The United States entered Tuesday’s prime time swimming events leading the total medal count but trailing China in gold. After another stellar night in the Olympic swimming pool, Team USA is back on top by every measure that counts.
Olympic medal count 2016: Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky take back Team USA’s rightful gold medal lead
The United States briefly slipped behind China in the gold medal count. Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky made sure Team USA didn’t stay behind for long.
Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky were the stars of the night. Phelps gave Chad le Clos a Dikembo Mutombo-esque finger wag after beating him in the 200-meter butterfly, admonishing the South African for starting beef with him. Phelps then capped the night of swimming by anchoring the men’s 4x200-meter freestyle relay. The only drama in the event occurred when Phelps ripped his swimming cap and had to scramble to borrow a teammate’s.
No one would dare start beef with Ledecky. The 19-year-old continues to dominate her sport, picking up her third-ever Olympic gold medal with a win in the 200-meter freestyle. Ledecky had to hold off a hard charge from Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom, who won the 100-meter butterfly earlier in Rio.
The United States tacked on a bronze medal for good measure when Madeline Dirado finished third in the women’s 200-meter individual medley. Hungary’s Katinka Hosszú won the event, thrusting her country up the medal count standings. With three gold medals in Rio, Hosszú has almost single-handedly put Hungary in the top three. She has four of the country’s six total medals.
China is in second place on the standings in both gold medals and total medals. Diving and weightlifting have been most lucrative for the world’s most populous country, bagging three gold medals apiece.
Here’s a look at the complete updated medal count heading into Wednesday’s events.
| Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 United States | 9 | 8 | 9 | 26 |
| 2 China | 8 | 3 | 6 | 17 |
| 3 Hungary | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 4 Australia | 4 | 0 | 5 | 9 |
| 5 Russia | 3 | 6 | 3 | 12 |
| 6 Italy | 3 | 4 | 2 | 9 |
| 7 South Korea | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 8 Japan | 3 | 1 | 10 | 14 |
| 9 France | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 10 Thailand | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 11 Great Britain | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| 12 Germany | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 12 Sweden | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 14 Brazil | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 15 Chinese Taipei | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 16 Belgium | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 16 Greece | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 16 Netherlands | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 19 Argentina | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 19 Colombia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 19 Croatia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 19 Kosovo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 19 Slovenia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 19 Vietnam | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 25 Indonesia | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 25 New Zealand | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 25 North Korea | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 25 South Africa | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 29 Canada | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| 30 Kazakhstan | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 31 Ukraine | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 32 Azerbaijan | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 32 Denmark | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 32 Malaysia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 32 Mongolia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 32 Philippines | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 32 Slovakia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 32 Turkey | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 39 Uzbekistan | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 40 Spain | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 40 Georgia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 40 Israel | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 40 Kyrgyzstan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 40 Poland | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 40 Portugal | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 40 Switzerland | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 40 United Arab Emirates | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
See More:
