Which Countries Have The Most Gold Olympics Medals?
Who has the most Olympic gold medals and will they be adding to their tally during the 2024 Summer Olympics. Let’s find out!
Who Has The Most Gold Medals? The Essentials
- The USA is the country widely predicted to earn the most gold medals at the Olympics at the 2024 Summer Olympics. They are also the country with the most gold medals at a whopping 1061!
- The current host of the Summer Olympics is France, who are expected to leverage the home field advantage to come third, adding to their excising tally of 223 Olympic gold medals.
- The UK is also a good bet to win at least one gold medal. They’ve taken home 284 since the beginning of the modern games and are the only country to have won at least one gold in every games since they restarted in 1896.
- In this guide, we’ll look at which country has the most Olympic gold medals by country and if they look set to earn more.
After a grand (and somewhat rainy) opening ceremony, the Paris 2024 Olympics are officially underway. There are more than 200 countries competing in this year’s celebration, each athlete representing the absolute pinnacle of sporting success in their country.
However, of the thousands of world-class athletes competing, only the very best can win an Olympic gold medal and claim their rightful place on the coveted podium.
The Olympic Games instill a sense of national pride like no other event can. So, we’re here to answer the one question on everybody’s mind: which country will win the highest number of Olympic medals at the Olympics?
Most Olympic Gold Medals by County
USA: Number of Gold Olympic Medals: 1061
In a forecast that’s surprising to nobody, the USA is predicted to bring home the highest number of Olympic medals for the fourth consecutive year. The US continuously performs well across the table, including in athletics, swimming, gymnastics, diving, basketball, tennis, wrestling, and shooting. This is largely due to the enormous pool of athletes in its 50 states.
Michael Phelps is the athlete with the most Olympic gold medals. The US swimmer holds the world record for winning Olympic gold medals with huge tally of 23.
Team USA’s star-studded lineup features not one but two (at least) strong contenders in many of its sports. Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee (gymnastics), LeBron James and Steph Curry (basketball), Sha’Carri Richardson and Noah Lyles (100m), Katie Ledecky and Caleb Dressel (swimming), and Caitlin Simmers and Carissa Moore (surfing) are some of the top US athletes to watch in the 2024 Olympics.
The USA is also a firm favorite among bettors, with sportsbooks offering specials like Noah Lyles to win gold and set a new Olympic record.
China: Number of Olympic Gold Medals: 263
In second place behind the US, China is forecast to win the most gold medals at the Olympics this year. China is the leading country for the number of table tennis, badminton, and trampoline gymnastics medals.
However, the highest number of total medals per sport comes from diving (81 total, 47 golds), artistic gymnastics (69 total, 29 golds), and shooting (67 total, 26 golds).
China’s female athletes are forecast to dominate in their sports, with Wu Yanni (100m hurdles), Sun Yingsha (table tennis), Qun Hongchan (diving), Huang Yuting (shooting), and Zheng Qinwen (tennis) all highly anticipated to go for the gold. Shi Zhiyong (weightlifting) and Shi Yuqi (badminton) are also expected to shine on the Olympic stage.
Not only are China’s individual athletes looking to secure a place on the podium, but its team events are anticipated to score well, too. The men’s and women’s synchronized diving teams – Lian Junjie & Yang Hao and Chen Yiwen & Chang Yani, respectively – and the shooting duo Huang Yuting & Sheng Lihao are forecast to take the gold.
France: Number of Olympic Gold Medals: 264
Proud host of this year’s Olympic games, France is predicted to perform well on home turf. So well, in fact, that many sportsbooks are predicting a third-place win for the highest number of gold medals and sixth place for the overall number of medals.
After scoring 2x gold medals in Tokyo 2020, Clarisse Agbégnénou is a serious contender for the judo Olympic gold. Also favored by the sportsbooks are Sara Balzer (fencing), Mélanie De Jesus Dos Santos (artistic gymnastics), Antoine Dupont (rugby sevens), Teddy Riner (judo), and Léon Marchand (swimming).
Sportsbooks are also betting on the French teams to do well, with the women’s handball team the clear favorite across betting platforms. Both the men’s and women’s handball teams won gold in Tokyo, so it’s hardly a surprise that France is currently the leading Olympic country in the sport.
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Australia: Number of Olympic Gold Medals: 164
Australia has competed in every modern summer Olympics since Athens in 1896 and brought home at least one medal every time, so it’s hardly surprising that they’re forecast to score well across the table. The Aussie team has athletes competing in almost every Olympic event, barring only handball, fencing, and volleyball.
Swimming is Australia’s most recurrently successful sport. This year, its 45-strong team of Dolphins looks set to win again, featuring top athletes like Ariarne Titmus, Kaylee McKeown, Emma McKeon, and Elijah Winnington. Jessica Fox is also predicted to place in the canoe slalom event, while Grace Brown competes for the top spot in road cycling.
Great Britain: Number of Olympic Gold Medals: 284
Though smaller in size than top competitors like the US and Australia, Great Britain is a serious contender for the most gold medals by country at Paris 2024. GB has competed in every modern Olympics since its inception and – as of the 2020 games – is currently third in the all-time Summer Olympics medal table, both by the number of golds and the overall tally of medals won. Great Britain is also the only country to have won at least one gold every year.
Tom Daley (diving), Andy Murray (tennis), Helen Glover (rowing), Max Whitlock (gymnastics), and Adam Peaty (swimming) are part of GB’s ‘golden generation’: Olympic legends who have come out of (or are extremely close to) retirement for one final swipe at the gold medal.
Other top contenders include GB’s youngest-ever Olympian Sky Brown (skateboarding), first-ever female weightlifting medalist Emily Campbell, and Sports Personality of the Year favorite Keely Hodgkinson (800m).
Japan: Number of Olympic Gold Medals: 169
The ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic meant that Japan’s turn to host the 2020 Olympics, which were postponed until 2021, wasn’t quite the large-scale operation it had envisaged. Nonetheless, the nation celebrated its most successful Olympics so far and arrived in Paris ready to fight for a spot at the table once more (and doing so in front of a much larger crowd).
Akari Fujinami hasn’t lost a wrestling match since she was in junior high, while Misaki Emura is hoping to win Japan’s first gold medal in fencing after coming first in the International Fencing Federation World Rankings. Competing in BMX freestyle, Rim Nakamura is aiming to become Japan’s first podium winner in an Olympic cycling event, while Shigeyuki Nakarai, better known as Shigekix, hopes to become the first male breaking champion in the history of the festival.
Other top competitors include Daiki Hashimoto (gymnastics), Hina Hayata (table tennis), Haruka Kitaguchi (athletics), Tatsuru Saito (judo), Keisei Tominaga (basketball), and siblings Hijumi and Uta Abe (judo).
Netherlands: Number of Olympic Gold Medals: 95
Paris 2024 sees the Netherlands’ largest number of competing athletes in the country’s Olympic history. With a grand total of 276 athletes – 47 of whom are competing in track and field events – the Netherlands is hoping to build on the 36 medals won in Tokyo, eight of which were won in a single day.
Boasting numerous European champions in events like rowing, cycling, hockey, and athletics, the Netherlands is predicted to win over a dozen gold medals in Paris. Track and field athletes Femke Bol and Sifan Hassan, alongside cyclists Mathieu van der Poel and Harrie Lavreysen and shot putters Jessica Schilder and Jorinde van Klinken, are among the Netherlands’ top contenders for a gold medal.
Canada: Number of Olympic Gold Medals: 71
Paris 2024 is only Canada’s 29th appearance in the Olympic games, but it has performed consistently and successfully enough to earn a spot in the list of the 10 top-performing countries. Canada brings 315 athletes to the Olympic games, hoping to take a place on the podium in 31 events.
Summer McIntosh, who made her Olympic swimming debut at the age of 14, is returning to the Olympic games following a year of world record-breaking swims. Canada’s Olympians with the most gold medals, Andre De Grasse and Penny Oleksiak, are hoping to build on the six and seven medals they won across their first two Olympics, respectively.
Eleanor Harvey (fencing), Aaron Brown (track and field), Josh Liendo (swimming), Bianca Andreescu (tennis), Katie Vincent (sprint canoe), Brian Yang (badminton), Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson (beach volleyball), and Fay De Fazio Ebert (skateboarding) are also favored to score well.
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Germany: Number of Olympic Gold Medals: 201
Germany consistently ranks within the top 10 performing Olympic countries. In fact, it has remained within this list for the last 21 consecutive summer Olympics, though it has yet to clinch the very top spot.
Basketball player Dennis Schr?der is expected to lead the team to victory, having played in the NBA since 2013 (most recently with the New York Nets). Long jumper Malaika Mihambo, despite a recent COVID-19 infection, is returning to Paris to defend her Tokyo gold, while rising star and German champion Lukas M?rtens hopes to secure the gold in his Olympic debut.
Angelique Kerber and Alexander Zverev (tennis), Timo Boll (table tennis), and Isabell Werth (dressage) are all looking to add to their Olympic medal collection, and the men’s basketball, women’s football, and men’s handball teams are predicted to score well.
Republic of Korea Number of Olympic Gold Medals: 96
Paris 2024 will be the Republic of Korea’s 19th Summer Olympics appearance after winning six gold, four silver, and ten bronze medals in the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics. The Republic has long been the undisputed champion of Olympic archery and repeatedly scores well in combat sports events like taekwondo, judo, and wrestling.
The women’s archery team of Jeon Hun-young, Lim Si-hyeon, and Nam Su-hyeon is predicted to bring home the Republic of Korea’s 10th consecutive gold. On the other hand, individual shooting athletes Ban Hyo-jin, Oh Ye-jin, and Kim Ye-ji are expected to finish at the top of the leaderboard. Oh Sang-uk (fencing) and Kim Woo-min (swimming) are also forecast to perform well in their events.
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