It is an unfamiliar sight: a nation with the largest contingent of athletes at the Games (some 594 are out in Paris – almost double the 327-strong Team GB team).
There is, of course, still time for Team USA to make up ground. The rest of the women’s gymnastics, where they are nailed-on for a few more bullions, is yet to be completed. By the start of next week, Simone Biles alone may have bagged four more as well as the team all-around crown she has already won in Paris, and they will inevitably pick up some much-needed bling in athletics.
Britain’s epic start to the Games has produced several heartwarming stories, including triathlete Alex Yee’s lung-busting sprint to overtake New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde, only for the latter to drape his arm sportingly around his opponent after the finish line.
The sight of Britain’s women’s quad snatching victory from their Dutch rivals by a mere whisker would have sent most heart-rate monitors spiking, while Nathan Hales’s ability to keep his cool in fierce heat and clinch gold in the men’s trap shooting was breathtaking.
And that’s without forgetting Britain’s 4×200 metre relay team heroically defending their title in the pool and Tom Pidcock’s astonishing victory in the mountain biking.
None of these efforts, though, seem to be reflected in the USA’s carefully drawn-up medal tables. The Olympic Games may only be a matter of days in, but already the medal count discourse has well and truly begun.
