China had entered the final day of the Paris Olympics with a slender 39-38 lead over the US in gold medal count, only for the Americans to fight back on Sunday and finish level with their rivals in terms of first-place finishes.
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The United States and China were having quite the see-saw battle for the top spot in the medal table in the last few days of the Paris Olympics. And on the final day of the Games, the two nations would finish
tied on 40 gold medals each, a first in Olympic history.
Paris Olympics: News, schedule, medals tally and more
Kazakhstan had become the first team to win a medal at the Paris Olympics after beating Germany to win bronze in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team event. China would later become the first team to win gold in the Olympics by defeating South Korea in the final of the same event. Both medals were handed out on 27 July, the first official day of the 33rd Summer Olympics even though events had started two days before the opening ceremony.
Over the course of the next few days, the table would see various nations at the top, from Australia thanks to their early surge in swimming to host nation France. However, it wasn’t long before the familiar USA vs China Olympic rivalry — the successor to the United States vs Soviet Union rivalry that had develop after the second World War and peaked during the 1970s and ’80s — took centre-stage.
US and China had surged well ahead of the other nations and on the final day, it was clear that one of these two would top the table at the end of the Games.
China entered the final day with a 39-38 lead, needing to stay ahead of the Americans on gold medal count given the latter had won a lot more silver and bronze and were well ahead in terms of the overall count. The Chinese had led by four medals at one point on the penultimate day before the Americans narrowed the gap thanks to their track and field team.
Here’s how the final day of the 2024 Paris Olympics panned out and the
USA pipped China to the top spot:
How US beat China to the top of the table
The United States had a slight advantage over China heading into the final day as they were favourites to win gold in women’s basketball and women’s volleyball.
China briefly managed to gain a two-gold lead over the US after weightlifter Li Wenwen won the women’s 81kg event. The US were then in a spot of bother after losing the women’s volleyball final to Italy 0-3 and wrestler Kennedy Alexis Blades — who had denied India’s Reetika Hooda a shot at bronze via repechage by defeating Kyrgyzstan’s Aiperi Medet Kyzy — losing the women’s 76kg final against Japan’s Yuka Kagami.
The US women’s basketball team poses with their gold medals after defeating hosts France 67-66 to win gold. AP
Cyclist Jennifer Valente, however, kept USA’s hopes alive by winning gold in women’s omnium, setting the stage for a thrilling showdown between USA and France in women’s basketball — the final event of the Paris Olympics on Sunday, just a few hours before the
closing ceremony was to get underway.
France would have hoped to win the last gold medal on offer being the host nation, and they came mighty close to achieving that, leading the Americans for at least half of the final. The US, however, clawed ahead in the decisive moments of the match to
secure a thrilling 67-66 victory and help the nation finish level with China on 40 gold medals.
USA, as a result, topped the Summer Olympics medal table for the fourth straight time and for the seventh time in the last eight editions.
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Publish date : 2024-08-12 00:37:00
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