US Wins Fewest Number of Gold Medals During Winning Streak

Article by Anya Pelshaw, courtesy of Swim Swam.

2024 PARIS SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES

The US led the final medal table of swimming at the 2024 Paris Olympics. They tallied a total of 8 golds and 28 total medals to finish ahead of Australia with 7 gold and 18 total medals.

The US has led the medal table for 9 straight Olympics now. How does each country stack up to their previous success in swimming at the Olympics?

SWIMMING MEDAL TABLE

RANK NATION GOLD SILVER BRONZE TOTAL
1 United States 8 13 7 28
2 Australia 7 8 3 18
3 France 4 1 2 7
4 Canada 3 2 3 8
5 China 2 3 7 12
6 Italy 2 1 2 5
7 Hungary 2 1 0 3
8 Sweden 2 0 0 2
9 Great Britain 1 4 0 5
10 South Africa 1 1 0 2
11 Ireland 1 0 2 3
12
 Germany 1 0 1 2
Romania 1 0 1 2
14
 Greece 0 1 0 1
Japan 0 1 0 1
16
 Hong Kong 0 0 2 2
Netherlands 0 0 2 2
18
 South Korea 0 0 1 1
Switzerland 0 0 1 1

Overall Historic Swimming Medal Table

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 United States (USA) 265 191 151 607
2 Australia (AUS) 76 78 76 230
3 East Germany (GDR) 38 32 22 92
4 Hungary (HUN) 30 27 20 77
5 Japan (JPN) 24 28 32 84
6 Great Britain (GBR) 21 33 30 84
7 Netherlands (NED) 19 20 21 60
8 China (CHN) 18 24 19 61
9 Germany (GER) 14 18 31 63
10 Soviet Union (URS) 12 21 26 59
11 Canada (CAN) 12 20 30 62
12 France (FRA) 12 17 21 50
13 Sweden (SWE) 11 16 14 41
14 South Africa (RSA) 8 8 6 22
15 Italy (ITA) 7 7 17 31
16 Unified Team (EUN) 6 3 1 10
17 Russia (RUS) 4 9 9 22
18 Ukraine (UKR) 4 3 2 9
19 Romania (ROU) 4 2 5 11
20 Ireland (IRL) 4 0 3 7
21 West Germany (FRG) 3 5 14 22
22 Denmark (DEN) 3 5 7 15
23 Tunisia (TUN) 3 0 1 4
24 Zimbabwe (ZIM) 2 4 1 7
25 Australasia (ANZ) 2 3 3 8
26 Spain (ESP) 2 2 4 8
27 ROC 2 2 1 5
28 New Zealand (NZL) 2 1 3 6
29 Austria (AUT) 1 6 5 12
30 United Team of Germany (EUA) 1 5 6 12
31 Brazil (BRA) 1 4 10 15
32 Greece (GRE) 1 4 2 7
33 Poland (POL) 1 3 2 6
34 South Korea (KOR) 1 3 1 5
35 Belgium (BEL) 1 2 2 5
36 Costa Rica (CRC) 1 1 2 4
37
 Argentina (ARG) 1 1 1 3
Bulgaria (BUL) 1 1 1 3
39 Yugoslavia (YUG) 1 1 0 2
40
 Mexico (MEX) 1 0 1 2
Suriname (SUR) 1 0 1 2
42
 Kazakhstan (KAZ) 1 0 0 1
Lithuania (LTU) 1 0 0 1
Singapore (SIN) 1 0 0 1
45 Hong Kong (HKG) 0 2 2 4
46 Belarus (BLR) 0 2 1 3
47 Slovakia (SVK) 0 2 0 2
48 Finland (FIN) 0 1 4 5
49
 Cuba (CUB) 0 1 1 2
Norway (NOR) 0 1 1 2
51
 Croatia (CRO) 0 1 0 1
Serbia (SRB) 0 1 0 1
Slovenia (SLO) 0 1 0 1
54 Switzerland (SUI) 0 0 4 4
55 Philippines (PHI) 0 0 2 2
56
 Trinidad and Tobago (TRI) 0 0 1 1
Venezuela (VEN) 0 0 1 1

Comparing Countries To Previous Games

USA

The US has led the medal table for the last 9 Olympics but this was the worst they have done leading the medal table, with only 8 golds. They have always been in double-digits for golds but still managed to stand on the top of the medal table in Paris.

Games Gold Silver Bronze Total
1996 13 11 2 26
2000 14 8 11 33
2004 12 9 7 28
2008 12 9 10 31
2012 16 9 6 31
2016 16 8 9 33
2020 11 10 9 30
2024 8 13 7 28

Australia

Australia has had solid showings in the last two Olympic Games. After 9 gold medals in Tokyo, they walk away with 7 here.

Games Gold Silver Bronze Total
1996 2 4 6 12
2000 5 9 4 18
2004 7 5 3 15
2008 6 6 8 20
2012 1 6 3 10
2016 3 4 3 10
2020 9 3 9 21
2024 7 8 3 18

France

Host country France walks away with four gold medals and 7 total, their most since the 2012 London Games.

Games Gold Silver Bronze Total
2000 Sydney 0 1 0 1
2004 Athens 1 2 3 6
2008 Beijing 1 2 3 6
2012 London 4 2 1 7
2016 Rio 0 2 1 3
2020 Tokyo 0 1 0 1
2024 Paris 4 1 2 7

Canada

Summer McIntosh led the way for Canada with three gold medals, becoming the first Canadian to ever win three golds at one Olympic Games.

Games Gold Silver Bronze Total
1996 Atlanta 0 1 2 3
2000 Sydney 0 0 1 1
2008 Beijing 0 0 1 1
2012 London 0 1 1 2
2016 Rio de Janeiro 1 1 4 6
2020 Tokyo 1 3 2 6
2024 Paris 3 2 3 8

China

China brings home 12 total medals, more than it brought home at the 2012 Games, although in 2012 they had 5 gold compared to just 2 from Paris.

Games Gold Silver Bronze Total
1996 1 3 2 6
2000 0 0 0 0
2004 1 1 0 2
2008 1 3 2 6
2012 5 2 3 10
2016 1 2 3 6
2020 3 2 1 6
2024 2 3 7 12

Italy

After winning zero gold medals in Tokyo, Thomas Ceccon and Nicolo Martinenghi led the Italian team to two golds and five total medals

Games Gold Silver Bronze Total
1996 0 0 1 1
2000 3 1 2 6
2004 0 1 1 2
2008 1 1 0 2
2012 0 0 1 1
2016 1 1 2 4
2020 0 2 5 7
2024 2 1 2 5

Hungary

Kristof Milak and Hubert Kos teamed up to equal Hungary’s medal tally of three total medals from Tokyo. The country has consistently had a medalist in the last 8 Games.

Games Gold Silver Bronze Total
1996 3 1 2 6
2000 1 0 0 1
2004 0 1 1 2
2008 0 3 0 3
2012 2 0 1 3
2016 3 2 2 7
2020 1 2 0 3
2024 2 1 0 3

Sweden

Sarah Sjostrom brings home two gold medals, one in the 50 free and one in the 100 free. After winning 0 medals in back to back to back Games, they country now has medaled in the most recent 3.

Games Gold Silver Bronze Total
1996 0 1 0 1
2000 1 2 1 4
2004 0 0 0 0
2008 0 0 0 0
2012 0 0 0 0
2016 1 1 1 3
2020 0 1 0 1
2024 2 0 0 2

Great Britain

The men’s 4×200 free relay defended their title from Tokyo while in Paris. The country did not match its total medal tally of 8 from Tokyo but 5 is still more than they were at the turn of the century.

Games Gold Silver Bronze Total
1996 0 1 1 2
2000 0 0 0 0
2004 0 0 2 2
2008 2 2 2 6
2012 0 1 2 3
2016 1 5 0 6
2020 4 3 1 8
2024 1 4 0 5

Medals Per Continent

North America

Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
United States 8 13 7 28
Canada 3 2 3 8
11 15 10 36

Europe

Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
France 4 1 2 7
Italy 2 1 2 5
Hungary 2 1 0 3
Sweden 2 0 0 2
Great Britain 1 4 0 5
Ireland 1 0 2 3
Germany 1 0 1 2
Romania 1 0 1 2
Greece 0 1 0 1
Netherlands 0 0 2 2
Switzerland 0 0 1 1
14 8 11 33

Oceania

Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
Australia 7 8 3 18

Asia

Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
China 2 3 7 12
Japan 0 1 0 1
Hong Kong 0 0 2 2
South Korea 0 0 1 1
2 4 10 16

Africa

Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
South Africa 1 1 0 2
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