The United States of America has sent athletes to every celebration of the modern Olympic Games with the exception of the 1980 Summer Olympics, during which it led a boycott in protest of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee for the United States.
American athletes have won a total of 2,774 medals (1,106 of them gold) at the Summer Olympic Games, and another 363 (126 of them gold) at the Winter Olympic Games, making the United States the most prolific medal-winning nation in the history of the Olympics. The U.S. has placed first in the Summer Olympic medal table 19 times out of 30 Summer Olympics and 29 appearances (having boycotted in 1980), but has had less success in the Winter Olympics, placing first once in 24 participations. The United States have been the host nation for the modern Olympics on eight occasions so far.
The United States Olympic contingent is the only Olympic contingent in the world to receive no government funding; neither training and development costs nor prize money are provided by the U.S. national government.
Hosted Games
The United States has hosted the modern Olympic Games eight times, more than any other nation. These occasions span from the 1904 St. Louis Olympics to the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. Beyond hosting, the U.S. has significantly impacted the Olympics through athletic achievements, innovations in sports infrastructure and technology, and cultural contributions. Its influence extends to advocating Olympic ideals and leaving lasting legacies in host cities. Overall, the U.S. plays a central role in the history and ongoing development of the Olympic movement. For example, the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics pioneered the use of electronic timing devices. The 1984 Los Angeles Olympics set new standards for opening and closing ceremonies, as well as being the first privately financed and commercially successful games in history. Hosting the Olympics has also left lasting legacies in host cities, such as improved infrastructure, economic benefits, and increased tourism. For example, the 1996 Atlanta Olympics revitalized parts of the city and left behind sporting venues still in use today.
In 2028, the third Los Angeles Olympics will mark the ninth occasion that the Olympics are hosted in the U.S.
Games Host city Dates Nations Participants Events 1904 Summer Olympics St. Louis, Missouri July 1 – November 23 12 666 95 1932 Winter Olympics Lake Placid, New York February 7 – 15 17 252 141932 Summer Olympics Los Angeles, California July 30 – August 14 37 1,332 1171960 Winter Olympics Squaw Valley, California February 18 – 28 30 665 271980 Winter Olympics Lake Placid, New York February 13 – 24 37 1,072 381984 Summer Olympics Los Angeles, California July 28 – August 12 140 6,829 2211996 Summer Olympics Atlanta, Georgia July 19 – August 4 197 10,318 2712002 Winter Olympics Salt Lake City, Utah February 8 – 24 77 2,399 782028 Summer Olympics Los Angeles, California July 14 – 30 TBA TBA TBA2034 Winter Olympics Salt Lake City, Utah February 10 – 26 TBA TBA TBA
Unsuccessful bids
+GamesCityWinner of bid1916 Summer OlympicsClevelandBerlin1920 Summer OlympicsAtlantaClevelandPhiladelphiaAntwerp1924 Summer OlympicsLos AngelesParis1928 Summer OlympicsLos AngelesAmsterdam1944 Summer OlympicsDetroitLondon1948 Winter OlympicsLake PlacidSt Moritz1948 Summer OlympicsBaltimoreLos AngelesMinneapolisPhiladelphiaLondon1952 Winter OlympicsLake PlacidOslo1952 Summer OlympicsChicagoDetroitLos AngelesMinneapolisPhiladelphiaHelsinki1956 Winter OlympicsColorado SpringsLake PlacidCortina d'Ampezzo1956 Summer OlympicsChicagoDetroitLos AngelesMinneapolisPhiladelphiaSan FranciscoMelbourne1960 Summer OlympicsDetroitRome1964 Summer OlympicsDetroitTokyo1968 Winter OlympicsLake PlacidGrenoble1968 Summer OlympicsDetroitMexico City1972 Winter OlympicsSalt Lake CitySapporo1972 Summer OlympicsDetroitMunich1976 Summer OlympicsLos AngelesMontreal1980 Summer OlympicsLos AngelesMoscow1992 Winter OlympicsAnchorageAlbertville1994 Winter OlympicsAnchorageLillehammer1998 Winter OlympicsSalt Lake CityNagano2012 Summer OlympicsNew York CityLondon2016 Summer OlympicsChicagoRio de Janeiro
Relinquished hosting rights +GamesCityEventually hosted by1976 Winter OlympicsDenverInnsbruck
Medal tables
The United States made its Olympic debut in 1896 in Athens, the very first edition of the modern games. The nation performed inconsistently in the pre-World War-I period, primarily due to fielding considerably fewer athletes than host countries, with the exception being the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri, where the U.S. achieved its largest medal haul in history, a record that still stands today. During the interwar period, the U.S. enjoyed its greatest success, topping both gold and total medal counts at four straight Summer Games, before falling short in the 1936 Berlin games. The next summer Olympics were held in 1948 following World War II. In 1952, the Soviet Union made its Olympic debut, initiating a state-sponsored approach to international sport focused on projecting socio-political superiority. The rapid rise of the Soviet Union to challenge the United States as a leading Olympic power raised questions and suspicion about the means used to achieve this, including the pretense of professional athletes having amateur status and allegations of state-sponsored doping. After 20 years of competition on the Olympic stage, the USSR convincingly topped the gold medal chart at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. After that, the U.S. would not top the medal table in non-boycotted games until the 1996 Summer Olympics, five years after the USSR collapsed. A bright spot for the United States was the 1984 games in Los Angeles, where the U.S. set a record for most gold medals won in a single Olympics (83), buoyed by the Soviet-led boycott. Coincident with a drive by the International Olympic Committee toward gender parity beginning in the 1990s, the U.S.'s fortunes improved, and the nation topped the medal table in the Summer Olympics six times since 1992 and placed second on two occasions.
In contrast to its summer Olympics status, the United States was not a power in the Winter Games until the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. Hosting the games in 2002 boosted the U.S. winter sports program; since then, the country's athletes have performed consistently well, never placing below fourth in the medal count. The nation won the most medals (37) at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver but dropped to 23 medals at the 2018 games in Pyeongchang.
Medals by Summer Games
Source:
Notes Art competitions (1912–1948) are not included in the medal table above, as they were non-sports events formerly part of the Olympic Games. The United States won a total of 9 art competition medals (4 gold, and 5 silver), across the 1912, 1932, and 1936 Summer Olympics. Athletes at the early Olympic Games (1896, 1900, and 1904) are attributed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) according to the national affiliation of their club or team, rather than their nationality. 1900 Olympic Games:Canadian George Orton won a gold medal and a bronze medal in athletics; as a representative of an American club, his results were attributed to the United States. Conversely, American Pauline Whittier (silver in golf) represented a Swiss club, while Abbie Pratt (bronze in golf) represented a French club; their medals were therefore attributed to Switzerland and France, respectively. 1904 Olympic Games:Austrian Julius Lenhart (gymnastics; one gold and one silver), Norwegians Bernhoff Hansen and Charles Ericksen (wrestling; one gold each), Frenchman Albert Corey (athletics; one silver), Australian Francis Gailey (swimming; three silver and one bronze), German Frank Kugler (wrestling and weightlifting; one silver and two bronze), Austrian Otto Wahle (swimming; one bronze), and Swiss Gustav Tiefenthaler (wrestling; one bronze) represented American clubs, and their results were attributed to the United States. At the 1904 Summer Olympics three team event medals (1 gold, 1 silver, and 1 bronze) won by American clubs competing as mixed teams—composed primarily of American athletes alongside a few non-American participants—were attributed to the United States: gold in the gymnastics team all-around, silver in the 4 mile team race, and bronze in the tug of war team competition.
Medals by Winter Games
Source:
Best results
Summer Olympics Gold medals – 83 (1984 Summer Olympics), Olympic record Total medals – 231 (1904 Summer Olympics), Olympic record
Winter Olympics Gold medals – 12 (2026 Winter Olympics) Total medals – 37 (2010 Winter Olympics)
Medals by summer sport
Updated on November 16, 2024
*This table does not include two medals awarded at the 1920 Summer Olympics – one silver awarded in the ice hockey event and one bronze awarded in the figure skating event.
The United States has never won an Olympic medal in the following current summer sports or disciplines: badminton, handball, rhythmic gymnastics, table tennis and trampoline gymnastics.
Medals by winter sport
Updated on February 22, 2026
*This table includes two medals awarded at the 1920 Summer Olympics – one silver awarded in the ice hockey event and one bronze awarded in the figure skating event.
Biathlon and ski mountaineering are the current winter sport that the United States has never won an Olympic medal in.
Best results in non-medaling sports Summer Sport Rank Athlete(s) Event & Year 8th Howard BachBob Malaythong Men's doubles in 2008 5th United States women's team Women's tournament in 1984 9th Mandy JamesKate NelsonBrandi SiegelChallen SieversBecky Turner Women's group in 1996 6th Gao JunCrystal HuangWang Chen Women's team in 2008 6th Savannah Vinsant Women's individual in 2012 Nicole Ahsinger Women's individual in 2020 Winter Sport Rank Athlete Event & Year 5th Sean DohertyMaxime GermainPaul SchommerCampbell Wright Men's relay in 2026 4th Anna GibsonCameron Smith Mixed relay in 2026
Reallocated medals of the 1900 and 1904 Summer Olympics
The nationalities of several medalists were disputed, as many athletes competing for American clubs or teams were recent immigrants who had not yet acquired U.S. citizenship. Following recommendations by Olympic historian Bill Mallon, the IOC adjusted its database in July 2021, attributing results by athletes nationality, and, from 2024 onward, attributed participation and medals according to the national affiliation of the club or team for which the athletes competed.
As of the IOC's 2024 revision, the following cases comprise for the 1900 Summer Olympics a total of two medals (one gold, and one silver), and for the 1904 Summer Olympics a total of 17 medals (4 gold, 7 silver, and 6 bronze) attributed to the United States, despite having been won by non-American athletes, as they represented clubs affiliated with the United States. Three of the 17 medals (1 gold, 1 silver, and 1 bronze) were won by mixed teams consisting of American clubs or teams that included non-American athletes.
Only the medals of two American athletes in the women's individual golf event at the 1900 Games have been attributed to a foreign country. American Pauline Whittier (silver) was affiliated with the St. Moritz Golf Club in Switzerland, while Abbie Pratt (bronze) was affiliated with the Dinard Golf Club in France; their medals were therefore attributed to Switzerland and France, respectively.
Medals reallocated from non-American athletes to American teams