Olympic 2016 Medal Count: Thursday Updates on Medal Standings for Each Nation
Thursday's medal events at the 2016 Summer Olympics started and ended in the water, where rowing and swimming took center stage.
In between, athletes from a wide range of sports, including gymnastics, table tennis and archery, battled for a place on the podium.
The United States entered the day with 32 overall medals and 11 gold medals to lead each category. China (23 total, 10 gold) and Japan (18 total, six gold) ranked second and third, respectively, in both sets of medal standings.
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Let's check out the current medal table from Rio de Janeiro, which will be updated as Thursday's latest results roll in. That's followed by a recap of the action.
Updated Medal Count
Rowing: Men's Quadruple Sculls
| Gold | Germany | 6:06.81 |
| Silver | Australia | 6:07.96 |
| Bronze | Estonia | 6:10.65 |
The German team of Philipp Wende, Lauritz Schoof, Karl Schulze and Hans Gruhne withstood a late comeback attack by Australia to earn the country's second straight Olympic gold in this event. Gruhne replacing Tim Grohmann was the only change from the winning group in 2012.
Germany built its lead to nearly two seconds at the second checkpoint. The Australian quartet of Karsten Forsterling, Alexander Belonogoff, Cameron Girdlestone and James McRae trimmed nearly six-tenths of a second off that advantage over the next 500 meters.
The Aussies continued to make up ground in the last section of the race, but it wasn't enough. Germany held on for the gold medal by more than a full second.
It was a two-team race for a vast majority of the competition. Estonia finished third to earn bronze but was never a major threat for gold or silver, finishing nearly four seconds off the winning pace.
Poland (fourth), Great Britain (fifth) and Ukraine (sixth) rounded out the field in the championship round. The Polish and British teams also reached the final but failed to medal four years ago in London.
Rowing: Women's Quadruple Sculls
| Gold | Germany | 6:49.39 |
| Silver | Netherlands | 6:50.33 |
| Bronze | Poland | 6:50.86 |
Germany completed a sweep of the quadruple sculls competitions as the women's team of Annekatrin Thiele, Carina Baer, Julia Lier and Lisa Schmidla added another gold medal to the country's tally.
It appeared Poland was going to post a dominant victory as it led by 1.48 seconds at the 1,500-meter checkpoint. The team faded in a major way during the final portion of the race, however, which turned a potential gold into a bronze.
That opened the door for the Germans, who were locked in an extremely tight battle with the Netherlands squad of Chantal Achterberg, Nicole Beukers, Inge Janssen and Carline Bouw. The sides were tied at 500 meters and separated by just eight-hundredths of a second at 1,000 meters.
Germany started to make its move heading toward the third checkpoint and finished strong to secure gold by nearly a second at the finish line. The Netherlands also passed Poland for silver.
The Rowing Voice commented on the wild finish:
No other team finished within five seconds of a spot on the podium. The 2012 Olympic champions from Ukraine came in fourth, while the United States (fifth) and China (sixth) also made the final.
Rowing: Men's Coxless Pair
| Gold | New Zealand | 6:59.71 |
| Silver | South Africa | 7:02.51 |
| Bronze | Italy | 7:04.52 |
The New Zealand tandem of Eric Murray and Hamish Bond crossed the finish line more than two seconds ahead of their nearest competition to capture the gold medal in the men's pair event.
It was a highly competitive race after 500 meters with South Africa and Italy both surging to an early lead over the Kiwis. Murray and Bond found another gear during the second 500, though. They pushed to the front and never looked back en route to the first-place finish.
New Zealand also won the event at the London Games. Murray and Bond were even more dominant in that final, beating the field by more than four seconds. It marks the third straight Olympics the country has won a medal in the event, with Nathan Twaddle and George Bridgewater winning bronze in 2008.
South Africa used a late rally to capture silver after fading during the middle stages of the race. Italy also reached the podium after overtaking Great Britain, who rose as high as second after 1,500 meters but didn't have anything left in the tank for the finish.
France, who won silver four years ago, and Australia rounded out the field by finishing fifth and sixth, respectively.
Rowing: Women's Double Sculls
| Gold | Poland | 7:40.10 |
| Silver | Great Britain | 7:41.05 |
| Bronze | Lithuania | 7:43.76 |
The Polish pair of Magdalena Fularczyk-Kozlowska and Natalia Madaj won gold by utilizing a late surge to overcome the British duo of Victoria Thornley and Katherine Grainger in a highly entertaining women's double sculls final.
Those two teams quickly pulled away from the field. Great Britain held the lead at each of the first three checkpoints, covering 1,500 meters. Thornley and Grainger just couldn't hold on to that advantage long enough to reach the finish line, though.
Fularczyk-Kozlowska and Madaj, who also posted the top time in the semifinals, powered through the final meters to win by almost a full second.
Lithuania's Donata Vistartaite and Milda Valciukaite earned bronze after finding themselves isolated for most of the race. They were behind the leaders but well ahead of the remaining chase pack.
Greece, France and the United States were the other finalists, finishing fourth through sixth, respectively. The American team finished more than 26 seconds off the winning pace.
Rowing: Men's Double Sculls
| Gold | Croatia | 6:50.28 |
| Silver | Lithuania | 6:51.39 |
| Bronze | Norway | 6:53.25 |
Like the women's competition, the men's double sculls final quickly became a two-team race. The Croatian brother tandem of Martin and Valent Sinkovic edged Mindaugas Griskonis and Saulius Ritter of Lithuania after a back-and-forth battle.
Croatia maintained a lead over the first 1,000 meters before the Lithuanians started to make their move. Griskonis and Ritter did enough to take the lead at the 1,500-meter mark, but they couldn't maintain that spot as the Sinkovics fought back to get the coveted victory.
Both countries should be happy with their spots on the podium in the event. Croatia didn't even qualify for the championship race four years ago, and the Lithuanian team, which included Ritter and Rolandas Mascinskas, came in last in the London final.
Norway, represented by Kjetil Borch and Olaf Tufte, finished in the bronze-medal position. It's the nation's first Olympic rowing medal since 2008.
Italy, who won silver in London, finished fourth this time around, followed by Great Britain and France, with both teams crossing the line more than 10 seconds off the winning pace.
Rowing: Men's Lightweight 4
| Gold | Switzerland | 6:20.51 |
| Silver | Denmark | 6:21.97 |
| Bronze | France | 6:22.85 |
Switzerland's Lucas Tramer, Simon Schurch, Simon Niepmann and Mario Gyr held off challenges from Denmark and France to earn gold in the men's lightweight four after the same foursome finished fifth in the London final in 2012.
It was a terrific effort by the Swiss squad, who grabbed the lead ahead of the 1,000-meter checkpoint and held on to the victory. Denmark and France both remained within striking distance if they would have faltered down the stretch, but it never happened.
The Danish group of Jacob Barsoe, Jacob Larsen, Kasper Winther Jorgensen and Morten Jorgensen, who held the lead early in the race, held off the French to win silver. France comfortably grabbed bronze.
It's the third consecutive time Denmark has earned a medal in the event. It won bronze in 2012 and gold in 2008. Meanwhile, France didn't even reach the final four years ago.
Italy (fourth), New Zealand (fifth) and Greece (sixth) failed to medal after qualifying for the championship race.
Shooting: Women's 50-Meter Rifle 3 Positions
| Gold | Barbara Engleder | GER | 458.6 |
| Silver | Binbin Zhang | CHN | 458.4 |
| Bronze | Li Du | CHN | 447.4 |
Barbara Engleder of Germany squeaked out a victory over China's Binbin Zhang by two-tenths of a point to claim the gold medal in the women's 50-meter, three-position rifle competition.
Engleder had built a pretty comfortable lead heading into final five shots from the standing position, but Zhang slowly started chipping away. The Chinese shooter outscored the German by 1.5 over the final three shots, but it wasn't quite enough to complete the comeback.
Even with the sluggish finish, Engleder set the new standard with an Olympic record for a final based on the current competition format. It's a nice jump after finishing sixth in the final four years ago.
Along with the silver by Zhang, China also claimed the bronze courtesy of Li Du. The country didn't even have a single shooter reach the final in the event during the London Games.
American Virginia Thrasher, who won gold for the United States in the 10-meter air rifle earlier in the Olympics, didn't qualify for the final after an 11th-place finish in the preliminary round.
Canoeing: Men's Slalom C-2
| Gold | Slovakia | 101.58 |
| Silver | Great Britain | 102.01 |
| Bronze | France | 103.24 |
The Slovakian cousin combo of Ladislav and Peter Skantar emerged from a highly competitive field to win the men's C-2 slalom by less than half a second.
Slovakia trailed the Great Britain tandem of David Florence and Richard Hounslow based on each of the first two splits. The Skantars crushed the final six gates to make up the deficit and get the victory in one of the Olympics' most entertaining events.
The British team earned the silver while Gauthier Klauss and Matthieu Peche of France narrowly beat out Germany to take home bronze.
Meanwhile, the American representatives, Casey Eichfeld and Devin McEwan, reached the final but finished a distant 10th.
Canoeing: Women's Slalom K-1
| Gold | Maialen Chourraut | ESP | 98.65 |
| Silver | Luuka Jones | NZL | 101.82 |
| Bronze | Jessica Fox | AUS | 102.49 |
Spain's Maialen Chourraut put together a near-flawless run in the women's K-1 slalom final to capture gold after winning bronze in the event during the London Games.
Chourraut almost got eliminated in the preliminary stages of the event after a terrible first ride. But she recovered with a solid second effort to earn a place in the semifinals. She vastly improved from there, finishing third in the semis and then posting the best time of the entire competition in the final.
New Zealand's Luuka Jones claimed silver, a serious jump after finishing 14th four years ago. Jessica Fox, who took silver in London, completed the podium by taking bronze for Australia. But even the other medal winners couldn't compete with the Spaniard's great final ride.
More than anything else, this competition showcased the extremely fine line between a massive disappointment and a career-defining moment. Chourraut is happy the latter was the result after nearly suffering the former.
Archery: Women's Individual
| Gold | Chang Hye-Jin | South Korea | 6-2 |
| Silver | Lisa Unruh | Germany | 2-6 |
| Bronze | Ki Bo-Bae | South Korea | 6-4 |
South Korea's Chang Hye-Jin took home her second gold medal of the 2016 Olympics after nabbing gold in the team setting, and she did so by dispatching Germany's Lisa Unruh, 6-2.
Unruh took home silver after marching her way into the gold-medal match following a semifinal win over Mexico's Alejandra Valencia, but she was unable to capture the top spot on the podium as Hye-Jin was simply too locked in.
In the bronze medal match, Ki Bo-Bae of South Korea edged out Valencia, 6-4, for bronze as she added to her hardware collection following a victory alongside Hye-Jin in the team competition.
Gymnastics: Women's Individual All-Around
| Gold | Simone Biles | USA | 62.198 |
| Silver | Aly Raisman | USA | 60.098 |
| Bronze | Aliya Mustafina | Russia | 58.665 |
American dominance in gymnastics continued Thursday afternoon as Simone Biles reaffirmed her status as the world's most brilliant all-around gymnast with a decisive gold medal performance that included a superb 15.933 score on floor exercise to cap off a stunning afternoon.
All told, Biles posted a cumulative winning score of 62.198—2.1 points better than silver medalist Aly Raisman. According to USA Today's Rachel Axon, Biles' 2.1-point margin of victory was her largest ever in a major international all-around competition.
Raisman, who captured gold alongside Biles in the team all-around final, nabbed silver four years after she was unable to secure a spot on the podium in London following a brutal tiebreaker that forced her to fourth place.
The icing on the cake for Raisman, who was in third place entering the final rotation, was a floor exercise score that clocked in only second to Biles' at 15.433.
Aliya Mustafina of Russia actually led Biles by fractional points through two rotations, but the Red, White and Blue star was too much for the eventual bronze medalist throughout the latter stages of the competition.
Judo: Women's 78kg
| Gold | Kayla Harrison | USA |
| Silver | Audrey Tcheumeo | France |
| Bronze | Mayra Aguiar | Brazil |
| Bronze | Anamari Velensek | Slovenia |
American Kayla Harrison captured her second gold medal in decisive fashion Thursday as she defeated France's Audrey Tcheumeo to ride off into the sunset in style.
"I’m happy, I’m retiring," Harrison said, per USA Today's Dan Wolken. "Two-time Olympic champion. That’s it."
Harrison burst on the scene with a gold in London, and her successful defense represented a triumph of epic proportions.
In bronze medal action, Brazil's Mayra Aguiar and Slovenia's Anamari Velenšek nabbed wins over Yalennis Castillo and Luise Malzahn, respectively, to cap off their successful 78-kilogram efforts in Rio de Janeiro.
Judo: Men's 100kg
| Gold | Lukas Krpalek | Czech Republic |
| Silver | Elmar Gasimov | Azerbaijan |
| Bronze | Cyrille Maret | France |
| Bronze | Ryunosuke Haga | Japan |
Lukas Krpalek, who failed to medal at the 2012 Olympics in London, washed away memories of failures past and took down Azerbaijan's Elmar Gasimov to take home his first gold medal Thursday afternoon.
Gasimov settled for silver, while France's Cyrille Maret and Japan's Ryunosuke Haga each captured bronze medals thanks to strong third-place showings.
Maret secured bronze with a thorough effort against Germany's Karl-Richard Frey, while Haga emerged victorious in his bout against Ukraine's Artem Bloshenko.
Fencing: Women's Team Epee
| Gold | Romania |
| Silver | China |
| Bronze | Russia |
Romania validated its status as the No. 1-ranked team in the women's team epee fencing competition Thursday with a gold medal triumph over China.
According to NBCOlympics.com, the gold medal was Romania's first of the 2016 Olympics and its first team fencing medal of any kind.
Russia held off Estonia for bronze medal honors after the Estonians led 3-2 following the first period of play. Violetta Kolobova was huge for the Russians as she scored 12 points in the ninth to help Russia solidify its medal status.
Cycling: Men's Team Sprint
| Gold | Great Britain | 42.44 seconds |
| Silver | New Zealand | 42.54 seconds |
| Bronze | France | 43.14 seconds |
Great Britain continued to assert its dominance with a third straight men's team sprint gold thanks to the combined efforts of Philip Hindes, Jason Kenny and Callum Skinner.
Great Britain's winning time of 42.440 seconds represented an Olympic record and further cemented the country's status as the premier sprint cyclists in the world.
New Zealand knocked on the gold medal door with a final time of 42.54 seconds, but the men from down under couldn't quite edge out Great Britain.
The win was particularly impressive for Great Britain considering New Zealand's Ethan Mitchell, Sam Webster and Eddie Dawkins won gold at the 2016 World Championships in London.
In bronze medal action, France finished in 43.14 seconds to best Australia for the third and final spot on the sprinting podium.
Rugby: Men's Sevens
| Gold | Fiji (43-7) |
| Silver | Great Britain |
| Bronze | South Africa (54-14) |
Fiji's rugby sevens squad made history Thursday as it squashed Great Britain 43-7 to capture the country's first Olympic medal.
According to the Associated Press (via NBCOlympics.com), Fiji was in control throughout as it led 29-0 at halftime thanks to five first-half tries, and it simply cruised in the second half as Great Britain was no match for the Pacific islanders' combination of speed and power.
"It’s history in the making," Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said, per the Telegraph's We are all proud to be Fijians right now. We hope the brand of rugby we played today justified the inclusion of rugby in the Olympics and it also propped up tiny nation like us."
The theme of the day was lopsided victories.
South Africa trounced Japan 54-14 to take home bronze and make amends for its 7-5 semifinal loss to Great Britain that briefly put a damper on their grand aspirations.
Table Tennis: Men's Singles
| Gold | Ma Long | China |
| Silver | Zhang Jike | China |
| Bronze | Jun Mizutani | Japan |
China's Ma Long captured a gold in the men's team table tennis portion of the 2012 Olympics, but he carved out some rare air Thursday night when he nabbed gold in the singles portion of the proceedings.
Long defeated fellow countryman Zhang Jike, who was the reigning champion in the event after he won gold in men's singles in London. With the silver medal in tow, Jike now owns three Olympic medals dating back to 2012.
Japan's Jun Mizutani, who did not medal at the 2008 or 2012 Olympics, emerged with bronze thanks to his 4-1 victory over Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus.
Swimming: Women's 200-Meter Breaststroke
| Gold | Rie Kaneto | Japan | 2:20.30 |
| Silver | Yulia Efimova | Russia | 2:21.97 |
| Bronze | Shi Jinglin | China | 2:22.28 |
Americans Lilly King and Molly Hannis failed to qualify for the women's 200-meter breaststroke final Thursday night, which opened the door for Japan's Rie Kaneto to take home gold as she flourished over the final 100 meters.
Yulia Efimova of Russia, who was bested by King in the 100-meter breaststroke, came away with her second silver medal in Rio by virtue of a strong push over the final 50 meters.
China's Shi Jinglin rounded out the podium with bronze as she held off Great Britain's Chloe Tutton by fractional seconds for third.
Swimming: Men's 200-Meter Individual Medley
| Gold | Michael Phelps | USA | 1:54.66 |
| Silver | Kosuke Hagino | Japan | 1:56.61 |
| Bronze | Wang Shun | China | 1:57.05 |
In the evening's most anticipated event, American superstars Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte met in the water one final time as they competed for gold int he men's 200-meter individual medley final.
And, in what should have come as no surprise, Phelps burned past the competition to earn his 22nd Olympic gold medal as he left the competition in the dust:
Phelps finished nearly two seconds better than silver medalist Kosuke Hagino of Japan and two-and-a-half seconds ahead of bronze medalist Wang Shun of China.
Loche, though, did not experience as much success.
After keeping pace with Phelps through the first 150 meters, the 32-year-old ran out of steam down the home stretch and faded into fifth place while Japan's Hiromasa Fujimori finished in fourth.
Swimming: Men's 200-Meter Backstroke
| Gold | Ryan Murphy | USA | 1:53.62 |
| Silver | Mitch Larkin | Australia | 1:53.96 |
| Bronze | Evgeny Rylov | Russia | 1:53.97 |
American dominance in the pool continued when Ryan Murphy blitzed the field in the men's 200-meter backstroke to take home gold.
The gold represented Murphy's second of the Olympics after he secured the top prize in the 100-meter backstroke.
Just behind Murphy was Australia's Mitch Larkin, who finished on the podium after failing to collect hardware at the 2012 Olympics.
Russia's Evgeny Rylov pushed Larkin until the very end, but he came up a few tenths of a second shy in his quest for silver.
Swimming: Women's 100-Meter Freestyle
| Gold | Simone Manuel | USA | 52.70 seconds |
| Gold | Penny Oleksiak | Canada | 52.70 seconds |
| Bronze | Sarah Sjostrom | Sweden | 52.99 seconds |
The men's 200-meter individual medley final may have been the evening's most anticipated event, but the women's 100-meter freestyle provided the most drama as the United States' Simone Manuel and Canada's Penny Oleksiak tied for first place with Olympic record times of 52.70 seconds.
As if that wasn't dramatic enough, Sweden's Sarah Sjostrom was right on their tails the entire time.
However, the 100-meter butterfly winner and 200-meter freestyle silver medalist wasn't able to move past them. That said, her effort was good enough to secure bronze and increase her total medal count to three for the Rio Games.
Oleksiak, meanwhile, has tallied four medals after her silver medal effort in the 100-meter butterfly and a pair of bronze swims in the 4x100-meter and 4x200-meter freestyle relays.
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