The United States remains comfortably atop the 2016 Olympic medal count after another solid start to the competition Tuesday. The team currently has 27 gold medals and 77 overall medals after adding to its total with more success in track and field.
Rio Olympics medal count 2016: United States adds to total with men’s triple jump gold, silver
The Americans keep adding to their impressive Olympic medal figure in Rio.
Christian Taylor and Will Claye both defended their respective titles in the men’s triple jump, becoming the first teammates to ever finish one-two in the event in back-to-back Olympics. Taylor won gold and Claye won silver at the 2012 Olympics in London. On Tuesday, they repeated that feat in Rio.
In the triple jump final round, each athlete is given six chances to post their best distance possible. Taylor pulled off the winning 17.86-meter jump on his first attempt, while Claye’s first attempt yielded the 17.76-meter figure that earned him silver. China’s Dong Bin won the bronze with a jump of 17.58 meters. Bin is the first Chinese athlete to win an Olympic medal in the triple jump.
For the Americans, it continues a long track record of success in this event. Since 1984, the U.S. has won five of nine gold medals. You’d probably recognize the 1992 gold medalist, Mike Conley Sr., whose son is now a star point guard with the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies.
The other big track and field medal event so far on Tuesday was the women’s discus throw final. Croatia’s Sandra Perkovic finished on top with a throw of 69.21 meters to beat out silver medalist Melina Robert-Michon of France (66.73 meters) and bronze medalist Denia Caballero of Cuba (65.34 meters).
There were also a number of canoeing medals handed out Tuesday. In the men’s 1000-meter kayak singles, Spain’s Marcus Walz won the gold, and in the men’s 1,000-meter canoe singles, Germany’s Sebastian Brendel took the top spot. Hungary’s Danuta Kozak and Gabriella Szabo won gold in the women’s 500-meter canoe doubles and New Zealand’s Lisa Carrington took gold in the women’s 200-meter kayak singles.
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