Photograph of Noah Lyles by Cameron Spencer / Getty Images. Photograph of Torri Huske by Lintao Zhang / Getty Images. Photograph of Masai Russell
by Al Bello / Getty Images. Photograph of Kevin Durant
by Jamie Squire / Getty Images. Graphic design by Omari Foote.
Sunday evening’s epic closing ceremony marked the finale of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris. After 15 days of competition, the United States dominated the medal count with 40 gold medals and 126 medals overall. But here in the DC area, we have another score to settle: Who won the most medals, Maryland or Virginia?
Both Virginia and Maryland saw an incredible turnout in Paris. Out of nearly 600 athletes on Team USA, 18 were from Maryland, 15 from Virginia. But which can brag that its native sons and daughters won more gold, silver, and bronze? Well, it depends. If measured by DMV-area athletes, Maryland takes the crown for most medals, with 11, compared to NoVA’s nine. The neighbor to the north also won the most golds, with six versus Virginia’s five.
But don’t count out the Old Dominion just yet: If you include all athletes from each state, not just those from the Washington region, Virginia edges out Maryland with 13 total medals and seven golds, compared to 12 total medals and six golds for Maryland.
Compared to other states, Maryland and Virginia are in the top 10 for overall medal count. No surprise, California reigned supreme in the summer games, with 50 medals.
These medal counts are based on players’ hometowns. There are other athletes with DC connections who won medals—such as Washington Spirit teammates Trinity Rodman, Casey Krueger, and Croix Bethune of the gold-medal-winning US women’s soccer squad—but they didn’t grow up here.
If you count athletes with simply a presence in Virginia or Maryland, the commonwealth definitely wins the collegiate head-to-head: The University of Virginia alone took home a whopping 14 medals—eight of which came from swimming superstars Kate Douglass and Gretchen Walsh.
At the end of the day, we’re all winners, right? The Washington Post found that the DC metropolitan area contributed more to the US medal count than any other region when “weighted to account for the size of medal-winning teams.” This dominance can be attributed largely to our heavy-hitting individual winners—Katie Ledecky, Torri Huske, and Noah Lyles.
Here’s a breakdown of the DC-area medal winners from each jurisdiction:
DC
Taylor Knibb
Washington, DC | 1 medal (silver), triathlon
The District proper didn’t have many representatives on the Olympic stage this year, but this Sidwell Friends alum was one of them. Knibb became the youngest woman to ever qualify for the US triathlon team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, taking home a silver. This year, the 26 year old added another medal to her collection, when she delivered the fastest anchor-leg split in the mixed triathlon final and pushed her team to second place.
Maryland
Katie Ledecky
Bethesda | 4 medals (2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze), swimming
The pride of Bethesda continued her legendary Olympic run his year, taking home four medals in women’s freestyle swimming events: two gold medals (1,500m, 800m), a silver (4x200m), and a bronze (400m). This year also marked a major milestone for the 27 year old: She officially became the most decorated female US Olympian of all time, with 14 medals. She’s also now the second-most decorated US Olympian of all time, behind fellow Marylander Michael Phelps.
Kevin Durant
Seat Pleasant | 1 medal (gold), basketball
This 35-year-old NBA all-star officially took home the fourth Olympic gold medal of his career on Friday, becoming the most decorated Team USA men’s basketball player in history. He also surpassed 500 total Olympic points scored, making him just the eighth men’s basketball player in history to do so.
Quincy Wilson
Potomac | 1 medal (gold), track and field
The 16 year old from Potomac became the youngest male track and field Olympian in US history, after he qualified for the 4×400 men’s relay. Soon after, he became the youngest American male to win a gold medal in track and field, after he helped his team take home gold in the event. Wilson is about to start the 11th grade at Bullis High.
Masai Russell
Potomac | 1 medal (gold), track and field
Another Bullis Bulldog made her Olympic debut this year: 24-year-old Masai Russell. She ran her way to a gold medal in the 100m women’s hurdles in a nail-biting finish.
Erin Gemmell
Bethesda | 1 medal (silver), swimming
This 19-year-old (who once dressed up as Katie Ledecky for Halloween) took home silver alongside her idol in the 4×200 women’s relay. Her and Ledecky’s home swim club—Potomac Woods in Rockville—threw the her a homecoming party today.
Helen Maroulis
Rockville | 1 medal (bronze), wrestling
Maroulis became the first-ever US women’s wrestler to win gold at the Rio Olympics in 2016, and went on to win bronze in 2020. The 32 year old made even more history this year: When she once again won bronze in her 57 kg weight class, she became the first American woman to win three Olympic wrestling medals.
Aaron Brooks
Hagerstown | 1 medal (bronze), wrestling
This 24-year-old finished his Olympic debut with a bronze medal, after defeating Uzbekistan’s Javrail Shapiev in the 86 kg weight class.
Thea LaFond
Silver Spring | 1 medal (gold), track and field
LaFond—who grew up in Silver Spring and went to the University of Maryland—took home a gold medal in the triple jump, while competing for her birth country of Dominica. The 30-year-old athlete brought the Caribbean island nation its first-ever medal.
Virginia
Torri Huske
Arlington | 5 medals (3 gold, 2 silver), swimming
Huske, who graduated from Yorktown High School a few years back, was the most decorated female Olympian at this year’s games. In a strong, emotional finish, the 21-year-old swimmer won her first gold medal in the 100m butterfly. She went on to win two more golds in the mixed and women’s 4×100 medley relays, a silver in the women’s 4×100 freestyle relay, and another silver for the individual 100m freestyle.
Noah Lyles
Alexandria | 2 medals (1 gold, 1 bronze), track and field
The fastest man alive confirmed his title when he took home gold for the men’s 100m, after a memorable photo finish. The 27-year-old Alexandria High School graduate also scored a bronze in the men’s 200m while battling Covid.
Emily Fox
Ashburn | 1 medal (gold), soccer
This 26-year-old defensive player hit the field during all six of the US Women’s National Team’s matches in Paris, helping bring the squad its first gold medal since 2012. She had a few other DC athletes by her side: Four Washington Spirit players were on the USA roster—forward Trinity Rodman, defender Casey Krueger, and midfielder Croix Bethune also won medals. (Midfielder Hal Hershfelt was an alternate.)
Christian Tabash
Alexandria | 1 medal (bronze), rowing
This Alexandria native said he took up rowing after being cut from the freshman basketball team at Gonzaga College High School in DC, and it seems to have worked out for him. In his Olympic debut, the 25 year old paddled his way to a bronze medal as part of the men’s eight team.
Source link : https://www.washingtonian.com/2024/08/12/maryland-vs-virginia-who-won-more-medals-at-the-paris-olympics/
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Publish date : 2024-08-12 09:54:00
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