Ex-ASU Star Regan Smith Propels Team USA to Unprecedented Olympic Milestone

It’s a milestone never before reached by any other nation.

WASHINGTON — The United States reached a monumental achievement during Tuesday’s swimming events: 3,000 total Olympic medals.

Team USA is the first country to surpass this historic benchmark, which includes medals from both the Summer and Winter Games. Americans Regan Smith and Katharine Berkoff were instrumental in breaking this barrier. They captured silver and bronze, respectively, in the women’s 100-meter backstroke, securing the 2999th and 3000th medals for the U.S.

Although it wasn’t gold, Smith and Berkoff’s achievements also marked the 600th Olympic swimming medal in U.S. history. Since Tuesday’s events, the medal tally has continued to climb, with additional gold medals increasing the overall count.

Katie Ledecky, another U.S. swimming sensation, further bolstered the nation’s medal total. She dominated the 1,500-meter freestyle at the Paris Games on Wednesday, earning her eighth Olympic gold medal and 12th medal overall. Ledecky led the race from the start, finishing with an Olympic record time of 15:30.02. This performance was a return to form after she started the Games with a bronze in the 400 freestyle.

No other nation comes close to this achievement; the U.S. sits comfortably atop the medal standings with no country even possessing half of 3,000 medals. Before the Paris Olympics, the U.S. had amassed 2,975 medals across both Games, according to the Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage.

With the Paris Olympics still ongoing, Team USA has numerous opportunities to add to their medal collection. The closing ceremony for the Games is set for August 11.