | 44 | 42 | 126 |
| China | 40 | 27 | 24 | 91 |
| Britain | 14 | 22 | 29 | 65 |
But that’s not all. The U.S. won the most medals looking only at men’s events, and the most counting only women’s. It won the most medals in team events and the most in solo competitions.
| U.S. | 13 | 16 | 23 | 52 |
| France | 11 | 14 | 13 | 38 |
| China | 17 | 10 | 7 | 34 |
| U.S. | 26 | 23 | 18 | 67 |
| China | 19 | 15 | 16 | 50 |
| Australia | 13 | 9 | 8 | 30 |
| U.S. | 12 | 9 | 8 | 29 |
| Britain | 7 | 5 | 9 | 21 |
| China | 8 | 6 | 5 | 19 |
| U.S. | 28 | 35 | 34 | 97 |
| China | 32 | 21 | 19 | 72 |
| France | 13 | 22 | 18 | 53 |
But Americans didn’t win in every way you could slice it. They didn’t win the most medals in events with weapons (yes, the javelin counts). And they didn’t win the most in sports scored by judges.
Involve Weapons
by Judges
| S. Korea | 10 | 5 | 2 | 17 |
| U.S. | 3 | 5 | 3 | 11 |
| China | 5 | 3 | 3 | 11 |
| China | 14 | 8 | 5 | 27 |
| U.S. | 4 | 6 | 7 | 17 |
| Britain | 2 | 3 | 10 | 15 |
Involve Nets
Tokyo Olympics
| China | 8 | 6 | 0 | 14 |
| U.S. | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| France | 1 | 5 | 2 | 8 |
| France | +6 | +14 | +11 | +31 |
| U.S. | +1 | +3 | +9 | +13 |
| S. Korea | +7 | +5 | – | +12 |
These are extremely unofficial categories. But they do reveal some interesting patterns — if it felt as if South Korean athletes dominated the archery and sharpshooting podiums, they did.
The U.S., by contrast, won the most medals in events that involved a race of some type. And even if we look only at sports that were also held at the 1900 Paris Olympics, the Americans have the most medals.
Involve a Race
1900 Paris Olympics
| U.S. | 23 | 22 | 19 | 64 |
| Britain | 8 | 17 | 13 | 38 |
| Australia | 14 | 14 | 9 | 37 |
| U.S. | 34 | 34 | 29 | 97 |
| Britain | 12 | 18 | 18 | 48 |
| China | 15 | 13 | 16 | 44 |
We should note that we are sorting these tables by total medals, not gold medals. Opinions differ on the proper approach.
And the U.S. is, of course, a large country with many resources. If you want to give the small countries a fair shot, the tables below can help out.
10 Million People
$10K G.D.P. per Capita
| N. Zealand | 10 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
| Hungary | 6 | 7 | 6 | 19 |
| Denmark | 2 | 2 | 5 | 9 |
| Uzbekistan | 8 | 2 | 3 | 13 |
| Ukraine | 3 | 5 | 4 | 12 |
| Kenya | 4 | 2 | 5 | 11 |
Which way of counting is best? That’s for you to decide. You can pick your favorite here.
| United States | 40 | 44 | 42 | 126 |
| China | 40 | 27 | 24 | 91 |
| Britain | 14 | 22 | 29 | 65 |
| France | 16 | 26 | 22 | 64 |
| Australia | 18 | 19 | 16 | 53 |
| Japan | 20 | 12 | 13 | 45 |
| Italy | 12 | 13 | 15 | 40 |
| Netherlands | 15 | 7 | 12 | 34 |
| Germany | 12 | 13 | 8 | 33 |
| South Korea | 13 | 9 | 10 | 32 |
Ben Blatt is a reporter for The Upshot specializing in data-driven journalism. More about Ben Blatt
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