United States at the Olympics

The United States of America has sent athletes to every celebration of the modern Olympic Games with the exception of the 1980 Summer Olympics, during which it led a boycott in protest of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee is the National Olympic Committee for the United States.
American athletes have won a total of 2,765 medals at the Summer Olympic Games, and another 330 at the Winter Olympic Games, making the United States the most prolific medal-winning nation in the history of the Olympics. The U.S. has placed first in the Summer Olympic medal table 19 times out of 30 Summer Olympics and 29 appearances, but has had less success in the Winter Olympics, placing first once in 24 participations.
The United States Olympic contingent is the only Olympic contingent in the world to receive no government funding; neither training and development costs nor prize money are provided by the U.S. national government.

Hosted Games

The United States has hosted the modern Olympic Games eight times, more than any other nation. These occasions span from the 1904 St. Louis Olympics to the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. Beyond hosting, the U.S. has significantly impacted the Olympics through athletic achievements, innovations in sports infrastructure and technology, and cultural contributions. Its influence extends to advocating Olympic ideals and leaving lasting legacies in host cities. Overall, the U.S. plays a central role in the history and ongoing development of the Olympic movement. For example, the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics pioneered the use of electronic timing devices. The 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, for instance, set new standards for opening and closing ceremonies. Even when not hosting, the U.S. has played a crucial role in the administration and promotion of the Olympics through organizations like the United States Olympic Committee and its participation in the International Olympic Committee. Hosting the Olympics has left lasting legacies in host cities, such as improved infrastructure, economic benefits, and increased tourism. For example, the 1996 Atlanta Olympics revitalized parts of the city and left behind sporting venues still in use today.
In 2028, the third Los Angeles Olympics will mark the ninth occasion that the Olympics are hosted in the U.S.

Games	Host city	Dates	Nations	Participants	Events
1904 Summer Olympics	St. Louis, Missouri	July 1 – November 23	12	666	95
1932 Winter Olympics	Lake Placid, New York	February 7 – 15	17	252	14
1932 Summer Olympics	Los Angeles, California	July 30 – August 14	37	1,332	117
1960 Winter Olympics	Squaw Valley, California	February 18 – 28	30	665	27
1980 Winter Olympics	Lake Placid, New York	February 13 – 24	37	1,072	38
1984 Summer Olympics	Los Angeles, California	July 28 – August 12	140	6,829	221
1996 Summer Olympics	Atlanta, Georgia	July 19 – August 4	197	10,318	271
2002 Winter Olympics	Salt Lake City, Utah	February 8 – 24	77	2,399	78
2028 Summer Olympics	Los Angeles, California	July 14 – 30	TBA	TBA	TBA
2034 Winter Olympics	Salt Lake City, Utah	February 10 – 26	TBA	TBA	TBA

Unsuccessful bids

Relinquished hosting rights

Medal tables

The United States made its Olympic debut in 1896 in Athens, the very first edition of the modern games. The nation performed inconsistently in the pre-World War-I period, primarily due to fielding considerably fewer athletes than host countries, with the exception being the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri, where the U.S. achieved its largest medal haul in history, a record that still stands today. During the interwar period, the U.S. enjoyed its greatest success, topping both gold and total medal counts at four straight Summer Games, before falling short in the 1936 Berlin games. The next summer Olympics were held in 1948 following World War II. In 1952, the Soviet Union made its Olympic debut, initiating a state-sponsored approach to international sport focused on projecting socio-political superiority. The rapid rise of the Soviet Union to challenge the United States as a leading Olympic power raised questions and suspicion about the means used to achieve this, including the pretense of professional athletes having amateur status and allegations of state-sponsored doping. After 20 years of competition on the Olympic stage, the USSR convincingly topped the gold medal chart at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. After that, the U.S. would not top the medal table in non-boycotted games until the 1996 Summer Olympics, five years after the USSR collapsed. A bright spot for the United States was the 1984 games in Los Angeles, where the U.S. set a record for most gold medals won in a single Olympics, buoyed by the Soviet-led boycott. Coincident with a drive by the International Olympic Committee toward gender parity beginning in the 1990s, the U.S.'s fortunes improved, and the nation topped the medal table in the Summer Olympics six times since 1992 and placed second on two occasions.
In contrast to its summer Olympics status, the United States was not a power in the Winter Games until the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. Hosting the games in 2002 boosted the U.S. winter sports program; since then, the country’s athletes have performed consistently well, never placing below fourth in the medal count. The nation won the most medals at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver but dropped to 23 medals at the 2018 games in Pyeongchang.

Medals by Summer Games

Medals by Winter Games

Best results

Summer Olympics

Gold medals – 83, Olympic record
Total medals – 231, '''Olympic record'''
Winter Olympics
Gold medals – 10
Total medals – 37
Medals by summer sport

Updated on November 16, 2024
*This table does not include two medals – one silver awarded in the ice hockey and one bronze awarded in the figure skating events at the 1920 Summer Olympics.
The United States has never won an Olympic medal in the following current summer sports or disciplines: badminton, handball, rhythmic gymnastics, table tennis and trampoline gymnastics.

Medals by winter sport

Updated on December 31, 2021
*This table includes two medals – one silver awarded in the ice hockey and one bronze awarded in the figure skating events at the 1920 Summer Olympics.
Biathlon is the only current winter sport that the United States has never won an Olympic medal in.

Best results in non-medaling sports

Flagbearers

Games	Athlete	Sport
	Clarence Abel	Ice hockey
	Godfrey Dewey	Cross-country skiing
	Billy Fiske	Bobsleigh
	Rolf Monsen	Cross-country skiing
	Jack Heaton	Skeleton & Bobsleigh
	Jim Bickford	Bobsleigh
	Jim Bickford	Bobsleigh
	Don McDermott	Speed skating
	Bill Disney	Speed skating
	Terry McDermott	Speed skating
	Dianne Holum	Speed skating
	Cindy Nelson	Alpine skiing
	Scott Hamilton	Figure skating
	Frank Masley	Luge
	Lyle Nelson	Biathlon
	Bill Koch	Cross-country skiing
	Cammy Myler	Luge
	Eric Flaim	Speed Skating
	Amy Peterson	Short track speed skating
	Chris Witty	Speed skating
	Mark Grimmette	Luge
	Todd Lodwick	Nordic combined
	Erin Hamlin	Luge
	Brittany Bowe	Speed Skating
	John Shuster	Curling

History

Recent period (1994–present)

U.S. athletes have appeared in every Summer Olympics Games in recent decades, with their fortunes having steadily improved in most sports since 1992. America finished second in the medal count in 1992 and 2008, while placing first at seven other Games in that period.
File:Jennie Finch Alta Springs 1.jpg|thumb|right|Jennie Finch signing autographs. From 1998 to 2010, Finch became the most recognizable face on a dominant U.S. softball squad. Her 2004 Olympics showing put her on an elite level, as she helped lead Team USA to a gold medal.
The United States, represented by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place in the summer of 2020, the Games were postponed to July 23 to August 8, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The opening ceremony flag-bearers for the United States were baseball player Eddy Alvarez and basketball player Sue Bird. Javelin thrower Kara Winger was the flag-bearer for the closing ceremony. When USA Gymnastics announced that 2016 Olympic all-around champion Simone Biles would not participate in the gymnastics all-around final, the spotlight fell on her American teammates. The U.S. had won the event in each of the last five Olympic Games: a formidable winning streak was on the line. Sunisa Lee embraced the moment and stood tall to deliver for her country. She totaled 57.433 to hold off Rebeca Andrade of Brazil to clinch the title. Lee also made history of her own. With victory in the all-around she became the first Hmong American gymnast to win an Olympic gold medal, and the first gymnast of Asian descent to do so. With a silver in the women's team final and bronze in the individual uneven bars Lee left Tokyo with an impressive three Olympic medals. Lydia Jacoby, Alaska's teenage swimming sweetheart, made history when she became the first Alaskan swimmer selected to make the U.S. Olympic swim team. She stunned the world to secure victory in the women's 100m breaststroke. Recent major champion Nelly Korda followed the winning ways of compatriot Xander Schauffele to take home gold in the women's golf competition. The 2.01m-tall thrower Ryan Crouser retained his Olympic title in the men's shot put and did so in some style, setting an Olympic record three times. The U.S. achieved a commanding lead in the overall medal count, with 113 medals, but only edged China in the gold medal tally on the last day, finishing with 39 gold medals to China's 38.
At the 2022 Winter Olympics, the U.S. exercised a diplomatic boycott due to the "ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses", meaning it did not send any high-level delegation to the Games, but would not hinder athletes from participating. A total of 25 medals meant Team USA won two more medals than in 2018, although it still signifies an overall decline after 37 medals in 2010 and 28 in 2014. For the fifth consecutive games, the Americans won nine gold medals, this time placing third in the medal count. Notable successes included Jessie Diggins becoming the first American female skier to win individual cross-country medals, figure skater Nathan Chen breaking the short program world record en route to the Olympic gold medal in the men's singles, Erin Jackson becoming the first black female athlete to win speed skating gold, and Chloe Kim defending her title in the snowboarding women's halfpipe. Veteran snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis, who last medaled in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, was the only U.S. athlete with multiple gold medals, winning the women's snowboard cross event, and sharing the gold with teammate Nick Baumgartner in the mixed snowboard cross event.