AT THE BUZZER
USA tops medal table ahead of China thanks to last-gasp gold in Paris with Olympics team securing 126 overall
The Americans started the final day of competition one gold behind China
TEAM USA ended the Paris Olympics on a high note by securing gold in the final event to top the medal table.
The last-gasp victory in the women's basketball final on Sunday ensured that the Americans edged out China with 126 overall medals.
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The nervy 67-66 win over France gave Team USA their 40th gold medal of the Olympics.
With China also securing 40 golds, USA topped the table based on their silver medal count.
Overall, Team USA finished with 40 golds, 44 silvers and 42 bronze medals.
Meanwhile, China collected 40 golds, 27 silvers and 24 bronzes.
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The US entered the final day of competition with 38 golds, one behind China’s tally of 39.
China's Li Wenwen put the pressure on the Americans by winning gold in the women’s +81kg weightlifting.
The USA’s women’s volleyball team and the wrestler Kennedy Blades added to the total medal count with silver medals.
Then Jennifer Valente came through in the omnium before the Team USA women's basketball team ended the Olympics on the highest of highs.
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It marked the first tie at the top of the table in Summer Olympics history.
The only previous Olympics gold medal tie occurred in the Winter Games in 1948 between Norway and Sweden.
Team USA medal stripped
Meanwhile, the final tally of 126 medals is the most for the Americans since the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.
Team USA put together their best medal haul in track and field with 34.
At the Tokyo Games in 2021, the United States narrowly came out on top in the gold medal race, besting China 39 to 38 gold.
The Americans were more dominant in Rio 2016 when they finished with 46 gold medals.
'Global sports superpower'
By Sunni Upal, Deputy US Sport Editor
USA needed their women’s basketball stars to deliver a late gold medal Sunday to finish on top in Paris.
While the American team were way ahead on overall medal count, the gold medal table is what counts in most parts of the world, and the US again showed that they are the planet’s sporting superpower.
The games started slowly in terms of gold medals for Team USA.
The swim team needed a late charge to hold off a challenge from Australia in the pool. But their track and field dominance with 14 gold medals at the Stade de France is what carried this team in Paris.
Simone Biles also returned in style with three golds and a silver in gymnastics after her tough time in Tokyo three years ago.
The USWNT also had a redemption after their Women’s World Cup disaster last year, with Mallory Swanson scoring the winning goal in the gold medal game having missed the tournament in 2023 through injury.
But the final word went to USA’s basketball teams - with LeBron James and Co winning a fifth straight men’s gold medal, and Diana Taurasi and team making it eight straight.
Team USA are expected to top the medal count at the 2028 Olympics, which will be on home soil on Los Angeles.
The Americans, however, lost one medal over the weekend after gymnastics star Jordan Chiles was stripped of her bronze medal.
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Chiles initially finished fifth in the women's floor final in Paris.
She was then bumped up to bronze after United States coach Cecile Landi successfully argued that her score had been under-marked.
But now the Court of Arbitration for Sport has concluded that the review was submitted four seconds beyond the one-minute deadline.
Now the International Olympic Committee has told Chiles that she must return her bronze medal, with Romanian Ana Barbosu being given the podium place.
The US Olympic & Paralympic Committee has vowed to fight the ruling.
“We firmly believe that Jordan rightfully earned the bronze medal, and there were critical errors in both the initial scoring by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and the subsequent CAS appeal process that need to be addressed,” it said in a statement.
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“Given these circumstances, we are committed to pursuing an appeal to help Jordan Chiles receive the recognition she deserves.
“We remain dedicated to supporting her as an Olympic champion and will continue to work diligently to resolve this matter swiftly and fairly.”
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