As we enter into day five of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, we see Team USA really starting to take shape as a dominant country in the competition. While the team is not leading in gold medal count thus far, they are leading in total medal count. As of writing this, they sit with 28 total medals, followed by France with 22. The US medals vary with four gold, twelve silver, and twelve bronze. History was made for Team USA with several big wins for them in the events on Tuesday.
In a historic comeback, Simone Biles led the women’s gymnastics team to an Olympic gold medal.
In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Biles famously dropped from the team gymnastics final after suffering from a case of the “twisties.” Team USA still faired well, earning a silver medal for the team final. After that competition, it was unclear where Biles’ career stood. There was talk of her possibly retiring, but she pushed that away and shocked the world with an incredible comeback in Paris. Not only did Biles, along with the rest of her team made up of Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee, Jade Carey, and Hezly Rivera, fight to bring the US back on top, but Biles also made personal history as she became the most decorated American gymnast.
Additionally, the women’s team’s gold medal win came after the men’s gymnastics team from the United States medaled for the first time in the team final in 16 years when they earned a bronze on Monday. Furthermore, the women’s gold marked a shift for women in sports yesterday.
The US women’s rugby sevens team became the first ever US team to medal in the event.
The women’s rugby sevens team, after losing to New Zealand in the semi-finals (the team that ultimately won the gold) won in the bronze medal match, earning them a spot on the podium. This win was a historic won for women in sports and Team USA overall. Rugby sevens first joined the Olympics in Rio in the 2016 Games, and no American team had ever medaled for either men or women until yesterday’s bronze medal win.
The historic wins are particularly exciting with a US hosted Olympics on the horizon.
The next Olympics, set to follow this year’s in Paris, will be hosted in 2028 in Los Angeles. With many historic wins for Team USA, many are hopeful for the team’s future as the host country of the games.
