USA Wins Its 1000th Gold in the Olympics History

The women’s 4x100m medley relay team won the 1000th gold medal for US while the men’s 4x100m relay team alongside Michael Phelps won the 1001st gold. (Photo: AP)

The United States won its 1,000th Olympic gold medal on Saturday when the American women’s 4x100 metre medley relay team clinched victory at the Rio Games.

The US team had arrived in Rio with 977 gold medals, according to Olympstats.com.

The honour of reaching the milestone was shared by Kathleen Baker, Lilly King, Dana Vollmer and Simone Manuel, who got to the wall first ahead of Australia.

It really makes me think about all the generations of Olympic teams and athletes I watched and the inspiration that I have had. We’re here getting that 1,000th medal for the US and it seems absolutely incredible.

Dana Vollmer, Swimmer, USA

Of the 1,000 gold medals, more than half have come from track and field (323) and swimming (246), USOC added.

One thousand gold medals is a remarkable achievement made possible by the culture of sport that is the fabric and foundation of Team USA.

Scott Blackmun, Head of United States Olympic Committee

Sprinter Tori Bowie nearly took the US over the top in the 100 metres but she was finished second behind Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson, leaving it up to the swimmers to complete the feat.

If the US women had not captured the landmark medal, Michael Phelps and the men’s 4x100 medley relay squad would have done so, the quartet winning gold in the next event in the pool, which was also the final race on the Rio swimming programme.