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American women dominated the summer Olympics, bringing home more than half of Team USA鈥檚 medals.

The U.S. won 126 total medals, the . Of those, women were responsible for a whopping 67.

Of that total, one medal remains in contention: Olympic officials have ordered gymnast Jordan Chiles to from the floor exercise final after a score reversal, but that ruling.

That controversy aside, American women have won so many medals in Paris that if they were their own nation, they would place third in the overall medal count, behind the 126 won by the full U.S. squad and China鈥檚 91 total medals and ahead of Great Britain鈥檚 65.

When it comes to gold medals, China and the U.S. tied with 40 apiece. Team USA has women to thank for 26 of those.

The medal count is one of many by American women at what organizers have hailed as the .

U.S. women brought home the country鈥檚 , a bronze. The U.S. women鈥檚 , their fifth in less than three decades (and their first since 2012). And the U.S. closed out the games by beating France on their home turf, for their eighth consecutive gold medal.

Swimmer took home five medals, Team USA athlete. Swimmers Gretchen Walsh, Katie Ledecky and Regan Smith, as well as gymnast Simone Biles, each won four medals.

Ledecky won her 鈥� and 14th ever 鈥� to extend her title as the most-decorated U.S. female Olympian.

Biles in Paris, bringing her total to 11 and becoming U.S. Olympic gymnast in history. She helped lead Team USA to gold in the in a .

American women also blazed their way to several key victories on the track. Among them: An all-star team of runners in 4-by-400m relay, the eighth in a row in which U.S. women have claimed gold.

Hurdle phenom beat her own world record in the 400-meter hurdles, becoming the only woman to win the event in consecutive Games. Tara Davis-Woodhall and Jasmine Moore earned the U.S. two (gold and bronze), while sprinter won three gold medals.

Even some lesser-known sports have gotten more attention 鈥� and more funding 鈥� as a result of their Olympic dominance.

While the women鈥檚 water polo team for a historic fourth consecutive gold medal, it won headlines and a multi-year sponsorship deal from its , the rapper .

Rugby and has helped put her sport on many peoples鈥� radar 鈥� including American businesswoman Michele Kang, who announced a $4 million donation to the U.S. Women鈥檚 Rugby Sevens team after their Olympic victory.

There were plenty of . U.S. artistic swimmers earned silver in the team event, their first Olympic medal since 2004. The U.S. Women鈥檚 Foil Team became the a team fencing gold in history.

Olivia Reeves won the since 2000, while Evy Leibfarth won the country's first medal in canoe slalom since 2004. Jenn Valente became the most decorated U.S. Olympic women鈥檚 cyclist in history, while became the first American cyclist to win gold in both track and road cycling.

While Olympic organizers touted their progress in achieving full gender parity in Paris, athletes and researchers say there鈥檚 still more to be done when it comes to giving women the same quality of resources, opportunities and media coverage, to name a few areas.

And sexism was a persistent issue throughout the Games, which started with a Eurostar commentator getting dropped for his and saw an over the .

The U.S. ranked eighth for medal parity between men and women at this year鈥檚 Games, according to the U.K.-based charity . It noted that the top 10 countries rank above average on the United Nations' Gender Inequality Index, 鈥渟howing that there is a direct correlation between women鈥檚 sport and broader social equality.鈥�

This is the fourth Summer Olympics where U.S. women won more medals than their male teammates, according to , as well as the fourth where the country has sent more women than men. Team USA's Paris roster featured .

Olympic & Paralympic CEO Sarah Hirshland told the outlet earlier this week that the athletes' achievements are a testament to which prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded school programs.

鈥淭heir performances are a reminder of how far we've come and the boundless potential that still lies ahead,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 be prouder of their achievements and the example they set for future generations of athletes.鈥�

Copyright 2024 NPR

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