Rio Medal Count 2016: Twitter Reacts to Final Standings and Results

The 2016 Olympics don't officially end until after the closing ceremonies on Sunday night, but for all intents and purposes the games from Rio de Janeiro have concluded with the United States easily winning the overall medal count with 121. 

China and Great Britain rounded out the top three with 70 and 67, respectively, just as they did four years ago. There were certainly plenty of surprises and first-time winners over the course of the last 16 days, but a reasonable person would have assumed those three nations would be at or near the top of a medal list. 

Here's the final list of medals won by each country from the Rio games:

Starting at the top, the United States dominated the games with the most gold (46), silver (37) and bronze (38) medals. 

Instead of singing America's virtues as a whole, let's break things down a little bit. Citing Team USA, Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo Sports noted how the U.S. women would have fared in the medal count on their own:

The U.S. women were a dominant topic coming into Rio. The United States Olympic Committee released the 558-person Olympic team in late July, which featured a record-setting 294 females. 

There were no shortage of stories to choose from, though Katie Ledecky's dominance en route to four gold medals and one silver topped the list. 

If there is one singular defining image from the 2016 games, Ledecky provided it in her 800-meter freestyle victory, via NBC Sports:

Moving to Great Britain for a moment, Rio 2016 found a very specific stat about the country that connected its hosting duties from four years ago to this year:

In 2012, Great Britain captured 65 total medals. The bump in medals this time around came from 23 silver medals, up six from four years go. 

Looking at actual events, other than Ledecky dominating, there were several moments that stood out. On the final day of competition, for instance, Mongolia's wrestling coaches used an interesting tactic to vent their frustration:

A lot of coaches would merely try to file a protest with the Olympic organizers to make their unhappiness with a controversial decision known. Credit Mongolia for showing some originality. 

Highlighting individuals is an important part of the Olympic experience, but these world-class athletes are also representing their nation on the biggest stage the world has to offer. 

No one will dispute the Olympic merits of Ledecky, Michael Phelps or Usain Bolt because they are all brilliant, but as one final look back at these games will show, the first-time winners are what make the games special. 

Majlinda Kelmendi became Kosovo's first Olympic medalist when she won the women's 52kg gold in judo. The 25-year-old returned home one week after her monumental victory and was greeted like a legend, via Kosovo ambassador to the United Kingdom Lirim Greicevci:

Puerto Rico also captured its first Olympic gold medal thanks to Monica Puig's victory in the women's singles tennis tournament. Her reaction on Twitter was a thing of beauty:

The Olympics are supposed to be a showcase for the best athletes in countries big and small from all over the world. Anyone can be a champion with the right work ethic, dedication and drive to push oneself beyond all limits.

The 10,000-plus athletes who journeyed to Rio represent that spirit, with the 893 medals awarded being the perfect way to honor the greatest athletic achievements in sports.