Countries with the Highest Number of Medals in Summer Olympics

Highest Number of Medals in Summer Olympics

Highest Number of Medals in Summer OlympicsHighest Number of Medals in Summer Olympics: With the advent of the Summer Olympics in 1896, The Olympic Games has gained a major spot in the most popular sports events in the world. The first Olympic games that took place in Athens, has grown year by year that also saw a significant growth in the participation of the athletes from all the nations. The massive growth of the prestigious Games has led to the addition of more number of sports. 

The United States have had a remarkable run in the Summer Olympics as they top the list in the most number of medals a country has won followed by Soviet Union, Germany and Great Britain. Various factors also contribute to the fact why these nations top the list as most editions of the Olympic Games were hosted by these nations in the early and mid-1900s. For instance, the 1904 Olympic Games were held in St. Louis, Missouri (USA) that saw the host nation collecting 239 medals out of total of 280 medals in the Games. Till the present time, the United States and Great Britain are known to compete with each other in the Olympic Games for being the table-toppers in the medal tally. The top 10 includes one country no longer in existence (the Soviet Union), so their medal totals will obviously not increase

One of the most successful athletes for the United States in the modern times, Michael Phelps has amassed a total of 16 medals that includes 13 Gold, 2 Silver medals and a Bronze Medal. Russia’s gymnast Nikolai Andrinov is the second most successful individual athlete in the history of Summer Olympics who at her peak time between 1972- 1980 gathered 7 gold medals, 5 silver medals and 3 bronze medals adding to 15 medals. 

Talking about the performances of other nations, China has improved their performance year by year. China is expected to continue a rapid rise up the ranks. China has moved up from 11th (in 2008) to 9th (2012) to 7th (2016).

Here is the list of top 10 nations who have the most number of medals in the Summer Olympics:

Rank Nation Total Games Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 United States 36 1022 794 704 2520
2 Soviet Union (now Russia) 24 541 444 447 1432
3 Germany 27 427 443 474 1344
4 Great Britain 33 262 293 289 844
5 France 31 212 241 263 716
6 Italy 27 206 178 193 577
7 China 29 224 167 155 546
8 Australia 26 147 163 187 497
9 Hungary 18 175 147 160 491
10 Sweden 24 142 168 178 488

 

1. United States
The most consistent nation when it comes to winning the medals at Olympics, United States has appeared in every Olympic Games except the 1980 Summer Olympics which the country boycotted due in order to show their protest towards Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan. Till now the United States has won 2520 since the advent of the Summer Olympics. Most of their medals came from athletics and swimming. Here’s the list of the medals the United States has won in Summer Olympics in all the sports:

No. Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Athletics 335 260 207 802
2 Swimming 246 172 135 553
3 Wrestling 54 43 35 132
4 Shooting 54 29 27 110
5 Boxing 50 24 40 114
6 Diving 49 44 45 138
7 Gymnastics 37 42 35 114
8 Rowing 33 32 24 89
9 Basketball 23 2 3 28
10 Tennis 21 6 12 39
11 Sailing 19 23 18 60
12 Cycling 16 21 20 57
13 Weightlifting 16 16 12 44
14 Archery 14 11 9 34
15 Equestrian 11 21` 20 52
16 Beach Volleyball 6 2 2 10
17 Canoeing 5 5 6 16
18 Synchronized Swimming 5 2 2 9
19 Football 4 2 1 7
20 Golf 3 3 5 11
21 Volleyball 3 3 4 10
22 Softball 3 1 0 4
23 Fencing 2 9 14 25
24 Water Polo 2 5 4 11
25 Judo 2 4 8 14
26 Taekwondo 2 2 5 9
27 Rugby Union 2 0 0 2
28 Roque 1 1 1 3
29 Tug of War 1 1 1 3
30 Baseball 1 0 2 3
31 Triathlon 1 0 1 2
32 Jeu de Paume 1 0 0 1
33 Modern Pentathlon 0 6 3 9
34 Polo 0 1 1 2
35 Lacrosse 0 1 0 1
36 Field Hockey 0 0 2 2
TOTAL 1022 794 704 2520

 

2. Russia
Formerly known as the Soviet Union, the country is known to be the most successful nation in the Olympics if we go by the average. The Soviet Union is now known as Russia that stands second in the list of the nations with the highest number of medals. Russia boasts one of the best Gymnasts and Athletes in the Olympics. Here is the list of the medal tally:

No. Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Gymnastics 95 88 65 248
2 Athletics 84 76 93 253
3 Wrestling 92 42 38 172
4 Fencing 31 20 24 75
5 Boxing 24 24 33 81
6 Synchronized Swimming 10 0 0 10
7 Shooting 24 28 28 80
8 Swimming 17 30 35 82
9 Cycling 16 9 18 43
10 Judo 10 9 20 39
11 Diving 8 12 12 32
12 Weightlifting 43 28 9 80
13 Modern Pentathlon 9 6 5 20
14 Tennis 3 3 2 8
15 Canoeing 31 16 17 64
16 Handball 6 2 2 10
17 Volleyball 8 7 3 18
18 Rowing 13 20 12 45
19 Taekwondo 0 2 2 4
20 Water Polo 2 3 6 11
21 Archery 1 4 4 9
22 Sailing 4 6 4 14
23 Basketball 2 4 5 11
24 Badminton 0 1 1 2
Total 541 444 447 1432

 

3. Germany
Germany has appeared in 16 Summer Olympic Games. n between they also faced some internal country issues however that did not stop the nation from winning the medals in the Olympic Games. The country has so far raked in 427 gold medals, 443 Silver medals, and 474 Bronze medals. 

The list of the games with the respective medals is as follows:

No. Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Athletics 72 94 96 262
2 Gymnastics 21 25 34 80
3 Canoeing 52 36 34 122
4 Equestrian 41 23 27 91
5 Rowing 64 29 29 122
6 Cycling 25 29 27 81
7 Swimming 55 60 71 186
8 Shooting 18 21 14 53
9 Weight lifting 9 13 16 38
10 Fencing 13 9 12 34
11 Wrestling 8 24 18 50
12 Boxing 11 14 23 48
13 Field Hockey 5 5 5 15
14 Sailing 6 9 11 26
15 Judo 5 9 23 37
16 Diving 7 11 14 32
17 Tennis 3 6 3 12
18 Beach Volleyball 2 0 1 3
19 Modern Pentathlon 2 0 1 3
20 Water Polo 1 2 1 4
21 Football 2 2 6 10
22 Handball 2 3 2 7
23 Triathlon 1 1 0 2
24 Table Tennis 0 3 4 7
25 Archery 0 2 1 3
26 Taekwondo 0 1 1 2
27 Rugby 0 1 0 1
    TOTAL 427 443 474 1344

 

4. Great Britain
Great Britain has appeared in every single edition of the Summer Olympic Games. Since its advent in 1896, Great Britain has hosted the Summer Olympic Games three times till now out of which 1944 was canceled due to the World War II. Athletics and Swimming has earned the nation the most number of medals. Cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins is the most successful British Olympian who earned 8 medals in the Olympics.

Here is the list of the medal tally:

No. Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Athletics 55 80 70 205
2 Swimming 16 28 30 74
3 Wrestling 3 4 10 17
4 Shooting 13 15 18 46
5 Boxing 18 13 25 56
6 Diving 1 3 6 10
7 Gymnastics 2 4 9 15
8 Rowing 31 24 13 68
9 Tennis 17 14 12 43
10 Sailing 28 19 11 58
11 Cycling 32 30 25 87
12 Weightlifting 1 3 3 7
13 Archery 2 2 5 9
14 Equestrian 11 11` 13 35
15 Canoeing 5 7 5 17
16 Swimming 16 28 30 74
17 Football 3 0 0 3
18 Golf 1 1 1 3
19 Rackets 2 2 3 7
20 Fencing 1 8 0 9
21 Water motorsports 2 0 0 2
22 Judo 0 8 11 19
23 Taekwondo 2 1 3 6
24 Rugby  0 3 0 3
25 Cricket 1 0 0 1
26 Tug of War 2 2 1 5
27 Water Polo 4 0 0 4
28 Triathlon 2 1 2 5
29 Jeu de Paume 0 1 1 1
30 Modern Pentathlon 0 6 3 9
31 Polo 0 1 1 2
32 Lacrosse 0 1 0 1
33 Badminton 0 1 2 3
TOTAL 262 293 289 844

 

5. France
France has participated in every edition of the Modern Summer Olympic Games. The country is famous for getting most number of medals in fencing. France has won 716 medals in the Summer Olympics so far that includes 212 gold, 241 silver and 263 bronze medals. France has hosted 3 Summer Games so far in which they have won the most number of medals.

No. Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Fencing 42 41 35 118
2 Cycling 41 27 23 91
3 Athletics 14 25 30 69
4 Equestrian 14 13 10 27
5 Judo 14 10 25 49
6 Sailing 13 11 17 41
7 Shooting 9 14 10 33
8 Weightlifting 9 3 3 15
9 Swimming 8 15 20 43
10 Canoeing 8 9 19 36
11 Rowing 7 14 13 34
12 Archery 6 11 7 24
13 Boxing 6 9 10 25
14 Tennis 5 6 8 19
15 Wrestling 4 4 10 18
16 Gymnastics 3 10 9 22
17 Croquet 3 2 2 7
18 Handball 2 2 1 5
19 Rugby 1 2 0 3
20 Football 1 1 0 2
21 Water polo 1 0 3 4
22 Water motorsports 1 0 0 1
23 Taekwondo 0 3 4 7
24 Basketball 0 3 0 3
25 Modern Pentathlon 0 1 2 3
26 Table Tennis 0 1 1 2
27 Basque pelota 0 1 0 1
28 Cricket 0 1 0 1
29 Diving 0 1 0 1
30 Tug of War 0 1 0 1
31 Synchronized Swimming 0 0 1 1
Total 212 241 263 716

 

6. Italy
Italy is the sixth most successful nation in the Summer Olympics. In the overall Summer Olympics editions, Italy ranks 1st all-time in fencing, 2nd in cycling and 4th in boxing and shooting. The most successful Italian athlete who won the most medals in the history of the Olympic Games, is the fencer Edoardo Mangiarotti. He won total of 13 medals that included 6 gold, 5 silver and 2 bronze medals respectively.

Here is the breakdown of the Medal tally in every sport. 

No. Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Fencing 49 43 33 125
2 Cycling 33 16 10 59
3 Athletics 19 15 26 60
4 Shooting 16 15 11 42
5 Boxing  15 15 17 47
6 Gymnastics  14 6 10 30
7 Rowing 10 13 13 48
8 Equestrian 7 9 7 23
9 Wrestling 7 4 10 21
10 Canoeing 6 6 4 16
11 Swimming 5 5 12 22
12 Weightlifting 5 4 5 14
13 Judo 4 4 7 15
14 Water polo 4 3 3 10
15 Diving 3 5 3 11
16 Sailing 2 3 8 14
17 Archery 2 2 3 7
18 Modern pentathlon 2 2 3 7
19 Taekwondo 1 1 1 3
20 Football 1 0 2 3
21 Volleyball 0 3 3 6
22 Basketball 0 2 0 2
23 Beach volleyball 0 1 0 1
24 Tennis 0 0 1 1
Total (24 sports) 206 178 193 577

 

7. China
China that has lately improved their performance in the Olympics have also moved up the table. In fact, China is the most successful Asian nation to make into the list. China has won most medals in diving, weightlifting, and gymnastics. Chinese athletes have won medals in most of the current Summer Olympics sports.

No Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Diving 40 19 10 69
2 Weightlifting 31 15 8 54
3 Gymnastics 29 21 22 72
4 Table tennis 28 17 8 53
5 Shooting 22 15 19 56
6 Badminton 18 8 15 41
7 Swimming 13 19 11 43
8 Athletics 8 10 14 22
9 Judo 8 3 11 22
10 Taekwondo 7 1 2 10
11 Fencing 4 7 3 14
12 Boxing 3 3 6 12
13 Volleyball 3 1 2 6
14 Wrestling 2 3 7 12
15 Sailing 2 3 1 6
16 Canoeing 2 0 0 2
17 Archery 1 6 2 9
18 Rowing 1 4 4 9
19 Cycling 1 3 3 7
20 Tennis 1 0 1 2
21 Synchronized Swimming 0 3 2 5
22 Basketball 0 1 1 2
23 Beach volleyball 0 1 1 2
24 Field hockey 0 1 0 1
25 Football 0 1 0 1
26 Modern pentathlon 0 1 0 1
27 Softball 0 1 0 1
28 Golf 0 0 1 1
29 Handball 0 0 1 1
Total 224 167 155 546

 

8. Australia
Australia has participated in all the edition of the Summer Olympic Games. In the Summer Olympics since 2000, Australia has placed 4th, 4th, 6th, 8th* and 10th respectively. Many of Australia’s gold medals have come in swimming, a sport which is popular in Australia, with swimmers from Dawn Fraserto Ian Thorpe ranking among the sport’s all-time greats. Australian government invests a lot in every sport that’s why the athletes have been a very competent bunch in the Olympics. Thereby making them one of the most successful nation in the medal tally.

No. Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Swimming 60 64 64 188
2 Athletics 21 26 26 73
3 Cycling 14 19 18 51
4 Rowing 11 15 14 40
5 Sailing 11 8 8 27
6 Equestrian 6 3 3 12
7 Shooting 5 1 5 11
8 Field Hockey 4 3 5 12
9 Canoeing 3 8 13 24
10 Diving 3 3 7 13
11 Triathlon 1 2 2 5
12 Tennis 1 1 3 5
13 Weightlifting 1 1 2 4
14 Taekwondo 1 1 0 2
15 Archery 1 0 2 3
16 Water Polo 1 0 2 3
17 Beach Volleyball 1 0 1 2
18 Modern Pentathlon 1 0 0 1
19 Rugby Sevens 1 0 0 1
20 Basketball 0 3 2 5
21 Boxing 0 1 3 4
22 Softball 0 1 3 4
23 Wrestling 0 1 2 3
24 Baseball 0 1 0 1
25 Gymnastics 0 1 0 1
26 Judo 0 0 2 2
Total 147 163 187 497

 

9. Hungary
Hungary first participated in the first edition of the Summer Olympic Games in 1896. Hungarian athletes have won a total of 491 medals at the Summer Games. Hungary has won more Olympic medals than any other existing nation that has never hosted the Games and has the second-highest all-time number of gold medals per capita of any nation behind only Finland. Fencing has earned the most number of medals to the nation.

The Hungarian athletes who won the most medals in the history of the Olympic Games are the fencer Aladár Gerevich and the gymnast Ágnes Keleti.

No. Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Fencing 37 23 27 87
2 Swimming 28 25 20 73
3 Canoeing 25 29 26 80
4 Wrestling 19 16 19 54
5 Gymnastics 15 11 14 40
6 Athletics 10 12 18 40
7 Boxing 10 2 8 20
8 Modern Pentathlon 9 8 5 22
9 Water Polo 9 3 3 15
10 Shooting 7 3 7 17
11 Football 3 1 1 5
12 Weightlifting 2 9 9 20
13 Judo 1 3 5 9
14 Handball 0 1 2 3
15 Rowing 0 1 2 3
16 Equestrian 0 0 1 1
17 Sailing 0 0 1 1
18 Tennis 0 0 1 1
Total 175 147 160 491

 

10. Sweden
Sweden participated in the Summer Olympic Games for the first time in 1896. Swedish athletes have won a total of 494 medals at the Summer Olympic Games. Currently the country ranks number 10 in the list of the highest medal tally.

Gert Fredriksson is the most successful athlete for Sweden as he won 8 medals between 1948-1960 that includes 6 Gold medals and a silver and bronze each.

No. Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Wrestling 28 27 31 86
2 Athletics 19 21 41 81
3 Equestrian 17 12 14 43
4 Shooting 15 24 18 57
5 Canoeing 15 11 4 30
6 Sailing 10 12 13 35
7 Swimming 9 15 14 38
8 Modern Pentathlon 9 7 5 21
9 Diving 6 8 7 21
10 Gymnastics 5 2 1 8
11 Cycling 4 5 8 17
12 Fencing 2 3 2 7
13 Football 1 1 2 4
14 Table Tennis 1 1 1 3
15 Tug of War 1 0 0 1
16 Boxing 0 5 6 11
17 Handball 0 4 0 4
18 Tennis 0 3 5 8
19 Archery 0 2 0 2
20 Rowing 0 2 0 2
21 Water Polo 0 1 2 3
22 Golf 0 1 0 1
23 Triathlon 0 1 0 1
24 Weightlifting 0 0 4 4
Total  142 168 178 488

 

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