Analysis of the Olympics Medal data indicates that there is a noticeable shift in dominance from traditional Western powers like the USA and Germany to Asian countries like China, Japan & Korea in several sports, particularly from the late 20th century onwards. Further, some countries have specialized in certain sports, such as China in Table Tennis and Weightlifting, South Korea in Archery, and Japan in Judo, which has helped them increase their medal tally.
The Paris Olympics 2024 ended with a stunning closing ceremony at the Stade de France. The Olympics marked a historic milestone in the evolution of the Games, setting new standards in several key areas. For the first time, the Games achieved full gender parity, with the International Olympic Committee allocating an equal number of quota places for female and male athletes. This move underscored a significant commitment to gender equality in sports.
The competition spanned 19 days, featuring athletes from 206 National Olympic Committees and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team. They competed across 32 sports and 48 disciplines. Paris 2024 had also introduced four new sports: skateboarding, sport climbing, surfing, and breaking. The Games included 15 new events, highlighted by breaking, which made its Olympic debut.
Looking ahead, the 2028 Summer Olympics are set to be held in Los Angeles. This will be the third time the city will host the Games. New sports such as baseball, softball, flag football, cricket, lacrosse, and squash will be featured in these games. As countries review their performance from Paris and plan for Los Angeles, we analyse how focusing on certain sports has helped some countries secure top spots in the medal tally.
It should be noted that the IOC ranks countries based on their medal tally. The primary criterion is the number of gold medals, followed by silver and bronze if needed. If countries are still tied, they are ranked alphabetically by their IOC country code. While the medal tally reflects national success, only the individual athletes who win medals are considered winners.
Data for the story is from Dataful’s collection on the Olympics sourced from the Official International Olympic Committee. In the event-wise dataset, one can find separate entries for Great Britain and the United Kingdom for athletes & individual sports while these are combined in the country-wise medals dataset.
Yet again, the USA finished at the top with 126 medals
In the 2024 Paris Olympics, the United States finished at the top with a total of 126 medals, including 40 golds. China came in second with 91 medals, also winning 40 golds. Japan took third place with 45 medals, 20 of which were gold, while Australia came fourth with 53 medals, including 18 golds.
India had a disappointing outing this time around finishing 71st in the overall medal count with a total of six medals—one silver and five bronze. This was below the performance at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where India finished 48th with seven medals, including one gold.
Focussing on certain sports with multiple events helped improve the performance of some countries
The structure and number of events in each sport significantly influence the overall medal tally. Sports with many events, such as swimming and athletics, offer more opportunities for countries to win medals, boosting their overall count. In contrast, sports with fewer events, like hockey or equestrian, provide fewer opportunities for medals.
For this analysis, we selected 12 sports that offer multiple opportunities for medals across various distances, styles, and weight classes. By specializing in these events, multiple countries have leveraged the broad range of competitions to achieve higher rankings in the overall medal tally. These sports are archery, athletics, badminton, boxing, fencing, judo, shooting, swimming, table tennis, tennis, weightlifting, and wrestling. There are many other sports too which have multiple events, but we chose these to show how some countries focussed on certain events and excelled in those.
In the 2024 Paris Olympics, a total of 605 medals were given in around 180 events in these 12 sports. In all, these 12 sports together accounted for about 58% of all the medals awarded in the 2024 Olympics while the remaining 33 sports accounted for the rest.
About 9 in 10 medals won by South Korea were in these 12 sports in 2024
The top 10 countries as per the medal tally won 318 medals out of the 605 awarded in these 12 sports in the 2024 Olympics. The share of medals won in these sports of the total medals won by each of these countries ranges from 23.5% by the Netherlands to 87.5% by South Korea. Medals won in these 12 sports account for more than 60% of the medals won by China, USA, and Japan.
For India, except for Hockey, the rest of the 5 medals were won in shooting, wrestling, and athletics. Since 2008, India has won at least one medal in wrestling in every Olympics.
Number of events in most of these sports has increased over the years
In 2024, there were 35 events in swimming, 48 in athletics, 18 in wrestling, and 15 each in Judo and Shooting. Boxing and Fencing had 13 and 12 events, respectively. Archery, Table Tennis, and Tennis had 5 events each and Badminton had 6. Most of these sports like Swimming, Badminton, Fencing, and Archery have seen an increase in the number of events over the years. The number of events in each of these sports over the years is provided in the chart below.
Asian countries have overtaken USA and European Countries in some sports
In each of these sports, we analyse the trends in performance of the top 10 countries from the 2024 Olympics, over the years. For this, we have grouped the years into the following periods and summed the total number of medals won by each country during that period in each sport.
- Early Years of Modern Olympics (1896-1912)
- Interwar and Early Post-War (1920-1936)
- Post-War and Cold War Era (1948-1964)
- Late 20th Century (1968-1988)
- Early 21st Century (1992-2008)
- Recent and Current Era (2012 to 2024)
Archery, once dominated by France and the USA, is now a sport where South Korea is the undisputed leader, with a significant share of its medals coming from this event.
In Athletics, the USA has won more than 100 medals in each of these periods, yet the number has dropped over the years, while China’s medals in athletics have increased.
Japan and France have been consistent performers in Judo, with Japan especially dominating in more recent periods.
Badminton is dominated by Asian countries, with China winning the majority of medals, followed by South Korea and Japan. The USA, Australia, and the European countries on the list, except for the Netherlands, have not won any medals in this sport.
Similarly, Table Tennis is also dominated by these Asian countries, with Germany winning a few medals in the current era.
Swimming, with the most events, has always been dominated by the USA. However, since the late 20th century, the number of medals won by the USA has dropped, though they continue to be more than 120. Australia has also seen significant gains in swimming, along with China and Japan.
Even though Italy and South Korea have won a significant number of medals in Shooting over the years, the event, once dominated by the USA, is now dominated by China. Boxing is another sport where China has surpassed the once-dominant USA in the current era.
Italy and France had the most medals in Fencing. However, like in Table Tennis, the three Asian countries of Korea, Japan & China have performed significantly better since the early 21st century.
The USA has been the leader in Tennis, particularly in the 1992-2008 and 2012-2024 periods, while Great Britain and South Korea reported no medals.
China has significantly increased its medal tally in Weightlifting since the 2000s, surpassing other nations such as Italy, France, and Germany, which had many medals in the sport in earlier years.
The USA and Japan have consistently excelled in Olympic Wrestling, with Japan’s performance improving significantly in recent decades. Meanwhile, countries like Germany and South Korea have seen a notable decline, while China has emerged as a strong contender in the current era.
To sum up, there is a noticeable shift in dominance from traditional Western powers like the USA and Germany to Asian countries like China, Japan & Korea in several sports, particularly from the late 20th century onwards. Further, some countries have specialized in certain sports, such as China in Table Tennis and Weightlifting, South Korea in Archery, and Japan in Judo, which has helped them increase their medal tally.
India can take lessons from Japan, South Korea, and China
This shift in global sports dominance serves as a lesson for India for the upcoming Games in Los Angeles and beyond, emphasizing the need for strategic investment in and development of talent in key sports. By prioritizing targeted training, enhancing infrastructure, and fostering grassroots initiatives, India can become a leading force in select sports, similar to the way other Asian countries have surpassed traditional powerhouses in the last few decades.
Wealthier countries dominate the medal tally
The Olympic medals data also reveals that the tally is usually dominated by the ‘developed’ nations or the wealthier ones. This indicates that the socio-economic disparities significantly impact Olympic performance, as countries with greater financial resources can invest more in training, facilities, and athlete support. Wealthier nations often benefit from advanced infrastructure and access to high-quality coaching, leading to better performance and higher medal counts. Conversely, countries with limited resources face challenges in providing adequate support and opportunities for their athletes, which can hinder their competitiveness on the global stage. For instance, more than 1,000 student-athletes from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) of the USA competed in the 2024 Olympic Games to win medals. They represented more than 100 countries, with almost 400 competing for USA.
