Here's the final gold medal count of the Paris Olympics

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This year's gold medal contest came down to the very last event.

WASHINGTON — The Summer Games are bidding adieu to Paris after two weeks full of captivating competitions, moments and medals.

With the final event over, it's time to tally up the hardware earned in the French capital. Once again, the U.S. dominated the field with the most Olympic medals throughout the Games — clinching 126 total wins. 

The final count was followed by China who won 91 overall. Great Britain placed third with 65 overall and host country France rounded out the 4th place with 64. 

It was yet another strong showing for the U.S. at the Summer Games, but especially for the women of Team USA who were largely responsible for the medal haul. 

Who won the most gold medals at the Olympics?

The U.S. and China were in a tense back-and-forth for the top golden spot during the Games.

For the first time in Olympic history, the gold count at the end of the Olympics was tied. The U.S. and China each ended the Paris Games with 40 gold medals, a sign of dominance from two of the countries who regularly stand at the top of the sports world. 

The Americans were trailing behind China by one medal until the women's basketball team secured the final gold of the Paris Games. 

It was the eighth straight gold for the women, who broke a tie with the American men’s program that won seven in a row from 1936-68.

There were actually a couple opportunities for the U.S. to have edged out China for most gold. 

The US women's volleyball team were defending their Olympic title on Sunday but fell to the Italians who clinched gold. Team USA settled for silver.

American Shelby McEwen and Hamish Kerr of New Zealand could have decided to tie in high jump and both get a gold medal on Saturday, but instead they went to a jump-off. McEwen wound up with silver. 

Track and field events added quite a bit of golden hardware to the final count with 34 medals and 14 gold. It was the Americans' best showing in the category in a non-boycotted Games since early 20th century, when there were more events and fewer countries.

Despite an underwhelming performance in the pool, Team USA racked up a total of 28 medals and 8 gold during swimming events. It was the fewest number of golds since the 1988 Seoul Games. 

China's most dominant sport was diving, where it swept with eight gold medals. It has now won more diving gold medals than any other country, passing the one-time powerhouse United States for the top spot on the table.

When was the last time the US didn't win the most gold medals at the Olympics?

The last Summer Olympics in which the United States did not top the gold-medal table was in 2008 in Beijing.

During the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics, the United States and China finished 1-2 in both medal categories. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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