There is no title like in the World Cup or any prize from the IOC, but one of the greatest sporting honors for a country is to finish as the leader in the medal table of the Olympic Games.
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However, despite the great honor that this milestone represents, there is no official way to define the first place in the medal table.
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What are the different ways to define the order of the Olympic medal table?
In the United States, traditional media typically rank the medal table by the total number of medals, combining gold, silver, and bronze.
In the vast majority of the rest of the world, the rankings are generated based on the gold medals. In case of a tie, they then turn to the count of silver and bronze medals to make the difference in the ranking.
In the last three Olympic Games, the United States finished in first place according to both tables, but in Beijing 2008 there was controversy: China won 48 gold medals compared to America's 36, however, the American media placed their country at the top because they won a total of 112 medals, while the Chinese team remained at 100.
What does the International Olympic Committee say?
Officially, the International Olympic Committee does not compile medal rankings. Furthermore, in the Olympic Charter, it is established that "the Games are competitions between individual athletes or team events, and not between countries."
However, on the official website of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the order is determined according to the number of gold medals and not the total ones. Nevertheless, at this point the IOC has established on more than one occasion that it does so "only as information."
Which team is the favorite to finish on top in Paris 2024?
According to the projection by Nielsen, a market information, data, and measurement company, Team USA should win the current Olympic Games with 39 gold medals (112 in total), the same number it achieved three years ago in Tokyo 2020.
China should finish very close in second place, with a projection of 34 gold medals (fewer than in Tokyo) and 86 in total.