The USA have topped the final medal table for the Paris 2024 Olympics after a dramatic victory in the women’s basketball final against hosts France.
The women’s basketball was the final event of the Paris games and one that would prove decisive to the overall medal table.
Going into the final between the USA and France, China topped the medal table on 40 golds, with the USA in second on 39.
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That meant that if Team USA won the final they would win the Olympics altogether as they would be level on golds but ahead by virtue of their silver medals (44 to China’s 27).
But after the second-quarter they surprisingly found themselves trailing the hosts, remarkable given that the USA had won their last 61 consecutive games in women’s basketball at the Olympics, a run that stretches back to Barcelona 1992.
They bounced back however to lead 45-43 going into the final quarter, but they continued to be pushed all the way by France who were determined to win the last gold of their games.
But with the likes of LeBron James watching on they held their nerve and survived a late scare to win 67-66.
It is the 19th time the USA have topped the Olympic medal table, with the last time they failed to do so being Beijing 2008 when China won.
Behind the USA and China were Japan (20 golds), Australia (18), France (16) and the Netherlands (15).
Some US media outlets would have already called the medal table in their favour however, as, unlike the rest of the world, they rank teams based on number of medals rather than number of golds.
Based on that table, the USA finish first having won 126 medals in total, with China second on 91, with Team GB third on 65.
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