A detailed view of the Eiffel Tower featuring the Olympic rings during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024 in Paris, France.
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The United States and China won 40 gold medals each in the first Summer Games draw in Olympic history, with the United States tying the tie on Sunday by winning the final event, women's basketball.
The United States equaled their lead over China with a thrilling 67-66 win over France in a shockingly tight game to claim the women's basketball gold medal.
China entered Sunday with a 39-38 lead over the United States, with the Americans appearing to have a slight advantage as the U.S. seeks an eighth straight gold medal in women's basketball and a second straight in women's volleyball.
The afternoon saw a series of results that decided the final standings.
China’s Li Wenwen won the women’s heavyweight weightlifting gold in what could have been the death knell for the United States’ overall gold medal hopes. The U.S. hopes were further dented when Chicago’s Kennedy Blades, who had produced a surprise gold-medal performance in the wrestling event, lost to her 76-kilogram opponent Yuka Kagami of Japan. In a stunning blow, Italy defeated the U.S. in the gym with a 25-18, 25-20, 25-17 win in volleyball. Cyclist Jennifer Valenti of San Diego saved the U.S. by defending her gold medal in the women’s omnium.
Gold medalist Noah Lyles of Team USA celebrates on the podium during the medal ceremony in the men's 100-meter dash at the Paris Olympic Games on Monday.
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That paved the way for the heavily favored American women to win, which they narrowly did to win their eighth consecutive gold medal.
“I didn't know about it until someone told me after the game, but I'm happy that we won for ourselves and for USA basketball, and also for the entire USA delegation, so we can tie the game,” Brianna Stewart, a US women's basketball player, told reporters after the gold medal game.
U.S. coach Cheryl Reeve smiled wryly and said she knew what was at stake before the France game but hinted she had not told the players.
“I saw the medal count beforehand, that's what we need, more pressure,” she said with a smile.
The last time the United States didn't win the most summer gold medals was in Beijing in 2008, when the host nation outscored the Americas in podium visits 48-36.
Although there have been no draws in the history of the Summer Games, there have been three draws in the Winter Olympics.
The final draw was between Norway and Germany, who each won 14 gold medals at PyeongChang 2018.
The United States still holds the most medals, taking home 126 from Paris this year.
The United States has not failed to win its most medals since 1992, when the “Unified Team,” made up of athletes from the former Soviet republics, won 112 medals, including 45 golds. The Americans made 108 podium visits in Barcelona, 37 of them on the podium.
Gold medalist Simone Biles of Team USA poses during the final medal ceremony of the women's artistic gymnastics competition on Aug. 1.
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Winning 40 gold medals out of 329 events means a 12.1% chance of winning first place. That's slightly higher than Tokyo (11.4%) but lower than Rio (15%) and London (15.8%).
Perhaps the best example of America's efforts in Paris were the American swimmers who won the most medals and golds, but left the tournament feeling like they had left their gear on the deck.
Silver medalist Anastasia Kirpichnikova of France, gold medalist Katie Ledecky of the United States and bronze medalist Isabell Juss of Germany stand on the podium in the women's 1,500m freestyle at the Olympic Games on July 31.
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While veteran Katie Ledecky was the star for the United States here, with two golds, one silver and one bronze, the show was stolen by France's Leon Marchand, who won four golds, one bronze and four Olympic records, and Canadian prodigy Summer McIntosh, who won three golds and one silver.
Despite their athletic rivalry, the U.S. and Chinese teams do not compete in many events. One of the few places where they compete on equal terms is swimming.
One of the biggest moments in the playoff draw came on Sunday, when China won the 4x100m medley relay on the strength of 100m freestyle champion Pan Zhanli, who outsprinted the US silver medalist.
“It wasn't a bad match at all,” American swimmer Caeleb Dressel said of his team.
“The goal we have when we go to the Olympics and the world championships is to win gold medals. There are other countries that have become very dominant – Australia and the United States are the most famous. But I have seen a lot of Italy, China and France in these games. So the wealth is distributed among everyone. I don’t think we are going to get worse per se.”
Lee Kiefer of the United States, center, Lauren Scruggs of the United States, left, and Eleanor Harvey of Canada celebrate on the podium during the women's foil medal ceremony on July 28.
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A group of countries that usually come within touching distance of the podium have produced several medal winners over the past two weeks.
Before landing in Paris, Israel had only 13 Summer Olympic medals, seven of which were won here.
Ecuador won five medals, more than doubling its total for the summer.
Kyrgyzstan has made the podium six times, which is impressive considering the Central Asian nation came to Paris with only seven Olympic medals in its history.
Ahead of Paris 2024, Moldova has won six titles in its national history. The small former Soviet republic has reached the podium four times in Paris.
— NBC News' David K. Lee reported from Paris and Sean Niven from London.
