After a surprisingly early elimination at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, the US women’s national soccer team (USWNT) came to the Paris Olympics with their eye on redemption. And so far, that goal looks like it’s within reach, with the women’s soccer team demonstrating what coach Emma Hayes referred to as a “high-level game,” per USAToday. Of course, the USWNT has another goal too — the same goal as everyone who’s at the Olympics: to medal.
If the USWNT does medal during the Paris Games, they’ll be adding on to quite a collection. Currently, the USWNT has won six Olympic medals, including four gold medals. For the exact breakdown of the USWNT’s past Olympic performances, read on.
How Many Olympic Medals Does the USWNT Have?
The USWNT has qualified for every Olympics since the team was first introduced in 1996, making Paris its eighth Games. To date, the USWNT have made the podium at six of the seven Olympic soccer tournaments, bringing home a total of four gold medals, one silver, and one bronze. They have two more medals than Germany, which has the second most Olympic medals of any women’s soccer team at four (one gold, three bronze).
In 1996, they won the first-ever Olympic gold for women’s soccer, defeating China 2-1 on their home turf in Atlanta. Four years later, they picked up a silver medal in Sydney, Australia, after falling to Norway in the final. After that, the team went on a winning streak, collecting gold medals in three consecutive Olympic Games. They defeated Brazil in 2004 and 2008 and Japan in 2012.
The 2016 Olympics in Rio, however, were not so kind to the American women. For the first time at any major international tournament, the USWNT did not even make it to the semifinals. Instead, they were eliminated in the quarterfinals during a penalty shoot-out with Sweden, the eventual silver medalists. It was a stunning loss, but the team quickly reclaimed the spotlight, clinching their fourth World Cup in 2019.
The USWNT arrived at the Tokyo Olympics as the gold-medal favorites, but after a slow start in group play — and a disappointing loss to Canada in the semifinals — they ended up in the bronze-medal match against Australia. They won that game 4-3, with veterans Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe scoring two goals each. The gold medal may have eluded them that year, but after adding that bronze medal to their collection, the US remained the most decorated nation in the history of the Olympic tournament.
And now, they’re in Paris, testing their talents yet again — and we’ll be eagerly watching to see if they add to their collection.
— Additional reporting by Karen Snyder Duke and Mirel Zaman
Amanda Prahl is a freelance writer, playwright/lyricist, dramaturg, teacher, and copywriter/editor. Amanda has also contributed to Slate, Bustle, Mic, The Mary Sue, and others.
Karen Snyder Duke is the editorial operations director at PS. She previously spent 13 years writing and editing health and fitness content for digital and print media brands, including Redbook, Good Housekeeping, and Parents.
Mirel Zaman is the health and fitness director at PS. She has 15 years of experience working in the health and wellness space, writing and editing articles about fitness, general health, mental health, relationships and sex, food and nutrition, astrology, spirituality, family and parenting, culture, and news.
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