The Tokyo Olympic Games this summer will see 339 events in 33 different sports - which adds up to an awful lot of gold, silver and bronze being handed out. For example, Albert Corey won a silver medal in the marathon. Such technicalities might matter if the United States wasn't far ahead on the all-time list but the next closest historically are their Cold War rivals, the Soviet Union. China will hope to finish high on the medal table in Tokyo having topped it in Beijing in 2008, finished second at London 2012 and third at Rio 2016. At the other end of the spectrum, there are 24 nations who have only ever won one Olympic medal, including Barbados, Paraguay, Iraq and Senegal.

Source: The Nation July 21, 2021 21:00 UTC