Olympic 2016 Medal Count: Friday Updates on Medal Standings for Each Nation
Another strong night in the pool Thursday kept the United States atop both sets of medal standings with 16 gold medals and 38 overall medals heading into Friday's action at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. China and Japan ranked second and third, respectively, in both categories.
Friday's schedule featured a wide range of medals on the line. Along with another set of swimming events, the track and field competitions kicked off, and the first batch of tennis medals were up for grabs as part of the men's doubles tournament.
Let's take a look at the current medal count along with a recap of the action from Rio. Both sections will be updated as the latest results are finalized.
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Updated Medal Count
Rowing: Women's Lightweight Double Sculls
| Gold | Netherlands | 7:04.73 |
| Silver | Canada | 7:05.88 |
| Bronze | China | 7:06.49 |
The Dutch tandem of Ilse Paulis and Maaike Head pulled away from the lightweight double sculls field over the final 500 meters to claim gold in the day's first rowing final.
Four of the six teams still had a realistic shot of winning the event at the third checkpoint. The Netherlands, which made steady gains after a middling start, never relinquished the lead after taking control ahead of the 1,500-meter mark, though.
The impressive finishing surge allowed the Dutch to cross the finish line more than a second ahead of Canadian silver medalists Lindsay Jennerich and Patricia Obee. It's still a great result for Canada, which found itself in fifth place at the halfway mark.
China's Huang Wenyi and Pan Feihong took home the bronze after South Africa faltered late. The duo of Kirsten McCann and Ursula Grobler ranked either first or second at each of the first three 500-meter marks but failed to find the finishing push they needed, dropping them to fifth.
New Zealand (fourth) and Ireland (sixth) rounded out the finishers in the championship race.
Rowing: Men's Lightweight Double Sculls
| Gold | France | 6:30.70 |
| Silver | Ireland | 6:31.23 |
| Bronze | Norway | 6:31.39 |
France's Pierre Houin and Jeremie Azou dominated the competition in the men's lightweight double sculls, leading the race from wire-to-wire to earn their place atop the podium.
The O'Donovan brothers, Gary and Paul, of Ireland at least provided some late drama as they tried to make a late surge toward the top spot. They did make up plenty of ground, going from fifth to second over the final thousand meters, but it wasn't enough to catch the French team.
While the Irish team earned silver, it was Kristoffer Brun and Are Strandli of Norway crossing the finish line third for bronze. Second and third place were separated by less than two-tenths of a second.
Meanwhile, it was a disappointing finish for the United States' Josh Konieczny and Andrew Campbell Jr. They sat in second place at the 1,000-meter checkpoint, but had a slow third split that dropped them to fifth and they couldn't make up the time down the stretch.
South Africa (fourth) and Poland (sixth) also reached the final but failed to medal.
Shooting: Men's 50-Meter Rifle Prone
| Gold | Henri Junghaenel | GER | 209.5 |
| Silver | Kim Jonghyun | KOR | 208.2 |
| Bronze | Kirill Grigoryan | RUS | 187.3 |
Germany's Henri Junghaenel and South Korea's Kim Jonghyun engaged in a highly competitive battle for the 50-meter rifle prone gold medal, which was eventually claimed by the German.
Junghaenel set the new standard in an Olympic final, and he needed every bit of that success in order to win the event. He topped 21 points three times in his final five series to capture Germany's second shooting gold in as many days.
Kim held his own every step of the way and would have claimed gold if the German would have endured even a minor slip up. While that didn't happen, he still earned his second Olympic silver medal, previously winning one for the 50-meter, three-position rifle in 2012.
Kirill Grigoryan of Russia finished with the bronze after just missing out on the final series. He scored a 19.8 in the eighth round—his first total below 20 in the final. Another score of 20 or above would have earned him a spot in the last series.
Another Russian, Sergey Kamenskiy, finished fourth.
Rowing: Women's Pair
| Gold | Great Britain | 7:18.29 |
| Silver | New Zealand | 7:19.53 |
| Bronze | Denmark | 7:20.71 |
Helen Glover and Heather Stanning of Great Britain left no doubt as they led from start to finish to win gold in the women's pair competition.
The race was really won inside the first 500 meters. The British tandem led by 1.77 seconds at the first checkpoint, and their final margin of victory was 1.24 seconds. So they made that strong push early and then merely held steady the rest of the way.
New Zealand's Genevieve Behrent and Rebecca Scown found themselves in last place and nearly four seconds off the pace at the 500-meter point. They rebounded in fine fashion, however, gaining consistent ground from that point forward to win bronze.
Denmark's Hedvig Rasmussen and Anne Andersen took bronze. The American duo of Felice Mueller and Grace Luczak were in third place at the halfway point, but faded to fourth.
South Africa and Spain completed the field in fifth and sixth, respectively.
Athletics: Women's 10,000 Meters
| Gold | Almaz Ayana | ETH | 29:17.45 |
| Silver | Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot | KEN | 29:32.53 |
| Bronze | Tirunesh Dibaba | ETH | 29:42.56 |
Almaz Ayana put together one of the best individual displays of the Games so far by crushing the field in the women's 10,000 meters and setting a new world record in the process.
The Ethiopian's display as she started lapping other runners with relative ease to win the gold medal by more than 15 seconds. As Bleacher Report UK pointed out, she didn't just break the previous mark, she obliterated it:
Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot of Kenya would have been a strong contender for gold in any other year, but on this day she finished more than 15 seconds off the pace in second. Ayana's fellow Ethiopian runner Tirunesh Dibaba collected the bronze.
Ultimately, there are plenty of great efforts during the course of an Olympic Games, but Ayana's in the 10,000 meters will stand with the elite when the dust settles in Rio.
Rowing: Men's Four
| Gold | Great Britain | 5:58.61 |
| Silver | Australia | 6:00.44 |
| Bronze | Italy | 6:03.85 |
Great Britain's quartet of Alex Gregory, Mohamed Sbihi, George Nash and Constantine Louloudis made it look easy as it cruised to a victory of almost two seconds in the men's four.
It was a rather mundane race compared to a lot of the heats in Rio. Great Britain took the lead early and carried it all the way to the finish line. Meanwhile, the Aussie group of William Lockwood, Josh Dunkley-Smith, Josh Booth and Alexander Hill held onto second throughout, as well.
The only real drama came in the battle for bronze. South Africa held the edge most of the way, but the Italian team of Domenico Montrone, Matteo Castaldo, Matteo Lodo and Giuseppe Vicino made a surge over the final 500 meters to claim third place.
The Netherlands and Canada rounded out the field by finishing fifth and sixth, respectively.
Athletics: Men's 20-Kilometer Race Walk
| Gold | Wang Zhen | CHN | 1:19:14 |
| Silver | Cai Zelin | CHN | 1:19:26 |
| Bronze | Dane Bird-Smith | AUS | 1:19:37 |
Wang Zhen of China emerged from a tremendous four-way battle in the men's 20-kilometer race walk to claim a well-earned gold medal.
Wang along with China's Cai Zelin (silver), Australia's Dane Bird-Smith (bronze) and Brazil's Caio Bonfim all had a chance to earn the top spot on the podium heading into the final quarter of the race. But it was the Chinese teammates who earned the top two spots.
It's a disappointing result for Bonfim. Not only did he narrowly miss out on earning an individual medal, but the host nation as a whole has also struggled to build momentum during the first week of the Games. Another podium finish for the Brazil flag would have helped.
Alas, when the race was there for the taking over the final five kilometers, Wang stepped up in a major way to take the gold.
Shooting: Women's Skeet
| Gold | Diana Bacosi | ITA |
| Silver | Chiara Cainero | ITA |
| Bronze | Kim Rhode | USA |
Italy's Diana Bacosi defeated countrywoman Chiara Cainero in the gold-medal match of women's skeet after the nation had guaranteed itself the top two spots on the podium.
It was a hotly contested final as Cainero missed just two shots, but it wasn't enough. Bacosi came up with a series of clutch strikes, making each of her last six shots, to pick up the victory.
In the bronze match, the United States' Kim Rhode edged China's Wei Meng in a sudden-death shoot-off after they were tied at 15 at the end of the initial stage.
It's the sixth Olympic medal for Rhode, who won her first at the Atlanta Games in 1996.
Weightlifting: Women's 75kg
| Gold | Rim Jong Sim | North Korea | 274kg |
| Silver | Darya Naumava | Belarus | 258kg |
| Bronze | Lidia Valentin Perez | Spain | 257kg |
North Korea captured its first gold medal of the 2016 Olympics on Friday afternoon thanks to a superlative effort from weightlifter extraordinaire Rim Jong Sim.
Jong Sim finished with a total of 274kg thanks to a 117-kilogram snatch lift and a 153 kilogram clean-and-jerk effort that propelled her well ahead of the competition.
The gold medal marks the second of Jong Sim's Olympic career. She also took home top honors in the women's light heavyweight event in London four years ago.
Darya Naumava of Belarus and Lidia Valentin Perez of Spain notched silver and bronze honors with combined lifts of 258kg and 257kg, respectively.
Trampoline: Women's Individual
| Gold | Rosie MacLennan | Canada | 56.465 |
| Silver | Bryony Page | Great Britain | 56.040 |
| Bronze | Li Dan | China | 55.885 |
Canada's Rosie MacLennan went back-to-back Friday afternoon as she defended her individual trampoline title from the 2012 Olympics in London with a score of 56.465 that was enough to edge out a field of hungry competitors.
Great Britain's Bryony Page was in the gold-medal conversation throughout, but she finished just outside the top spot on the podium with a final tally of 56.040.
Li Dan brought home bronze for China—which continues to hold steady in second place in the medal standings behind the United States.
Judo: Women's Over 78kg
| Gold | Emilie Andeol | France |
| Silver | Idalys Ortiz | Cuba |
| Bronze | Kanae Yamabe | Japan |
| Bronze | Yu Song | China |
Emilie Andeol, who entered the Olympics as the fifth-ranked competitor in the women's over-78kg division, pulled off a stunner on Friday when she captured gold in an overtime bout over defending gold medalist Idalys Ortiz of Cuba.
While Ortiz wasn't able to take home gold in back-to-back Olympics, she has now medaled in three straight. The 26-year-old won bronze in 2008 before taking home gold in London.
The bronze medals went to Japan's Kanae Yamabe and China's Yu Song.
Archery: Men's Individual
| Gold | Ku Bonchan | South Korea | 7-3 |
| Silver | Jean-Charles Valladont | France | ---- |
| Bronze | Brady Ellison | USA | 6-2 |
The United States got back in on the medal action with a bronze in men's individual archery courtesy of Brady Ellison, but it was South Korea's Ku Bonchan who ruled the day.
Bonchan was the sharpest competitor of the afternoon. He held off France's Jean-Charles Valladont by a final score of 7-3.
The silver medal represented vindication of sorts for Valladont, who came up woefully short at the Beijing games in 2008 and did not participate in the festivities four years ago in London.
Ellison, meanwhile, was able to hold off Sjef van den Berg of the Netherlands by a final score of 6-2 en route to another Olympic medal. Ellison also took home silver in the men's team competition four years ago and earlier at this year's Games.
Judo: Men's Over 100kg
| Gold | Teddy Riner | France |
| Silver | Hisayoshi Harasawa | Japan |
| Bronze | Rafael Silva | Brazil |
| Bronze | Or Sasson | Israel |
France's dominance in judo continued in the men's over-100kg competition, when Teddy Riner joined Andeol as a gold medalist.
Riner took down Japan's Hisayoshi Harasawa to nab the top spot on the podium—a feat he also accomplished at the 2012 Olympics. All told, Riner now owns three medals thanks to the two first-place finishes and a bronze-worthy effort in 2008.
Speaking of bronze medals, Israel's Or Sasson took home hardware thanks to a defeat of Cuba's Alex Maxell Garcia Mendoza, while Rafael Silva of the host nation emerged victorious with a solid bout against Uzbekistan's Abdullo Tangriev.
Cycling: Women's Team Sprint
| Gold | China | 32.10 seconds |
| Silver | Russia | 32.40 seconds |
| Bronze | Germany | 32.63 seconds |
After Great Britain blew past the field in the men's team sprint on Thursday, China did the same in the women's event on Friday as it clocked in a final time of 32.10 seconds to hold off Russia.
According to the Associated Press (via the Kansas City Star), China smashed its own world record in the semifinals with a time of 31.928 to set up a date with Russia in the final.
In bronze-medal action, Germany put up a final time of 32.63 seconds to hold off New Zealand in fourth place.
Cycling: Men's Team Pursuit
| Gold | Great Britain | 3:50.26 (WR) |
| Silver | Australia | 3:51.00 |
| Bronze | Denmark | 3:53.78 |
Great Britain's stellar run on the track continued Friday as it set a world record en route to capturing gold in the men's team pursuit event a day after winning the team sprint.
Britain set the new world record at three minutes, 50.26 seconds, while Australia finished with the silver medal at three minutes, 51 seconds.
Denmark padded its medal count with a bronze at three minutes, 53.78, and it had no problem capturing hardware as New Zealand came up flat at three minutes, 56.75 seconds to finish fourth.
Fencing: Men's Team Foil
| Gold | Russia | 45-41 |
| Silver | France | ---- |
| Bronze | United States | 45-31 |
Russia captured gold over France in a thrilling 45-41 showdown, but the story of the day in fencing was the United States' effort against Italy in the bronze-medal match.
The Red, White and Blue captured a whopping 45-31 win over the Italians, and the victory represented the United States' first team medal in fencing in 84 years, according to the Associated Press (via the Kansas City Star).
Alexander Massialas and Gerek Meinhardt were at the center of the action for the U.S., and the former added to his medal count at the 2016 Games thanks to the bronze.
Before capturing bronze in the team foil event, Massialas nabbed silver in the individual foil final. Meinhardt, meanwhile, nabbed his first medal after coming up empty in 2008 and 2012.
Weightlifting: Men's 85kg
| Gold | Kianoush Rostami | Iran | 396 kg |
| Silver | Tian Tao | China | 395 kg |
| Bronze | Gabriel Sincraian | Romania | 390 kg |
It was a historic day in the men's 85-kilogram weightlifting final.
Not only did China's Tian Tao set an Olympic record at 395 kilograms, but he was brilliantly bested by Iran's Kianoush Rostami, who clocked in a world record of 396 kilograms to capture gold.
The performance represented a step up for Rostami, who came away with bronze in London in the light heavyweight division.
Romania's Gabriel Sincraian also put forth a worthy effort with a cumulative total of 390 kilograms.
Tennis: Men's Doubles
| Gold | Spain | 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 |
| Silver | Romania | ---- |
| Bronze | USA | 6-2, 6-4 |
Tennis star Rafael Nadal captured gold in singles at the 2008 Olympics, and he added to his stash of hardware Friday with a gold in doubles alongside fellow Spaniard Marc Lopez.
However, the top spot on the podium didn't come easily.
The Romanian pair of Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau snatched the second set, 6-3, after losing the first stanza, 6-2, but Nadal and Lopez rallied to win the match's decisive frame by a single break, 6-4.
In the bronze-medal match, Americans Steve Johnson and Jack Sock defeated Canada's Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4.
Athletics: Women's Shot Put
| Gold | Michelle Carter | USA | 20.63 |
| Silver | Valerie Adams | New Zealand | 20.42 |
| Bronze | Anita Marton | Hungary | 19.87 |
It was a banner evening for the United States in track and field as Michelle Carter won the gold medal in shot put and set a new American record with a winning toss of 20.63 meters, according to the Wall Street Journal's Sara Germano.
Two-time defending gold medalist Valerie Adams of New Zealand led through five attempts, per Germano, but Carter's final effort put her over the top.
Adams finished with silver, while Hungary's Anita Marton secured bronze behind a final distance of 19.87 meters. Fourth-place finisher Gong Lijiao of China finished just behind Marton at 19.39 meters.
Swimming: Women's 200-Meter Backstroke
| Gold | Maya DiRado | USA | 2:05.99 |
| Silver | Katinka Hosszu | Hungary | 2:06.05 |
| Bronze | Hilary Caldwell | Canada | 2:07.54 |
Missy Franklin didn't qualify for the women's 200-meter backstroke final, but fellow American Maya DiRado stepped up in her place and swam for glory down the final 50 meters Friday night to inch past Hungary's Katinka Hosszu for gold.
Hosszu led by less than a half-second entering the final 50 meters, and DiRado took advantage as she put on the burners and touched the wall a fraction of a second before Hosszu.
The gold represents DiRado's second in Rio and her fourth medal overall following a silver in the 400-meter individual medley, a bronze in the 200-meter individual medley and a gold in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay.
Hosszu's silver gave her four individual medals, while Canada's Hilary Caldwell nabbed bronze just ahead of Russia's Daria Ustinova.
Swimming: Men's 100-Meter Butterfly
| Gold | Joseph Schooling | Singapore | 50.39 |
| Silver | Michael Phelps | USA | 51.14 |
| Silver | Chad le Clos | South Africa | 51.14 |
| Silver | Laszlo Cseh | Hungary | 51.14 |
DiRado's upset of Hosszu was huge, but the evening's biggest stunner came in the 100-meter butterfly.
Although Michael Phelps was favored to best the field, Singapore's Joseph Schooling bolted out of the starting blocks and never looked back as he clocked in an Olympic record of 50.39 seconds.
Meanwhile, Phelps, South Africa's Chad le Clos and Hungary's Laszlo Cseh all tied with identical times of 51.14 seconds for silver.
The silver medal was Phelps' first in 2016, and it ticked his career medal count up to 27 overall.
Swimming: Women's 800-Meter Freestyle
| Gold | Katie Ledecky | USA | 8:04.79 |
| Silver | Jazmin Carlin | Great Britain | 8:16.17 |
| Bronze | Boglarka Kapas | Hungary | 8:16.37 |
Katie Ledecky solidified her status as the world's most dominant swimmer Friday night, when she set a new world record of 8:04.79 in the women's 800-meter freestyle to nab her fourth gold medal of the Olympics.
Ledecky was so good Friday night that she finished more than 11 seconds ahead of silver medalist Jazmin Carlin from Great Britain.
The 800-meter freestyle, of course, is the event that put Ledecky on the map. She took home gold in London at just 15 years old, and since then she's rapidly evolved into one of the biggest forces the swimming world has to offer.
Ledecky will walk away from Rio with five medals—and gold in all three of her individual outings. According to Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde, Ledecky became "the first woman since American Debbie Meyer in 1968 to sweep the 200, 400 and 800 freestyles."
Swimming: Men's 50-Meter Freestyle
| Gold | Anthony Ervin | USA | 21.40 |
| Silver | Florent Manaudou | France | 21.41 |
| Bronze | Nathan Adrian | USA | 21.49 |
A stupendous night for the United States in the pool ended with a shocking gold-medal swim by Anthony Ervin, who became the oldest individual gold medalist in Olympic swimming history when he touched the wall in 21.40 seconds, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Ervin finished one-hundredth of a second ahead of France's Florent Manaudou and nine-hundredths of a second ahead of compatriot Nathan Adrian—who now owns three medals in Rio after capturing bronze in the 100-meter freestyle.
To put the 35-year-old Ervin's win into perspective, before arriving in Rio, he had last medaled at the Olympics in 2000, when he scored gold in the 50-meter freestyle and silver in the men's 4x100-meter freestyle relay.
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