Two Minnesota Counties Now Have More Olympic Medals Than Entire Countries
The 2024 Paris Olympics are coming to a close, but did you know that athletes from two counties here in Minnesota have won more medals than several entire countries?
Despite not having an Olympic training facility, the Land of 10,000 Lakes is still well represented at this year's Summer Olympic Games over in Paris. Team USA has been doing an amazing job, leading the medal country throughout the competition's 16-day run. And, in fact, two *counties* here in Minnesota have more medals than several entire *countries*.
Our cold and snowy winters (except for last year of course) make Minnesota the ideal place for athletes that compete in the Winter Olympics. Heck, during the most recent Winter Olympics in Beijing, Minnesota tied Colorado (where Colorado Springs is home to a massive Olympic training facility) in sending 23 athletes to China to compete for Team USA.
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CBS News reports that roughly 10,500 athletes are competing in 359 different medal events at this year's Olympic Games. And while Minnesota doesn't have as many representatives on Team USA as we did at the 2022 Beijing Games, they're still putting up some impressive numbers.
Minnesota's homegrown athletes have been very successful at bringing home the hardware during the Paris Olympics. The most well-known, of course, is likely the amazing gymnast, Suni Lee, who's a native of Saint Paul. Suni just won three medals at this year's games, which gives Minnesota's Ramsey County (where Saint Paul is located) more total medals than 35 other COUNTRIES, according to the official Olympic Medal Table.
Meanwhile, swimmer Regan Smith is also a heavily decorated member of Team USA. She's a native of Lakeville, Minnesota (an appropriate hometown, see as she's a swimmer, right?!) She just won five different medals during the Paris Summer Olympic Games this year. Another impressive performance!
Her hometown of Lakeville is located in Minnesota's Dakota County, which, thanks to her award-winning performances, gives it more total Olympic medals than 47 other countries, according to the official Olympic Medal Table.
There are other athletes with ties to Minnesota, as well. Take Timberwolves player Anthony Edwards, who could win a gold medal competing in men's basketball for Team USA, or former University of Minnesota diver Sarah Bacon, who already won a silver medal. But neither of them are Minnesota natives, however, so we won't include their counties in this total.
Either way, it's an impressive performance that proves the Bold North can definitely compete with many other *countries* on the world stage at the Olympics! Keep scrolling to see five other athletes who've repped the North Star State at previous Summer Olympics, as well as what the first 'modern' Olympic Games looked like in 1896!
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5 Minnesota Athletes Who Represented the USA in a Past Summer Olympics
Gallery Credit: Jessica On The Radio
LOOK: 20 Fascinating Photos From the First Modern Olympic Games in 1896
Gallery Credit: Caitlin PenzeyMoog
