In the ongoing global rivalry, the U.S. and China each won 40 gold medals at the Paris Olympics. However, the U.S. took the top spot overall because it earned more silver and bronze medals than China.
Chinese people online are countering this by combining the medal counts of Hong Kong and Taiwan, claiming that, when these are included, China won with 44 gold medals. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on this claim yesterday.
Hong Kong won two gold medals, and Taiwan also secured two, leading some to argue that the combined gold total for the Greater China region surpasses that of the U.S.
On Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, posts celebrating China’s performance with hashtags like “China, Number 1 in Gold Medals” have garnered millions of likes. However, official records show that the U.S. and China each won 40 gold medals, resulting in a tie.
The U.S. claimed the top overall spot due to its higher count of silver and bronze medals. The U.S. earned 40 gold, 44 silver, and 42 bronze medals, totaling 126. In contrast, China earned 40 gold, 27 silver, and 24 bronze medals, totaling 91.
The decisive factor in the U.S.-China contest was women’s basketball. On the tournament’s final day, August 12, the U.S. women’s basketball team secured a historic eighth consecutive gold medal with a narrow 67-66 victory over the host team, France, at the Bercy Arena in Paris.
Thanks to this dramatic win in women’s basketball, the U.S. overcame China’s late surge to claim the top spot in the overall standings. This marks the fourth consecutive time the U.S. has finished first in the Summer Olympics.