The 2024 Paris Olympics are in full swing, and the United States has already started racking up medals after two full days of games.
Team USA has a history of being amongst the highest medal earners in the world at every Olympic Games. The country has finished with more than 30 medals every time it has participated since 1948.
This trend has seemingly continued once again as the U.S. claimed 12 total medals through the first two days of action, including three gold medals across two separate sports.
The first gold medal won by Team USA came in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay, in which the foursome of Jack Alexy, Chris Guiliano, Hunter Armstrong, and Caeleb Dressel claimed the top spot with a time of 3:09.28, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
The second gold medal for Team USA came shortly after. Torri Huske defeated teammate Gretchen Walsh by only 0.04 seconds, with a final time of 55.59 seconds, winning the gold medal in the women’s 100m butterfly.
Team USA won its third gold medal in the first two days in a different sport, as Lee Kiefer won her second career Olympic gold medal in women’s individual foil fencing.
Kiefer defeated her teammate Lauren Scruggs 15-6 in the gold medal match on Sunday that lasted just under 10 minutes.
In addition to the three gold medals won in the first two days of competition, the U.S. also secured six silver medals during the same timeframe.
While Walsh and Scruggs claimed the silver medals in their competitions after losing to fellow Americans, Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook took second place in the women’s synchronized 3m springboard with a score of 314.64.
The foursome of Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh, Torri Huske, and Simone Manuel also won silver medals in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay. Erika Connolly and Abbey Weitzel were each awarded medals as team members who did not participate in the final race.
Haley Batten won a silver medal in women’s cross-country mountain biking, and Nic Fink tied for second place in the men’s 100m breaststroke.
Team USA did not stop collecting medals there; the country added three more bronze medals to its trophy case.
Chloe Dygert won the first of these bronze medals in cycling, finishing with a time of 41:10.70 in the women’s individual time trial.
Katie Ledecky, a dominant force in women’s swimming for over a decade, also secured a bronze medal in the women’s 400m freestyle, finishing just over three seconds behind the gold medalist at 4:00.86.
The final bronze medal won by Team USA in the first two days was won by Carson Foster in the men’s 400m individual medley, who ended the race with a time of 4:08.66.
These impressive finishes are likely just the start for Team USA as it seeks to continue winning medals in a variety of sports over the coming days.
With more than 10 days remaining in the Paris Olympics, the U.S. will have many more opportunities to make history.