Government largesse made China an athletic powerhouse while collegiate sports keeps America a sporting superpower. The two countries, two systems, clashed at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and while both landed the same quantity of gold, the Americans were awash with more silver and bronze.
Yes, the Americans went home with a bigger haul in a virtual repeat of the Tokyo Olympics, where they won one more gold than the Chinese (39-38) and racked up a bigger medal tally (113-89).
Medal tally
China was leading in the gold haul in Paris until the final day when weightlifter Li Wenwen won the 40th gold medal for China with her victory in the women’s +81 kg. But the Americans caught up to China with two last-day golds — with Jennifer Valente’s victory in women’s cycling and a one-point win over France (67-66) in the women’s basketball final.
So, though China and the USA won 40 gold medals each, the Americans topped the standings for their superior medal tally—44 silver, 42 bronze, 126 medals in all—compared to the Chinese—27 silver, 24 bronze, 91 in all.
USA FINISHES THE 2024 PARIS OLYMPICS WITH 40 GOLD MEDALS 🥇🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/SzomyylUE8
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 11, 2024
Not that China acknowledged being second best.
China’s best overseas performance
“China’s Olympic delegation at Paris 2024 achieved its best overseas performance since it comprehensively participated in a Summer Olympics abroad in 1984, said Zhou Jinqiang, deputy head of the delegation at a press conference held on Sunday,” reported China Daily.
“China’s sports delegation, consisting of 404 athletes competing in 232 events across 30 sports, clinched 40 gold, 27 silver and 24 bronze medals. The haul of gold medals surpassed the 39 golds won at the London Olympics, and a total of 60 athletes claimed golds, marking a new record for overseas Olympic participation, Zhou said.”
At Beijing 2008, China won 48 gold medals and 100 overall.
“You have won glory for our country and people, and we extend warm congratulations and heartfelt compliments to you,” read a message jointly sent by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council, China’s cabinet.
“Your outstanding achievements and performances have further ignited the patriotism of Chinese people both at home and abroad, uplifted the national spirit, and united the people towards progress,” added the message.
As the message shows, the Olympics are not just a sporting event but a means to boost Chinese morale and burnish the Chinese image abroad.
China’s billion-dollar sports budget
Karishma Vaswani wrote on Bloomberg: “China has long invested heavily to push its athletes to triumph against the West, as a way of highlighting the merits of the Communist Party. These Olympic Games are no different, but for one key aspect: Citizens are openly questioning why Beijing is spending so much money on a sporting event when many at home are facing bleak economic prospects.”
“China’s budget for sports this year stands at more than $1 billion,” she added. “Compare that to Australia, which also does pretty well in Olympic competitions, but last year only had around a quarter of that at its disposal. American athletes don’t get money from the government, instead they rely on a mix of private sponsorships, philanthropy, broadcast revenue and endorsements.”
The American way delivers great results, too, as the Paris Olympics showed.
How many Americans won medals?
The Washington Post noted: “The Americans won 126 medals, and because of team sports and relays, more than 40 per cent of the team’s delegation of nearly 600 athletes received at least one. Forty-four American athletes won multiple medals and 110 won at least one gold, with that large number stemming from the country’s success in team events.”
The Americans won team events like basketball, women’s gymnastics, men’s 4x400m relay, women’s 4x100m relay, women’s 4x400m relay, women’s 4x100m medley relay, men’s 4x100m freestyle relay, and mixed 4x100m medley relay.
The Chinese won team events such as the men’s 4x100m medley relay, group all-around rhythmic gymnastics, women’s synchronized diving, men’s synchronized diving, men’s artistic gymnastics, men’s and women’s canoe double, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles in badminton. As China Daily noted, 27 of the 40 gold medals won by China came from its six traditionally strong sports — diving, table tennis, badminton, gymnastics, shooting and weightlifting.
The US sporting world is very different. Athletes like sprinter Noah Lyles and basketballer Stephen Curry are celebrities. Their fame and fortune are hard-earned, honed by intensive training and the toughest competition.
US college sports system
As Britain’s two-time Olympic champion and World Athletics president Sebastian Coe, a legendary middle-distance runner, said, “U.S. track and field has a lot to owe to the college system.”
The New York Times says American Olympic officials “know that the American college sports system, which every year sustains and trains thousands of students in Olympic sports — both Americans and international students — is their golden goose.”
Indeed, American colleges and universities train not only American athletes. Top international athletes, too, like the swimmer Leon Marchand of France and the sprinter Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia, have been trained in America. Marchand was a member of the Arizona State University swim team, Alfred trained at the University of Texas.
The overwhelming majority of Olympic medals come from sports that have a presence on college campuses, says the Times.
No amount of government largesse, like the billions reportedly spent by China, has yet reduced the US college-trained athletes to also-rans. In fact, as the Paris Olympics showed, the latter still have an edge.