About the medal table
As usual, the table prioritizes the number of gold medals won. Based on this, at the 2020 Olympic Games, held in Tokyo in 2021, the United States led the field with 39 gold medals, followed by China with 38 and Japan with 27. If countries have the same number of gold medals, the order is determined by who has the most silver medals, and finally bronze if the numbers are still tied.
The US won a total of 113 medals in Tokyo, while Great Britain, in fourth place, had more total medals than third-placed Japan, 65 to 58. UK Sport has said it hopes Team GB will win “between 50 and 70” medals in Paris.
France, the host nation of the 2024 Games, finished eighth in the medal table in 2020 with 10 gold medals. French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) president David Lappartient is aiming for a top-five finish in the table at their home Games and has set a target of 20 gold medals.
Australia had no medal target for the Tokyo Games and finished sixth, with an impressive haul of 17 gold medals. Australian chef de mission Anna Meares has taken the same approach for Paris 2024, to provide athletes with “relief from the pressure of performance”.