See the alternative Olympics medal tally which has Australia FIRST in Paris after snaring 14 gold at the Games

It’s officially party time. When it comes to the best Olympic country per capita, based on the top 10 positions in the current medal table, Australia is the benchmark for the world.

With 14 gold medals to date, Australia’s tally of 1.22 medals per million people is impressive.

They are currently in third place, ahead of hosts France (13) and Great Britain (12).

Australia also has the highest number of gold medals per million people, at 0.48 gold medals per million people.

That’s because the US leads the pack in Paris, with 24 gold medals and a total of 86 medals at the time of writing. But considering their population is 342 million, the stats speak volumes.

China is second only to the US in terms of medal count with 22 gold medals. They are also well behind Australia in terms of alternative medal count, as their current population is a whopping 1.42 billion people.

Elsewhere, small countries like Saint Lucia have managed to outperform their small population size.

Saint Lucia has a permanent population of 179,000. After track and field star Julien Alfred won their first ever Olympic medal in the women’s 100m sprint, they technically have five gold medals per million people.

Swimmer Cameron McEvoy won the men’s 50m freestyle final, as Australia has the highest number of gold medals per million people, with 0.48 gold medals per million people.

Arisa Trew became Australia’s youngest ever gold medallist when the 14-year-old won the women’s park skateboarding title

Meanwhile, Australia, third in the medal table, has the chance to add to its impressive haul on Day 12 in Paris.

Sailor Matt Wearn (Wednesday, 9.13pm, AEST) looks all but certain to win gold in the rowing class, while reigning world champion Nina Kennedy is tipped as a contender in the women’s pole vault final (Thursday, 3am, AEST).

All Games run until Sunday, with the closing ceremony in Paris on August 12 from 5am AEST.

The name of the Australian flag bearer has not yet been announced, but given the avalanche of gold in the City of Love, Australia’s chef Anna Meares will have plenty of choice.

Canoeist Jessica Cox – who went on to win two gold medals in the K1 and C1 slalom events – and perennial hockey star Eddie Ockenden were the nominated flag bearers for the opening ceremony.

During the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Australian basketball legend Patty Mills and swimmer Cate Campbell carried the flag during the opening ceremony.

Two-time gold medalist Mathew Belcher was a popular choice ahead of the closing ceremony in Japan.