The Weight of Gold

Day 9: Does How We Sort the Medal Table Matter?

Aug 03, 2024

There are 329 Medal Events at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and though only 113 of those Golds have been awarded so far, we are halfway through the Games so now seems like a good time to check in on the medal count. That should be easy, right?

Medal Tables from Olympics.com (L) and NBC Olympics (R)

Not so fast! While the actual numbers of Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medals won by each country isn’t in dispute, the way to tally the totals certainly is. Check the Olympics’ official website, and you’ll see China ranked on top based on their 13 Gold Medals. But click over to NBC’s Olympics site, and there is Team USA comfortably ahead with 43 total medals to France’s 36. So who’s right?

Short answer: Both. And Neither. The Olympic Charter specifically states that the “Games are competitions between athletes… and not between countries” (emphasis added). In 2008 IOC President Jacques Rogge basically shrugged at the fact that some countries choose Gold and some choose total, saying “each country will highlight what suits it best. We take no position on that." Some choose even more esoteric ranking methods to achieve the desired result. You can even choose your own method with a cool Nw York Times interactive.

But no matter how you sort your metal, some things are indisputable: host France’s resurgent success, Team USA’s underperformance in the pool, or the predictably silly discourse over how to rank the tables.

What To Watch Today

(All times Eastern. Full event relays available on-demand on Peacock)

The Judo tournament and Rowing regatta end, Team USA goes for Gold and Bronze in Men’s Doubles Tennis, and we are finally (fingers crossed) getting the Surfing Medal matches.

3:00 am - Golf: Men's Round 3 🇺🇸
3:30 am - Rowing: Women's Single Sculls, Men's Single Sculls, Women's and Men’s Eight Finals 🇺🇸 🥇🥇🥇🥇
3:30 am - Shooting: 25m Pistol Women's Final 🥇
4:05 am - Athletics: Men’s Decathlon 110m Hurdles, Discus, and Pole Vault; Men's Pole Vault Qualis, Men's 100m Round 1
5:00 am - Cycling: Men's Road Race 🇺🇸 🥇
6:00 am - Tennis: Women’s Singles and Men’s Doubles Gold Matches 🇺🇸 🥇
8:00 am - Equestrian: Jumping Team Final 🥇
8:30 am - Table Tennis: Women's Singles Gold Medal Match 🥇
8:33 am - Archery: Women's Individual Medal Matches 🥇
9:00 am - Soccer: Women's Quarter-final, USA vs Japan 🇺🇸
9:00 am - Badminton: Women's Doubles Finals 🥇
9:30 am - Gymnastics: Men's Floor Exercise Final 🥇
9:30 am - Canoe Slalom: Women's and Men’s Kayak Cross Round 1 🇺🇸
9:30 am - Shooting: Skeet Men's Final 🥇
10:00 am - Judo: Mixed Team Medal Matches 🥇
10:20 am - Gymnastics: Women's Vault Final 🇺🇸 🐐🥇
11:15 am - Basketball: Men’s Pool Round, USA vs Puerto Rico 🇺🇸
11:16 am - Gymnastics: Men's Pommel Horse Final 🇺🇸 👓 🥇
1:30 pm - Fencing: Women's Sabre Team Medal Matches 🇺🇸 🥇
1:05 pm - 3v3 Basketball: Women’s Pool Round, USA vs China 🇺🇸
1:10 pm - Athletics: Men’s Decathlon Javelin and 1500m; Men's Shot Put, Women's Triple Jump, 4 x 400m Relay Mixed, and Women's 100m Finals 🇺🇸 🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇
2:30 pm - Swimming: Men's 100m Butterfly, Women's 200m IM, Women's 800m Freestyle, and Mixed 4 x 100m Medley Relay Finals 🇺🇸 🥇🥇🥇🥇
3:24 pm - Surfing: Men’s and Women’s Medal Matches (rescheduled, I hope) 🇺🇸 🥇🥇