- Australia has secured a remarkable 14 gold medals in Paris
- This translates to 1.22 medals for every million residents in Australia
- Currently ranked third in the overall medal count, behind the US and China
It’s time for celebration – Australia stands as the benchmark for the best Olympic nation per capita based on the current Games’ medal standings.
With a total of 14 gold medals, Australia boasts an impressive 1.22 medals per million citizens.
They are currently in third place, just ahead of the host nation France (13) and Great Britain (12).
Australia also leads in gold medals per million residents, achieving 0.48 gold medals for every million people.
Meanwhile, the United States tops the count in Paris with 24 gold medals and 86 overall, but their population of 342 million paints a different picture.
China is in second place in the medal tally with 22 golds, also trailing behind Australia in per capita metrics given its massive population of 1.42 billion.
Additionally, smaller nations like Saint Lucia are outperforming expectations considering their size.
With a population of about 179,000, Saint Lucia celebrated its first Olympic medal in the women’s 100m sprint thanks to track star Julien Alfred, giving them five gold medals per million residents.
Australia is the world benchmark when it comes to the best Olympic country per capita based on medal tally (pictured, tennis stars Matthew Ebden and John Peers after winning gold in doubles)
Swimmer Cameron McEvoy won the men’s 50m freestyle final – Australia’s gold medal count per million people is currently the highest at 0.48
Arisa Trew made history as Australia’s youngest gold medallist at just 14 years old, winning the women’s park skateboard event
As Australia holds its third place in the medal tally, there are opportunities to expand their gold medal count on day 12 in Paris.
Sailor Matt Wearn (9:13pm Wednesday, AEST) is nearly guaranteed a gold in the dinghy class, while Nina Kennedy, the reigning world champion, is expected to contend for gold in the women’s pole vault final (3am Thursday, AEST).
The Games will conclude on Sunday, with a closing ceremony in Paris scheduled for August 12 at 5am AEST.
The Australian flag-bearer has yet to be announced, but with a wealth of gold in the City of Love, Chef de Mission Anna Meares will have plenty of options.
Canoeist Jessica Cox, who later secured two gold medals in the K1 and C1 slalom events, along with seasoned hockey player Eddie Ockenden, were the flag-bearer nominees for the opening ceremony.
At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, NBA legend Patty Mills and swimmer Cate Campbell were the Australian flag bearers during the opening ceremony.
Dual gold-medallist sailor Mathew Belcher received acclaim as the flag bearer for the closing ceremony in Japan.
