Paris Olympics: The best stats from the 2024 Games (2024)

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After 16 action-packed days, Paris 2024 has reached its conclusion.

It has delivered sporting drama by the bucketload, the emergence of new heroes, world records have been broken and plenty of history written.

So what are the stats to savour from this Olympic Games? BBC Sport takes a look...

Counting up the medals

The United States top the medal table for the seventh time in eight Olympic Games. At all eight, they have won the most overall medals.

Great Britain matched their total number of medals from London 2012 as they passed the 60-medal mark for a fourth successive Olympics.

Their tally of 65 was one better than Tokyo three years ago but it proved a Games of silver linings with just 14 golds collected, their lowest since Athens in 2004.

Meanwhile, Japan followed on from their record-breaking success at their home Tokyo Games in which they won 27 golds, and excelled with another 20 golds, which is their second highest tally of all time.

Their total was buoyed by their status as powerhouses in the wrestling, where they won eight golds at the Champ de Mars Arena.

Australia's 18 golds also helped them to a fourth-placed finish as they beat their previous best total of 17 in Athens and Tokyo.

The world records that tumbled

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone smashed her own world record as she stormed to a sensational Olympic 400m hurdles gold in a time of 50.37 seconds, while her fellow Americans Vernon Norwood, Shamier Little, Kaylyn Brown and Bryce Deadmon set a new mark in the 4x400m mixed relay.

Sweden's Armand Duplantis had already wrapped up the men's pole vault gold medal when he improved his world best of 6.24m, that he set in April, by one centimetre.

There were 31 world records broken overall, with the highest percentage (39%) arriving in the velodrome. Great Britain's Katy Marchant, Sophie Capewell and Emma Finucane were responsible for three of those on the way to gold in the women's team sprint.

That compares favourably to Tokyo where 22 world records went and is also slightly above the 27 that were eclipsed in Rio eight years ago.

The athletes who excelled at the Games

Paris 2024 saw the emergence of a new swimming superstar as Leon Marchand became the first French athlete to take four individual golds at a single summer Olympics.

The 22-year-old hogged the headlines on home soil as he became only the third male swimmer ever to achieve the feat, after American greats Michael Phelps and Mark Spitz, and he added to his medal collection in the 4x100m medley relay with a bronze.

His five medals make him the joint most decorated athlete at the Games, along with fellow swimmers Mollie O'Callaghan from Australia and Torri Huske from the US.

Away from the pool, Simone Biles was back to her brilliant best with A-listers Lady Gaga, Nicole Kidman, Natalie Portman, Spike Lee, Tom Brady and Tom Cruise's presence underlining her status as the hottest ticket in town.

Three triumphs - the all-around and vault titles, plus the team competition - took her career Olympic gold medal total to seven.

The nations exceeding expectations

While the USA topped the official medals table, with population of just over 112,000, Grenada were actually the most successful nation when it comes to winning Olympics medals based on the size of their nation.

Anderson Peters and Lindon Victor's bronze medals in both the men's javelin and decathlon meant they averaged one medal per 56,289 inhabitants.

Dominica, Saint Lucia and New Zealand, who averaged one medal per 266,945 of their population, make up the top four.

Meanwhile Ireland were 18th, with Great Britain in 24th, the USA in 47th and China in 74th, while medal-starved India were bottom of the table averaging one medal per 234,151,666.

India sent a contingent of 117 athletes to Paris, yet had a meagre haul of five bronze medals and a solitary silver to show for their efforts. They were also one of 28 teams that failed to win a gold in any sport.

How did Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) fare?

One of the big changes in the medal table was the absence of Russia, who have historically always been among the top four medal-winning countries and among the largest contingents.

But the country was banned from these Games following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with its ally Belarus also barred. Instead, a handful of athletes from the countries (15 from Russia, 17 from Belarus) were invited to compete as Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) without national flags or anthems.

They had to meet strict criteria over their eligibility - they had to pass background checks to make sure they did not actively support the war and were not contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies.

Medals were won in five events by AINs but these are not being counted in the official medal table. Just one medal ceremony featured the specially composed anthem for AIN gold-medal winners.

Belarusians won medals in two trampoline events (Ivan Litvinovich - men's gold, Viyaleta Bardzilouskaya - women's silver), one in rowing (Yauheni Zalaty - silver) and one in weightlifting (Yauheni Tsikhantsou - bronze).

The only medal won by Russians was a silver for tennis players Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider in the women's doubles.

Was Lyles' 100m gold the closest of the Games?

At all Olympic Games, medals are decided by the finest of margins.

That has been particularly true in Paris with Noah Lyles claiming a stunning 100m gold by virtue of thrusting his torso out over the line first.

However, in terms of winning margin (either in terms of times/points) that was not the smallest when worked out as a percentage of the winning time or points total.

It wasn’t even the closest on the track, with the women’s 10,000m, won by Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet, closer at just 0.005% of the overall time.

Great Britain’s photo-finish win over the Netherlands in the women’s quadruple sculls rowing was by a finer margin too, as were Adam Peaty and Matt Richards’ silvers in the pool.

However, the closest of them all was the men’s horizontal bar gymnastics final, where Japan’s Shinnosuke Oka and Colombia’s Angel Barajas were barely inseparable. They both scored exactly 14.533 but the former won because of a higher execution score.

Where did GB's medals arrive from?

Keely Hodgkinson's superb 800m gold was one of the moments of the Games for Team GB, whose 10 medals on the track was their best tally at an Olympics since 1984 when they won 16 including golds for Sebastian Coe, Daley Thompson and Tessa Sanderson.

Alex Yee produced a sensational sprint finish to top the podium in the men's triathlon and trampoline gold for Bryony Page crowned two decades of commitment to her craft, while Ellie Aldridge delivered an exhilarating kitesurfing success.

Lewis Richardson ensured the British boxing team did not walk away empty handed by earning a bronze after all five of his teammates were beaten in their first bouts.

Tom Pidco*ck also defied a puncture to retain his Olympic mountain bike title as GB claimed medals in 19 different sports.

Of Team GB's 14 gold medals, six each came in men's and women's events and two in mixed equestrian events, where male and female riders compete together - although the team jumping was won by an all-male trio of Scott Brash, Harry Charles and Ben Maher.

Related Topics

  • Paris 2024 Olympics
Paris Olympics: The best stats from the 2024 Games (2024)

FAQs

Which country is the best in the Olympics in 2024? ›

Paris Olympics 2024 Medals Tally Table and Current Standings
PositionCountryGold
1United States (USA)40
2China (CHN)40
3Japan (JPN)20
4Australia (AUS)18
76 more rows
Aug 12, 2024

What person won the most medals in the 2024 Olympics? ›

At the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the athlete with the most medals won was Yefei Zhang. The Chinese swimmer won a total of six medals, which included five bronze medals and one silver medal. Meanwhile, French Swimmer Leon Marchand secured four gold medals and one bronze medal.

What world records were broken in the 2024 Olympics? ›

Here is a list of all the world records broken at 2024 Paris:
  • Swimming: Current Issue. ...
  • Athletics: USA (Vernon Norwood, Shamier Little, Bryce Deadmon, Kaylyn Brown) - 4x400m mixed relay - 3:07.41s. ...
  • Archery: ...
  • Track Cycling: ...
  • Sport climbing: ...
  • Weightlifting: ...
  • Modern pentathlon.
Aug 12, 2024

What 4 sports will be added to the 2024 Olympic Games? ›

Skateboarding, sport climbing, surfing and breaking were four non-traditional sports that captivated audiences at the Paris Games. Breaking, also known as break dancing, made its Olympic debut.

Which country is the best at the Olympics all time? ›

In the history of the Summer Olympics, the United States has been the most successful nation ever, with a combined total of 2,761 medals in 29 Olympic Games. More than one thousand of these were gold, with almost 900 silver medals, and nearly 800 bronze medals.

Which country has sent most athletes in the Paris Olympics? ›

As of July 29, the NOCs with the most athletic participation include the following:
  • United States: 637 athletes.
  • France: 596 athletes.
  • Australia: 477 athletes.
  • Germany: 453 athletes.
  • Japan: 428 athletes.
Jul 29, 2024

What is the most impressive Olympic world record? ›

Usain Bolt's 100-meter dash of 9.63 seconds

This means that Bolt owns the top two times in Olympic history and the world record in the 100-meter dash, a feat that will likely never be surpassed. He also owns the Olympic and world records for the 200-meter dash.

Which sport removed from 2028 Olympics? ›

However, breakdancing, which made its Olympic debut in Paris, won't be featured in the 2028 Games. Despite its introduction this summer, the decision to exclude breaking from the next Olympics was made prior to the Paris event.

What is the oldest Olympic record not broken? ›

Bob Beamon

Beamon comfortably broke the world record by jumping 8.90m on October 18, 1968, and at the time had created both a world record and an Olympic record. While his world record was later broken by Mike Powell, Beamon's jump remains an Olympic record even 56 years later.

Which sport has been dropped from the Paris Olympics 2024? ›

Baseball, Softball, & Karate Were Cut From The 2024 Olympics.

Which game will be removed from Olympics 2024? ›

Baseball and softball will not be included in the Paris Olympics, after having made a return in Tokyo.

Why is karate not in the 2024 Olympics? ›

The decision to exclude karate was made by the organizers due to its perceived lack of entertainment value and its inability to attract a significant following among younger audiences, as reported by Reuters. The two karate disciplines showcased at the Tokyo Olympics were kata and kumite.

Which country will the Olympics be held in 2024? ›

The Olympic Games of Paris 2024

The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be the biggest event ever organised in France. The Olympic Games will take place from 26 July to 11 August 2024, when Paris will become the centre of the world—the world of sport, and so much more.

How many medals have the USA won in the Olympics in 2024? ›

Team USA topped the overall medal chart with 126 total medals (40 golds, 44 silvers, 42 bronzes) for the eighth consecutive Games.

Which one is selected for 2024 Olympic Games? ›

On 31 July 2017, the IOC announced Los Angeles as the sole candidate for 2028, enabling Paris to be confirmed as host for 2024. Both decisions were ratified at the 131st IOC Session on 13 September 2017.

Where are the Special Olympics 2024? ›

About the 2024 Summer Games. The Special Olympics Virginia Summer Games are the largest annual competition for Special Olympics athletes in the state of Virginia. This year's event will take place in Richmond, Virginia from June 7-8, 2024.

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