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Summer Olympics: Top 20 Countries with the Most Gold Medals in a Single Year
The 1984 U.S. Olympic Team Won the Most Gold Medals
So what’s the best way to win a mongo trove of gold medals?
Eliminate the competition.
In 1980 and 1984, the Cold War led to tit-for-tat superpower boycotts. After the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in late 1979, the US and several other countries boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics. The Soviets and 13 of their satellite nations returned the favor in 1984, skipping Los Angeles.
The result?
The top two gold medal hoards in history, with the US minting 83 in ’84, and the Soviet Union 80 in ’80.
The third biggest looting occurred back in St. Louis in 1904, when the US grabbed a solid 76 gold medals. Then again, only 15 countries participated that year, the lowest number since the first games in 1896 Athens.
Those three tallies are on the right end of the Olympic gold medal bell curve.
In the middle, though, most of the best gold medal years fall in the 40-55 range, and it looks like the same thing is happening again at the 2012 London Games.
The USA and China, who came on strong in Beijing, are sitting at 41 and 37 gold medals apiece as of this posting with more than a handful of tin to still give out.
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| YEAR | HOST | COUNTRY | GOLD MEDALS | |
| 1. | 1984 | Los Angeles | United States | 83 |
| 2. | 1980 | Moscow | Soviet Union | 80 |
| 3. | 1904 | St. Louis | United States | 76 |
| 4. | 1908 | London | Great Britain | 56 |
| 5. | 1988 | Seoul | Soviet Union | 55 |
| 6. | 2008 | Beijing | China | 51 |
| 7. | 1972 | Munich | Soviet Union | 50 |
| 8. | 1976 | Montreal | Soviet Union | 49 |
| 9. | 1980 | Moscow | East Germany | 47 |
| 10. | 1992 | Barcelona | Unified Team | 45 |
| 10. | 1968 | Mexico City | United States | 45 |
| 10. | 1924 | Paris | United States | 45 |
| 13. | 1996 | Atlanta | United States | 44 |
| 13. | 1932 | Los Angeles | United States | 44 |
| 15. | 1960 | Rome | Soviet Union | 43 |
| 16. | 1920 | Antwerp | United States | 41 |
| 17. | 1976 | Montreal | East Germany | 40 |
| 17. | 1952 | Helsinki | United States | 40 |
| 19. | 1948 | London | United States | 38 |
| 19. | 1936 | Berlin | Germany | 38 |
Photo: vh1.com
Summer Olympics Tennis: Roger Federer, Serena Williams and All-Time Singles Gold Medal Winners
Serena Williams Won Her First Singles Gold. Will Roger Federer?
Roger Federer may have 17 tennis majors in his pocket to Rafael Nadal‘s 11, but Nadal has one thing Federer does not, and that’s a singles Olympic gold medal – well, not yet at least.
Federer will be facing off against hometown hero Andy Murray on Sunday at Wimbledon’s Centre Court at 9AM EST in the gold medal match. Later in the day (11 AM EST) Murray will be going for another gold, with partner Laura Robson in the mixed doubles finals. That’s a tough schedule. Makes you hope he wins at least one gold.
On the women’s side, Serena Williams won her first singles gold today, destroying Russia’s Maria Sharapova 6-0, 6-1. She joins sister Venus as a fellow singles gold medal winner. Tomorrow, the Williams sisters will be going for more gold in the women’s doubles gold medal match at 7AM EST.
Both Federer and Serena (and Venus) Williams have won gold in men’s and women’s doubles, respectively, before.
Tennis has not always been an Olympic sport. In fact, it was only recently reinstated in 1988 after a 64-year self-imposed exile. Tennis was there in the first Olympic Games in 1896 and through 1924, but because the International Olympic Committee had such a strict definition of what an “amateur” was, the International Tennis Federation, a partner in the event, refused to allow the game to be official. Sadly, that meant so many greats – from Jimmy Connors to John McEnroe and Chris Evert to Martina Navratilova – never had the opportunity to vie for a gold medal like the players of today.
Take a look at all the tennis singles gold medal winners below. Note that in 1908 and 1912, there were two separate events, indoor and outdoor tennis, hence the two gold medals.
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MEN
| 2012 | TBD: August 5th Roger Federer (Switzerland) vs. Andy Murray (Great Britain) | |
| 2008 | Rafael Nadal | Spain |
| 2004 | Nicolás Massú | Chile |
| 2000 | Yevgeny Kafelnikov | Russia |
| 1996 | Andre Agassi | USA |
| 1992 | Marc Rosset | Switzerland |
| 1988 | Miloslav Mecír | Czechoslovakia |
| 1924 | Vinnie Richards | USA |
| 1920 | Louis Raymond | South Africa |
| 1912 | André Gobert (Indoor) |
France |
| Charles Winslow (Outdoor) |
South Africa | |
| 1908 | Arthur Wentworth Gore (Indoor) |
Great Britain |
| Josiah Ritchie (Outdoor) |
Great Britain | |
| 1906 | Max Décugis | France |
| 1904 | Beals Wright | USA |
| 1900 | Laurie Doherty | Great Britain |
| 1896 | John Pius Boland | Great Britain |
WOMEN
| 2012 | Serena Williams | USA |
| 2008 | Yelena Dementyeva | Russia |
| 2004 | Justine Henin-Hardenne | Belarus |
| 2000 | Venus Williams | USA |
| 1996 | Lindsay Davenport | USA |
| 1992 | Jennifer Capriati | USA |
| 1988 | Steffi Graf | West Germany |
| 1924 | Helen Wills | USA |
| 1920 | Suzanne Lenglen | France |
| 1912 | Edith Hannam (Indoor) |
Great Britain |
| Marguerite Broquedis-Billout (Outdoor) | France | |
| 1908 | Gladys Eastlake-Smith (Indoor) |
Great Britain |
| Dorothy Lambert Chambers (Outdoor) | Great Britain | |
| 1906 | Esme Simiriotis | Greece |
| 1900 | Charlotte Cooper | Great Britain |
Photo: blog.zap2it.com / nydailynews.com
Summer Olympics: Gabby Douglas and All-Time Medal Winners of the Women’s Gymnastics Individual All-Around
Gabby Douglas Wins Women’s Gymnastics Individual All-Around Gold, Third In A Row For The USA
Poised and confident spitfire Gabrielle “Gabby” Douglas, “The Flying Squirrel,” won the women’s gymnastics individual all-around gold last night in London, making it a threepeat for the USA.
Americans Nastia Liukin and Carly Patterson won in the 2008 and 2004 Games at Beijing and Athens, respectively.
Mary Lou Retton, perhaps the US’s most famous female gymnast, is the fourth, and last, American woman to win the all-around gold.
For most of the sport’s Olympic history, though, it has been the Romanians and Soviets who have dominated, at least in terms of overall medals.
Here are all the Olympics medalists in the event since 1952, the first year it became official, followed by a breakdown by country.
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OLYMPICS WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS INDIVIDUAL ALL-AROUND MEDALISTS
| YEAR | GOLD | SILVER | BRONZE | |||
| 2012 | Gabby Douglas | USA | Viktoria Komova | RUS | Aliya Mustafina | RUS |
| 2008 | Nastia Liukin | USA | Shawn Johnson | USA | Yang Yilin | CHN |
| 2004 | Carly Patterson | USA | Svetlana Khorkina | RUS | Zhang Nan | CHN |
| 2000 | Simona Amânar | ROU | Maria Olaru | ROU | Liu Xuan | CHN |
| 1996 | Liliya Podkopaieva | UKR | Gina Gogean | ROU | Simona Amânar | ROU |
| Lavinia Milosovici | ROU | |||||
| 1992 | Tetiana Hutsu | EUN | Shannon Miller | USA | Lavinia Milosovici | ROU |
| 1988 | Yelena Shushunova | URS | Daniela Silivas | ROU | Svetlana Boginskaya | URS |
| 1984 | Mary Lou Retton | USA | Ecaterina Szabo | ROU | Simona Pauca | ROU |
| 1980 | Yelena Davydova | URS | Maxi Gnauck | GDR | – | – |
| Nadia Comaneci | ROU | |||||
| 1976 | Nadia Comaneci | ROU | Nelli Kim | URS | Lyudmila Turishcheva | URS |
| 1972 | Lyudmila Turishcheva | URS | Karin Janz | GDR | Tamara Lazakovich | URS |
| 1968 | Vera Cáslavská | TCH | Zinaida Voronina | URS | Nataliya Kuchinskaya | URS |
| 1964 | Vera Cáslavská | TCH | Larysa Latynina | URS | Polina Astakhova | URS |
| 1960 | Larysa Latynina | URS | Sofiya Muratova | URS | Polina Astakhova | URS |
| 1956 | Larysa Latynina | URS | Ágnes Keleti | HUN | Sofiya Muratova | URS |
| 1952 | Mariya Horokhovska | URS | Nina Bocharova | URS | Margit Korondi | HUN |
WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS INDIVIDUAL ALL-AROUND GOLD MEDALS BY COUNTRY
| 1. | URS | Soviet Union | 6 |
| 2. | USA | United States | 4 |
| 3. | ROU | Romania | 2 |
| 3. | TCH | Czechoslovakia | 2 |
| 5. | EUN | Unified Team* | 1 |
| 5. | UKR | Ukraine | 1 |
WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS INDIVIDUAL ALL-AROUND OVERALL MEDALS BY COUNTRY
| 1. | URS | Soviet Union | 18 |
| 2. | ROU | Romania | 11 |
| 3. | USA | United States | 6 |
| 4. | RUS | Russia | 3 |
| 4. | CHN | China | 3 |
| 6. | GDR | East Germany | 2 |
| 6. | HUN | Hungary | 2 |
| 6. | TCH | Czechoslovakia | 2 |
| 9. | EUN | Unified Team* | 1 |
| 9. | UKR | Ukraine | 1 |
* Following the political collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia and 11 other former Communist block countries formed the Unified Team of 1992.
Photo: thegrio.com
