The United States pulled ahead in the gold medal count in the final hours of the 2020 Olympics, bringing its final total to a tournament-high 113 medals to wrap up the Tokyo Games on Sunday.
Excluding host countries, Team USA has now topped both the overall medal table and the gold medal table at every Summer Olympics since it hosted the Games in Atlanta in 1996.
On top of the challenges the lingering coronavirus pandemic posed, each country faced its fair share of obstacles and letdowns, including the United States. No American man won an individual gold in track events, marking the first time they’ve been shut out in modern Olympic history. U.S. baseball and softball both settled for silver. And the usually dominant women’s soccer team lost in the semifinals to Canada and had to settle for bronze.
There were, however, plenty of triumphs for Team USA. The Post’s Mollie Walker dives into the top moments for the United States during the 2020 Olympics:
U.S. swimming got off to a strong start in Tokyo, not due to a household name or Olympic staple, but because of Lydia Jacoby — the first Olympic swimmer from Alaska. After Jacoby won the 100-meter breaststroke, footage showed the high school student’s family watch party in Seward, Alaska going absolutely berserk. Jacoby later captured a silver medal in the 4×100 medley relay, too.
2. Simone Biles prioritizing her mental health and still going on to win bronze
Biles suddenly withdrew from the team finals and all-around event after stumbling out of the gate, citing a need to focus on her mental health and a case of the “twisties,” but the greatest gymnast of all time returned to compete on the beam and handily took bronze.
3. Ryan Murphy, Michael Andrew, Caeleb Dressel and Zach Apple continue USA’s dominance in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, Dressel tosses his medal to Brooks Curry, his teammate seated in the bleachers
The Americans, burdened with the pressure of having never lost the men’s medley relay at the Olympics, broke the 12-year-old record in the event by half a second, finishing in 3:26.78 to secure gold. After the win, Dressel threw his medal to Curry, who was sitting in the stands after swimming in Dressel’s place during the team’s qualifying heats.
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4. Suni Lee wins gold in all-around and her dad’s reaction
After Biles’ withdrawal, Lee posted a tremendous all-around performance that was anchored by a huge 15.300 score in the uneven bars to secure gold. Footage showed Lee’s family celebrate the triumph, including her father, who built his daughter a balance beam in their backyard before he was paralyzed from the chest down in a freak accident.
5. Katie Ledecky earns her sixth gold medal in the Olympics’ first-ever women’s 1500m event in swimming
The duel between the Americans and Australians in the pool this Olympics was outstanding, but the 24-year-old Ledecky rose to the occasion. She finished with a time of 15 minutes, 37.34 seconds to secure gold in the first-ever women’s 1500m — an event you get tired just watching.
6. Kevin Durant leads Team USA to gold
Fresh off of inking a four-year, $198 million extension to remain in Brooklyn, Durant joined Carmelo Anthony as the only three-time men’s basketball gold medalist in Olympic history after dropping 29 points on France on the way to an 87-82 victory in the gold medal game. The win counted as the American’s fourth consecutive Olympic gold, the second-longest Olympic streak since 1968.7
7. Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird help further U.S. women’s basketball’s dominance at the Olympics, powering the team to its seventh consecutive gold medal
With a 90-75 win over Japan, the U.S. women’s basketball team won its seventh straight Olympic gold medal to continue the dynasty. It was the fifth gold for stalwart guards Bird and Taurasi, who both became the first players in Olympics basketball history to win that many.
8. Allyson Felix becomes the most decorated athlete in Olympic track, wins 4×400 relay and takes bronze in 400 meters, after becoming a mom during her training
The 35-year-old Felix made her record-setting 11th trip to the podium — one more than Carl Lewis — after starring as team USA’s headliner on the 4×400 relay win. After taking bronze in the 400 meter, Felix officially became the most-decorated competitor in Olympic track. It was also her first Olympics as a mother.
9. Sydney McLaughlin smashes her own world record time to win gold in 400m hurdles
The Dunellen, N.J., native surpassed fellow American and rival Dalilah Muhammad of Bayside, Queens, in the final strides to win in 51.46 seconds — a time that was not only faster than the top 400m flat time until 1970 but crushed her own hurdles world record by 0.44 seconds.
10. U.S. shot-putter Raven Saunders wins silver and defies Rule 50 that bars competitors from protesting on the podium
Saunders, a black gay woman who has been outspoken on racism, bigotry and issues of social justice, raised her arms in an “X” formation over her head in a symbolic protest while accepting her silver medal after the shot put final. Afterwards she said the symbol represented “the intersection of where all people who are oppressed meet. … My message is to keep fighting, keep pushing, keep finding value in yourself, find value in everything you do.”