Olympic 2016 Medal Count: Updates on Wednesday's Medal Standings for Each Nation
Wednesday represents one of the most unique and eclectic days of the 2016 Summer Olympics thus far, as medal winners are set to be determined across a wide array of sports ranging from obscure to hugely popular.
Among the events slated to determine Olympic champions in Rio de Janeiro are equestrian, badminton, sailing, boxing, wrestling, taekwondo and several athletics competitions.
As the second and final week of the Summer Games continues to play out, here is a live look at the medal count led by the United States, along with a recap of every medal event to be determined Wednesday.
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Steeplechase
| Gold | Conseslus Kipruto | Kenya | 8:03.28 |
| Silver | Evan Jager | United States | 8:04.28 |
| Bronze | Ezekiel Kemboi | Kenya | 8:08.47 |
Kenya reigned supreme in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase for the ninth consecutive Olympics, as 21-year-old Conseslus Kipruto won gold.
Kipruto set a new Olympic record by crossing the finish line in eight minutes and 3.28 seconds, which was just one second ahead of American Evan Jager.
Jager's silver was Team USA's first medal in the event since 1984, and it represented the United States' best finish at the Olympics in 64 years, according to ESPN Stats & Info:
By virtue of Jager's silver, the United States won a medal in both the men's and women's steeplechase in a single Olympics for the first time ever.
Emma Coburn won bronze for the Americans and had the following to say regarding Jager's performance:
Bronze medalist Ezekiel Kemboi of Kenya won gold in the event at both the 2004 and 2012 Olympics, and the 2016 Games may have been his swan song at 34 years of age.
The future of Kenyan steeplechase is in good hands with Kipruto, however, and he promises to be the bar everyone strives to reach for many years and Olympics to come.
Equestrian
| Gold | France | 3 |
| Silver | United States | 5 |
| Bronze | Germany | 8 |
France's successful Olympic Games in equestrian continued Wednesday, as it added to its team eventing gold with a gold medal in team jumping.
The French beat out Team USA, which won its third equestrian medal of the Rio Olympics, while Germany took the bronze and continued its trend of winning a medal in every equestrian event thus far in Brazil.
France's gold ended a 40-year drought of topping the podium in team jumping and firmly established it as the dominant equestrian team in Rio de Janeiro.
After finishing off the podium four years ago in London, the United States added to its rich team-jumping history, as it previously took gold at both the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics.
Wednesday marked the end of team equestrian at the 2016 Olympics, but with individual jumping still left to be decided, there is more drama and excitement yet to come in equine sports.
Badminton
| Gold | Tontowi Ahmad/Liliyana Natsir | Indonesia |
| Silver | Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying | Malaysia |
| Bronze | Zhang Nan/Zhao Yunlei | China |
Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir made history Wednesday, as they captured the first-ever badminton mixed doubles gold medal for Indonesia by defeating Malaysia's Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying 21-14, 21-12.
With the win, Ahmad and Natsir have now brought in some significant hardware every single year since 2013, according to Badminton Indonesia:
While the mixed doubles gold is the first in Indonesia's history, Natsir won her second Olympic medal, as she and Nova Widianto won silver in mixed doubles at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Although Chan and Goh never posed much of a challenge, they still made history in their own right by securing the first mixed doubles Olympic medal for Malaysia.
The bronze-medal match took place Tuesday between a pair of Chinese teams with 2012 Olympic gold medalists Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei reaching the podium over Xu Chen and Ma Jin, whom they beat for gold four years ago in London.
Overall Picture
With only a few more days remaining until Sunday’s closing ceremony, the race to 100 overall medals for the United States is much more tightly contested than the battle for the top of the medal tracker.
The Americans have an impressive 93 total medals after Wednesday’s action and are far ahead of second-place China’s 54 and third-place Great Britain’s 50.
The United States added to its advantage with a brilliant day at the track. While Jager got things started with a silver, the American women carried the overall effort thanks to Tianna Bartoletta, Brittney Reese, Tori Bowie, Brianna Rollins, Nia Ali and Kristi Castlin.
Bartoletta and Reese won gold and silver, respectively, in the women’s long jump, and NBC Olympics shared their performance:
Bowie captured bronze in the women’s 200-meter dash (Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson won gold), and it was a Red, White and Blue sweep in the women’s 100-meter hurdles with Rollins, Ali and Castlin finishing Nos. 1-3.
NBC Olympics passed along their ensuing celebration after the race:
Elsewhere, Kerri Walsh Jennings found herself on the women’s beach volleyball podium for the fourth straight Olympics, only this time it was bronze. She and teammate April Ross beat Brazil’s Larissa Franca Maestrini and Talita Rocha in the bronze-medal match, while Germany’s Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst beat Brazil’s Agatha Bednarczuk and Barbara Seixas de Freitas for gold.
The men’s basketball team also took another step toward a medal on Wednesday with a commanding 105-78 victory over Manu Ginobili and Argentina. Argentina was the last team to beat the Americans in the Olympics (2004), but Kevin Durant left little doubt who would win on Wednesday with 27 points, seven rebounds, six assists and seven made three-pointers.
While the United States once again looked like the best team in the tournament following closer-than-expected wins over France and Serbia, it will likely be tested in the semifinals on Friday when it faces Spain with a spot in the gold-medal game on the line.
The two squads squared off in each of the last two gold-medal contests, and the Americans will need to find a way to get past Pau Gasol and company if they hope to win a third straight Olympic title.
If they do, they will add to what has already been an incredible performance at the 2016 Games for the United States.
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