As the world’s greatest athletes compete for individual glory and national pride at the 2024 Paris Olympics, viewers at home will also wonder which country will have the honor of collecting the most medals.
The US, Japan, China and host country France were leading the medal count on Tuesday as the Paris Games were just getting started.
Team France and Team USA began this year’s competition in a tight battle for the most medals overall, the country hosting the Games versus the 2028 host. The USA advanced to top the group on Monday after a strong performance in skateboarding, swimming and men’s gymnastics.
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Both countries also have slight advantages just because of large volume of athletes who represents them.
The USA has the largest delegation, with 594 athletes. France follows closely, with 571.
Japan moved into a tie with China for third place in the medal standings on Monday night, helped by the men’s gymnastics team and a last-minute defeat by skateboarder Yoto Horigome. But China has the distinction of winning the competition’s first gold in the 10-meter air rifle mixed team event on Saturday morning.
French Olympians have already shown their range in a variety of sports, winning medals in at least eight athletic genres. Meanwhile, the USA started strong in the water, with 11 of its first medals coming from swimming competitions.
It is very likely that the US will seek a repeat of its formidable presence in the Tokyo 2020 Games, where he won 113 medals. This is the most of any country by a significant amount, with China’s 89 medals next.
Russia, whose presence also dominated in previous games, is not allowed to compete this year. The International Olympic Committee banned mealong with Belarus, as part of sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Competitors from these countries will only be able to participate as “Individual Neutral Athletes” and their medals will not count towards the nations. No one who has actively supported the war for Belarus or Russia is eligible to compete.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story