While the U.S. won out over China in the Tokyo Olympics, the roles were reversed in this year's Paralympics. In the official tally after the event's last day on September 5th, the Asian country was easily able to clinch first place with 96 gold medals – more than double the amount won by the UK which came in second.
As our chart indicates, a majority of the most successful nations in the Olympics also ranked highest in medal count in the Paralympic Games, with Ukraine and Brazil as the outliers on the sixth and seventh spots respectively. Even though the U.S. only came in third in gold medal count, its athletes still managed to break world records in multiple swimming and track and field events. The olympic spirit of global competition also shone through in the successful attendance of Afghanistan's two-person Paralympic team after initial doubts due to the takeover of Taliban forces in their home country.
Similarly to the Olympics, the Paralympic Games were also overshadowed by the coronavirus. According to officials, 301 people had tested positive for COVID-19 over the course of the games, 13 of which were athletes.
