OLYMPIC GAMES
What is the record of medals won by Team USA at the Olympics?
The United States is head and shoulders above every country in the all-time Olympic medal table. How many has Team USA won in each Games?
The United States takes a huge amount of pride in its sporting prowess, as shown by Team USA’s place at the top of the all-time Olympic medal table for the Summer Games.
How many Olympic medals has the United States won?
According to Olympic stats website Olympedia, the US is way out on front of every other nation for medals of any colour, collecting a total of 2,685 (1,070 golds, 851 silvers and 764 bronzes) from 28 appearances in the Summer Olympics. That ranges from 1896 through to 2020, although the States led a boycott of the 1980 Games in Moscow in protest at the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.
The Soviets, despite only competing in the Summer Olympics between 1952 and 1988, remain second in the all-time medal table with 1,010 (395 golds, 319 silvers, 296 bronzes).
The US has finished top of the medal table in 16 of the 28 Summer Olympics it has taken part in, including in each of the last three.
Team USA’s medals record at every Olympic Games
This is Team USA’s full medal record:
| Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1896 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 20 |
| 1900 | 20 | 13 | 15 | 48 |
| 1904 | 80 | 85 | 83 | 248 |
| 1908 | 23 | 12 | 12 | 47 |
| 1912 | 26 | 19 | 19 | 64 |
| 1920 | 41 | 27 | 27 | 95 |
| 1924 | 45 | 27 | 27 | 99 |
| 1928 | 22 | 18 | 16 | 56 |
| 1932 | 44 | 36 | 30 | 110 |
| 1936 | 24 | 21 | 12 | 57 |
| 1948 | 38 | 27 | 19 | 84 |
| 1952 | 40 | 19 | 17 | 76 |
| 1956 | 32 | 25 | 17 | 74 |
| 1960 | 34 | 21 | 16 | 71 |
| 1964 | 36 | 26 | 28 | 90 |
| 1968 | 45 | 28 | 34 | 107 |
| 1972 | 33 | 31 | 30 | 94 |
| 1976 | 34 | 35 | 25 | 94 |
| 1980 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1984 | 83 | 61 | 30 | 174 |
| 1988 | 36 | 31 | 37 | 104 |
| 1992 | 37 | 34 | 37 | 108 |
| 1996 | 44 | 32 | 25 | 101 |
| 2000 | 37 | 34 | 32 | 103 |
| 2004 | 36 | 39 | 26 | 101 |
| 2008 | 36 | 39 | 27 | 112 |
| 2012 | 48 | 26 | 30 | 104 |
| 2016 | 46 | 37 | 38 | 121 |
| 2020 | 39 | 41 | 43 | 123 |
The United States’ most successful Olympics
As you can see, there are two editions of the Summer Olympics that stand out head and shoulders above the rest.
In 1904 in St Louis, Missouri, the United States won a record 248 medals (80 golds, 85 silvers and 83 bronzes). That can mostly be explained by only 12 nations taking part, and almost 90% of the athletes coming from North America. According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the US national championship and Olympic competition were combined for certain events.
Team USA then set a new gold medal record at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, California (83 golds, 61 silvers, 30 bronzes, 174 overall). Again, there were mitigating circumstances, though.
After the aforementioned boycott of the 1980 event, there was a Soviet-led boycott four years later, which led to countries such as the Soviet Union itself, East Germany and Czechoslovakia, who traditionally did well in the Olympics, not taking part.
The United States has won more than 100 medals in each of the last 10 Summer Olympics, having only done so three times previously. That is largely down to new sports and events continually being added.
Which Americans have won the most medals?
No American male has won more Summer Olympic medals than swimmer Michael Phelps (28, including 23 golds between 2004 and 2016). Jenny Thompson, Dara Torres and Natalie Coughlin, also swimmers, share the female record with 12, with Thompson collecting the most gold meals (eight).