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Keeping score is probably not the best way to embody the Olympic spirit, but when the inspirational women on the USA Team are totally crushing it, we have no choice but to count medals.
While Team USA has brought in the most medals of any nation, with 121 medals overall, women are proving to be the true breadwinners. As NBC Olympics covers, American women are not only responsible for 61 of the total medals, they have also raked in 27 of the 45 gold medals won by the United States, proving that they can break through the nonathletic stereotype and dominate the best of the best.
The importance of these accomplishments isn’t going unnoticed either. As NPR reported, “If the U.S. were divided into two countries, one male and the other female, those 27 golds for the women would tie them with Britain for most of any country, put them one ahead of China and far ahead of the American men and everyone else.”
Here is a breakdown of the champion performances in the 2016 Olympics by these accomplished women.
Simone Biles, gymnast, won four gold medals in women’s artistic gymnastics, almost half of the team record of nine medals.
Simone Manuel became the first American black woman to win an Olympic gold in a individual swimming event.
Ashleigh Johnson became a gold medal-winning athlete when she defended the goal for the women’s water polo team.
Brianna Rollins, Nia Ali and Kristi Castlin swept the women’s 100m hurdles by finishing first, second and third.
Ibtihaj Muhammad became the first American Olympic athlete to win a medal wearing a hijab. She won bronze in women’s sabre fencing.
Claressa Shields won two gold medals in boxing, becoming the first American woman to do so.
Gwen Jorgensen became the first American woman to win gold in a triathlon.
Allyson Felix won her fifth gold medal in the women’s 400m relay.
Helen Maroulis became the first from America to win gold in women’s wrestling.
Kim Rhode, skeet shooter, became the first woman ever to become a six-time medal winning Olympian.
Katie Ledecky beat a swimming world record by winning gold in the women’s 200m, 400m, 800m freestyle and the 4x200m freestyle relay, along with Madeline Dirado.
Lilly King, American swimmer, won gold in the women’s 4x100m medley relay and 100m breaststroke.
The U.S. women’s basketball team won gold for the sixth straight consecutive time.
These stats are truly remarkable, proving that being a woman isn’t just about being beautiful, artistic or stylish. Rather, being a woman and “playing like a girl” means you dominate.
