| United States at the Olympics | |
|---|---|
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| IOC code | USA |
| NOC | United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee |
| Website | www |
| Medals Ranked 1st |
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| Summer appearances | |
| Winter appearances | |
| Other related appearances | |
| 1906 Intercalated Games | |
TheUnited States of America has sentathletes to every celebration of the modernOlympic Games with the exception of the1980 Summer Olympics, during which it led aboycott in protest of theSoviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. TheUnited States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is theNational Olympic Committee for the United States.
American athletes have won a total of 2,765 medals (1,105 of them gold) at theSummer Olympic Games, and another 330 (114 of them gold) at theWinter Olympic Games, making the United States the most prolific medal-winning nation in the history of the Olympics. The U.S. has placed first in the Summer Olympic medal table19 times out of 30 Summer Olympics and 29 appearances (having boycotted in 1980), but has had less success in the Winter Olympics, placing firstonce in 24 participations.[1][2][3][4][5][6][excessive citations]
The United States Olympic contingent is the only Olympic contingent in the world to receive no government funding; neither training and development costs nor prize money are provided by the U.S. national government.[7][8][9][10][11][excessive citations]
The United States has hosted the modern Olympic Games eight times, more than any other nation. These occasions span from the 1904 St. Louis Olympics to the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. Beyond hosting, the U.S. has significantly impacted the Olympics through athletic achievements, innovations in sports infrastructure and technology, and cultural contributions. Its influence extends to advocating Olympic ideals and leaving lasting legacies in host cities. Overall, the U.S. plays a central role in the history and ongoing development of the Olympic movement. For example, the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics pioneered the use of electronic timing devices. The 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, for instance, set new standards for opening and closing ceremonies. Even when not hosting, the U.S. has played a crucial role in the administration and promotion of the Olympics through organizations like theUnited States Olympic Committee (USOC) and its participation in theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC). Hosting the Olympics has left lasting legacies in host cities, such as improved infrastructure, economic benefits, and increased tourism. For example, the 1996 Atlanta Olympics revitalized parts of the city and left behind sporting venues still in use today.
In 2028, the third Los Angeles Olympics will mark the ninth occasion that the Olympics are hosted in the U.S.
| Games | Host city | Dates | Nations | Participants | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1904 Summer Olympics | St. Louis,Missouri | July 1 – November 23 | 12 | 666 | 95 |
| 1932 Winter Olympics | Lake Placid,New York | February 7 – 15 | 17 | 252 | 14 |
| 1932 Summer Olympics | Los Angeles,California | July 30 – August 14 | 37 | 1,332 | 117 |
| 1960 Winter Olympics | Squaw Valley,California | February 18 – 28 | 30 | 665 | 27 |
| 1980 Winter Olympics | Lake Placid, New York | February 13 – 24 | 37 | 1,072 | 38 |
| 1984 Summer Olympics | Los Angeles,California | July 28 – August 12 | 140 | 6,829 | 221 |
| 1996 Summer Olympics | Atlanta,Georgia | July 19 – August 4 | 197 | 10,318 | 271 |
| 2002 Winter Olympics | Salt Lake City,Utah | February 8 – 24 | 77 | 2,399 | 78 |
| 2028 Summer Olympics | Los Angeles,California | July 14 – 30 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| 2034 Winter Olympics | Salt Lake City,Utah | February 10 – 26 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| Games | City | Eventually hosted by |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 Winter Olympics | Denver | Innsbruck |
The United States made its Olympic debut in 1896 inAthens, the very firstedition of the modern games. The nation performed inconsistently in the pre-World War-I period, primarily due to fielding considerably fewer athletes than host countries, with the exception being the1904 Olympics inSt. Louis,Missouri, where the U.S. achieved its largest medal haul in history, a record that still stands today. During theinterwar period, the U.S. enjoyed its greatest success, topping both gold and total medal counts at four straight Summer Games, before falling short in the1936 Berlin games. The next summer Olympics were held in1948 followingWorld War II. In1952, theSoviet Union made its Olympic debut, initiating a state-sponsored approach to international sport focused on projecting socio-political superiority. The rapid rise of the Soviet Union to challenge the United States as a leading Olympic power raised questions and suspicion about the means used to achieve this, including the pretense of professional athletes having amateur status and allegations of state-sponsored doping. After 20 years of competition on the Olympic stage, the USSR convincingly topped the gold medal chart at the1972 Summer Olympics inMunich. After that, the U.S. would not top the medal table in non-boycotted games until the1996 Summer Olympics, five years after the USSRcollapsed.[15][16] A bright spot for the United States was the1984 games inLos Angeles, where the U.S. set a record for most gold medals won in a single Olympics (83), buoyed by theSoviet-led boycott. Coincident with a drive by theInternational Olympic Committee toward gender parity beginning in the 1990s, the U.S.'s fortunes improved, and the nation topped the medal table in the Summer Olympics six times since 1992 and placed second on two occasions.
In contrast to its summer Olympics status, the United States was not a power in the Winter Games until the2002 Olympics inSalt Lake City. Hosting the games in 2002 boosted the U.S. winter sports program; since then, the country’s athletes have performed consistently well, never placing below fourth in the medal count. The nation won the most medals (37) at the2010 Winter Olympics inVancouver but dropped to 23 medals at the2018 games inPyeongchang.
Host country
| Games | Athletes | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Gold medal | Total medal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1896 Athens | 14 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 20 | 1 | 2 |
| 1900 Paris | 75 | 19 | 14 | 15 | 48 | 2 | 2 |
| 1904 St. Louis | 526 | 76 | 78 | 77 | 231 | 1 | 1 |
| 1908 London | 122 | 23 | 12 | 12 | 47 | 2 | 2 |
| 1912 Stockholm | 174 | 26 | 19 | 19 | 64 | 1 | 2 |
| 1920 Antwerp | 288 | 41 | 27 | 27 | 95 | 1 | 1 |
| 1924 Paris | 299 | 45 | 27 | 27 | 99 | 1 | 1 |
| 1928 Amsterdam | 280 | 22 | 18 | 16 | 56 | 1 | 1 |
| 1932 Los Angeles | 474 | 44 | 36 | 30 | 110 | 1 | 1 |
| 1936 Berlin | 359 | 24 | 21 | 12 | 57 | 2 | 2 |
| 1948 London | 300 | 38 | 27 | 19 | 84 | 1 | 1 |
| 1952 Helsinki | 286 | 40 | 19 | 17 | 76 | 1 | 1 |
| 1956 Melbourne | 297 | 32 | 25 | 17 | 74 | 2 | 2 |
| 1960 Rome | 292 | 34 | 21 | 16 | 71 | 2 | 2 |
| 1964 Tokyo | 346 | 36 | 26 | 28 | 90 | 1 | 2 |
| 1968 Mexico City | 357 | 45 | 28 | 34 | 107 | 1 | 1 |
| 1972 Munich | 400 | 33 | 31 | 30 | 94 | 2 | 2 |
| 1976 Montreal | 396 | 34 | 35 | 25 | 94 | 3 | 2 |
| 1980 Moscow | Did not participate | ||||||
| 1984 Los Angeles | 522 | 83 | 61 | 30 | 174 | 1 | 1 |
| 1988 Seoul | 527 | 36 | 31 | 27 | 94 | 3 | 3 |
| 1992 Barcelona | 545 | 37 | 34 | 37 | 108 | 2 | 2 |
| 1996 Atlanta | 646 | 44 | 32 | 25 | 101 | 1 | 1 |
| 2000 Sydney | 586 | 37 | 24 | 32 | 93 | 1 | 1 |
| 2004 Athens | 533 | 36 | 39 | 26 | 101 | 1 | 1 |
| 2008 Beijing | 588 | 36 | 39 | 37 | 112 | 2 | 1 |
| 2012 London | 530 | 48 | 26 | 31 | 105 | 1 | 1 |
| 2016 Rio de Janeiro | 554 | 46 | 37 | 38 | 121 | 1 | 1 |
| 2020 Tokyo | 615 | 39 | 41 | 33 | 113 | 1 | 1 |
| 2024 Paris | 592 | 40 | 44 | 42 | 126 | 1 | 1 |
| 2028 Los Angeles | Future event | ||||||
| 2032 Brisbane | Future event | ||||||
| Total (29/30) | 11,523 | 1,105 | 879 | 781 | 2,765 | 1 | 1 |
Host country
| Games | Athletes | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Gold medal | Total medal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 Chamonix | 24 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| 1928 St. Moritz | 24 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
| 1932 Lake Placid | 64 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 1 |
| 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen | 55 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 6 |
| 1948 St. Moritz | 69 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 4 |
| 1952 Oslo | 65 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 2 |
| 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo | 67 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
| 1960 Squaw Valley | 79 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 2 |
| 1964 Innsbruck | 89 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 8 |
| 1968 Grenoble | 95 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 8 |
| 1972 Sapporo | 103 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 6 |
| 1976 Innsbruck | 106 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 3 | 3 |
| 1980 Lake Placid | 101 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 3 | 3 |
| 1984 Sarajevo | 107 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 4 |
| 1988 Calgary | 118 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 9 |
| 1992 Albertville | 147 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 5 | 6 |
| 1994 Lillehammer | 147 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 13 | 5 | 5 |
| 1998 Nagano | 186 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 5 | 6 |
| 2002 Salt Lake City | 202 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 34 | 3 | 2 |
| 2006 Turin | 204 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 25 | 2 | 2 |
| 2010 Vancouver | 212 | 9 | 15 | 13 | 37 | 3 | 1 |
| 2014 Sochi | 222 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 28 | 4 | 2 |
| 2018 Pyeongchang | 241 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 23 | 4 | 4 |
| 2022 Beijing | 224 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 25 | 3 | 4 |
| 2026 Milano Cortina | Future event | ||||||
| 2030 French Alps | |||||||
| 2034 Salt Lake City | Future event | ||||||
| Total (24/24) | 2,951 | 114 | 121 | 95 | 330 | 2 | 2 |
Summer Olympics[edit]
| Winter Olympics[edit]
|
| Sport | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Athletics | 358 | 280 | 224 | 862 |
 Swimming | 265 | 191 | 150 | 606 |
 Shooting | 58 | 34 | 29 | 121 |
 Wrestling | 57 | 46 | 42 | 145 |
 Boxing | 50 | 27 | 41 | 118 |
 Diving | 49 | 47 | 46 | 142 |
 Artistic gymnastics | 40 | 44 | 42 | 126 |
 Rowing | 34 | 32 | 25 | 91 |
 Basketball | 27 | 2 | 3 | 32 |
 Tennis | 21 | 7 | 13 | 41 |
 Cycling | 20 | 24 | 22 | 66 |
 Sailing | 19 | 23 | 20 | 62 |
 Weightlifting | 17 | 17 | 12 | 46 |
 Archery | 14 | 11 | 10 | 35 |
 Equestrian | 11 | 24 | 20 | 55 |
 Beach volleyball | 7 | 2 | 2 | 11 |
 Fencing | 6 | 12 | 19 | 37 |
 Canoeing | 6 | 6 | 7 | 19 |
 Golf | 6 | 3 | 5 | 14 |
 Artistic swimming | 5 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
 Football | 5 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
 Water polo | 4 | 6 | 6 | 16 |
 Volleyball | 4 | 4 | 5 | 13 |
 Taekwondo | 3 | 2 | 6 | 11 |
 Softball | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
 Judo | 2 | 4 | 8 | 14 |
 Rugby | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
 Surfing | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
 Triathlon | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
 Baseball | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
 Roque | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
 Tug of war | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
 3x3 basketball | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
 Jeu de paume | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Modern pentathlon | 0 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
 Skateboarding | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
 Sport climbing | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
 Polo | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
 Lacrosse | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Marathon swimming | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Field hockey | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
 Breaking | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Karate | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (43 entries) | 1,101 | 873 | 780 | 2,754 |
Updated on November 16, 2024
*This table does not include two medals – one silver awarded in theice hockey and one bronze awarded in thefigure skating events at the1920 Summer Olympics.
The United States has never won an Olympic medal in the following current summer sports or disciplines:badminton,handball,rhythmic gymnastics,table tennis andtrampoline gymnastics.
| Sport | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Speed skating | 30 | 22 | 19 | 71 |
 Alpine skiing | 17 | 21 | 10 | 48 |
 Figure skating | 17 | 16 | 21 | 54 |
 Snowboarding | 17 | 8 | 10 | 35 |
 Freestyle skiing | 11 | 13 | 9 | 33 |
 Bobsleigh | 8 | 11 | 9 | 28 |
 Ice hockey | 4 | 12 | 2 | 18 |
 Short track speed skating | 4 | 7 | 9 | 20 |
 Skeleton | 3 | 4 | 1 | 8 |
 Nordic combined | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
 Cross-country skiing | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
 Curling | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
 Luge | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
 Ski jumping | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (14 entries) | 114 | 122 | 96 | 332 |
Updated on December 31, 2021
*This table includes two medals – one silver awarded in theice hockey and one bronze awarded in thefigure skating events at the1920 Summer Olympics.
Biathlon is the only current winter sport that the United States has never won an Olympic medal in.
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U.S. athletes have appeared in every Summer Olympics Games in recent decades, with their fortunes having steadily improved in most sports since 1992. America finished second in the medal count in 1992 and 2008, while placing first at seven other Games in that period.
The United States, represented by theUnited States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), competed at the2020 Summer Olympics inTokyo. Originally scheduled to take place in the summer of 2020, the Games were postponed to July 23 to August 8, 2021, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[19] Theopening ceremonyflag-bearers for the United States werebaseball playerEddy Alvarez andbasketball playerSue Bird.[20]Javelin throwerKara Winger was the flag-bearer for theclosing ceremony.[21] When USA Gymnastics announced that 2016 Olympic all-around championSimone Biles would not participate in the gymnastics all-around final, the spotlight fell on her American teammates. The U.S. had won the event in each of the last five Olympic Games: a formidable winning streak was on the line.Sunisa Lee embraced the moment and stood tall to deliver for her country. She totaled 57.433 to hold off Rebeca Andrade of Brazil (57.298) to clinch the title. Lee also made history of her own. With victory in the all-around she became the firstHmong American gymnast to win an Olympic gold medal, and the first gymnast of Asian descent to do so. With a silver in the women's team final and bronze in the individual uneven bars Lee left Tokyo with an impressive three Olympic medals.Lydia Jacoby, Alaska's teenage swimming sweetheart, made history when she became the first Alaskan swimmer selected to make the U.S. Olympic swim team. She stunned the world to secure victory in the women's 100m breaststroke. Recent major championNelly Korda followed the winning ways of compatriotXander Schauffele to take home gold in the women's golf competition. The 2.01m-tall throwerRyan Crouser retained his Olympic title in the men's shot put and did so in some style, setting an Olympic record three times. The U.S. achieved a commanding lead in the overallmedal count, with 113 medals, but only edged China in the gold medal tally on the last day, finishing with 39 gold medals to China's 38.
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At the2022 Winter Olympics, the U.S. exercised adiplomatic boycott due to the "ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses", meaning it did not send any high-level delegation to the Games, but would not hinder athletes from participating.[22] A total of 25 medals meant Team USA won two more medals than in2018, although it still signifies an overall decline after37 medals in 2010 and28 in 2014. For the fifth consecutive games, the Americans won nine gold medals, this time placing third in themedal count. Notable successes includedJessie Diggins becoming the first American female skier to win individual cross-country medals, figure skaterNathan Chen breaking the short program world record en route to the Olympic gold medal in the men's singles,Erin Jackson becoming the first black female athlete to win speed skating gold, andChloe Kim defending her title in the snowboarding women's halfpipe. Veteran snowboarderLindsey Jacobellis, who last medaled in the2006 Winter Olympics inTurin, was the only U.S. athlete with multiple gold medals, winning the women's snowboard cross event, and sharing the gold with teammateNick Baumgartner in the mixed snowboard cross event.
The exclusion of professionals caused several controversies throughout the history of the modern Olympics. The1912 Olympicpentathlon anddecathlon championJim Thorpe was stripped of his medals, when it was discovered that he had played semi-professional baseball before the Olympics. His medals were posthumously restored by theIOC in 1983 on compassionate grounds.[23]
The advent of the state-sponsored "full-time amateur athlete" of theEastern Bloc countries eroded the ideology of the pureamateur. It put the self-financed amateurs of the Western countries at a disadvantage. TheSoviet Union entered teams of athletes who were all nominally students, soldiers, or working in a profession, but all of whom were in reality paid by the state to train on a full-time basis.[24][25][26] The situation greatly disadvantaged American athletes and was a major factor in the decline of American medal hauls in the 1970s and 1980s. As a result, the Olympics shifted away fromamateurism, as envisioned byPierre de Coubertin. They began allowing participation ofprofessional athletes, but only in the 1990s, after thecollapse of the Soviet Union and its influence within theInternational Olympic Committee.[27][28][29]
When a U.S. athlete wins an Olympic medal, as of 2016, the USOPC paid the winner $25,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver, and $10,000 for bronze.[30] The USOPC increased the payouts by 25% to $37,000 for gold, $22,500 for silver, and $15,000 for bronze beginning in 2017.[31] These numbers are significantly lower than in other countries, where Olympic gold medalists receive up to $1 million from their governments for a gold medal.[32][33] Since 2018, payouts to Paralympic athletes have been the same as to the Olympians. TheInternational Paralympic Committee noted that "'Operation Gold Awards' for [American] Paralympic athletes [would] be increased by as much as 400 percent".[34]
In 2025, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) announced a historic $100 million donation from Ross Stevens, founder of Stone Ridge Holdings Group (a New York City–basedasset management firm specializing inalternative investments, with over $20 billion inassets under management). The gift, the largest in the USOPC's history, provides long-term financial support for future Olympic and Paralympic athletes, addressing the financial burdens they face due to intense training schedules that limit career opportunities. Starting with the 2026 Milan Games through 2032, each participating athlete will receive $200,000 in financial benefits per Olympic appearance. The first half of this amount will be accessible 20 years after participation or upon turning 45 (whichever comes later), with the remainder given to families upon the athlete's death. The donation is intended to provide financial security and a springboard for post-Olympic careers. Many U.S. athletes face significant financial hardships due to limited national support compared to their international counterparts.[35][36][11] Unlike many other countries, the U.S. government does not fund its Olympic program, so athletes rely almost entirely on sponsorships and media deals (which generate roughly 75–80% of revenue) plus fundraising (contributing an additional 10–20%). This funding model leaves many Olympians struggling financially during their careers—and even into retirement. In 2024, USOPF president Christine Walshe noted that 57% of U.S. athletes earn $50,000 or less annually. "You don't want athletes being destitute when they finish a long, storied career", USOPF chair Geoff Yang said, describing the donation as "transformational".[11]
United States has had eightOlympic medals stripped for doping violations. In all cases, the US government or theUnited States Olympic Committee (USOC) had nothing to do with it, and sanctioned athletes acted on their own. In the case of swimmerRick DeMont, the USOC has recognized his gold medal performance in the 1972 Summer Olympics in 2001,[37] but only the IOC has the power to restore his medal, and it has as of 2024 refused to do so.[37] DeMont originally won the gold medal in 4:00.26. Following the race, the IOC stripped him of his gold medal[38] after his post-race urinalysis tested positive for traces of the banned substanceephedrine contained in his prescription asthma medication, Marax. The positive test following the 400-meter freestyle final also deprived him of a chance at multiple medals, as he was not permitted to swim in any other events at the 1972 Olympics, including the 1,500-meter freestyle for which he was the then-current world record-holder. Before the Olympics, DeMont had properly declared his asthma medications on his medical disclosure forms, but the USOC had not cleared them with the IOC's medical committee.[39][37]
In 2003, Wade Exum, theUnited States Olympic Committee's director of drug control administration from 1991 to 2000, gave copies of documents toSports Illustrated that revealed that some 100 American athletes failed drug tests from 1988 to 2000, arguing that they should have been prevented from competing in the Olympics but were nevertheless cleared to compete; among those athletes wereCarl Lewis,Joe DeLoach andFloyd Heard.[40][41][42][43] Before showing the documents toSports Illustrated, Exum tried to use them in a lawsuit against USOC, accusing the organization of racial discrimination and wrongful termination against him and cover-up over the failed tests. His case was summarily dismissed by the Denver federal Court for lack of evidence. The USOC claimed his case "baseless" as he himself was the one in charge of screening the anti-doping test program of the organization and clarifying that the athletes were cleared according to the rules.[44][45]
Carl Lewis broke his silence on allegations that he was the beneficiary of a drugs cover-up, admitting he had failed tests for banned substances, but claiming he was just one of "hundreds" of American athletes who were allowed to escape bans, concealed by the USOC. Lewis has acknowledged that he failed three tests during the 1988 US Olympic trials, which under international rules at the time should have prevented him from competing in the1988 Summer Olympics.[46] Former athletes and officials came out against the USOC cover-up. "For so many years I lived it. I knew this was going on, but there's absolutely nothing you can do as an athlete. You have to believe governing bodies are doing what they are supposed to do. And it is obvious they did not", said former American sprinter and 1984 Olympic champion,Evelyn Ashford.[47]
Exum's documents revealed that Carl Lewis had testedpositive three times at the 1988 Olympics trials for minimum amounts ofpseudoephedrine,ephedrine, andphenylpropanolamine, which were bannedstimulants.Bronchodilators are also found in cold medication. Due to the rules, his case could have led to disqualification from the Seoul Olympics and suspension from competition for six months. The levels of the combined stimulants registered in the separate tests were 2ppm, 4 ppm and 6 ppm.[44] Lewis defended himself, claiming that he had accidentally consumed the banned substances. After the supplements that he had taken were analyzed to prove his claims, the USOC accepted his claim of inadvertent use, since a dietary supplement he ingested was found to contain "Ma Huang", the Chinese name forEphedra (ephedrine is known to help weight loss).[44] Fellow Santa Monica Track Club teammates Joe DeLoach and Floyd Heard were also found to have the same banned stimulants in their systems, and were cleared to compete for the same reason.[48][49] The highest level of the stimulants Lewis recorded was 6 ppm, which was regarded as a positive test in 1988 but is now regarded as negative test. The acceptable level has been raised to ten parts per million for ephedrine and twenty-five parts per million for other substances.[44][50] According to the IOC rules at the time, positive tests with levels lower than 10 ppm were cause of further investigation but not immediate ban. Neal Benowitz, a professor of medicine at UC San Francisco who is an expert on ephedrine and other stimulants, agreed that "These [levels] are what you'd see from someone taking cold or allergy medicines and are unlikely to have any effect on performance."[44] Following Exum's revelations the IAAF acknowledged that at the 1988 Olympic Trials the USOC indeed followed the correct procedures in dealing with eight positive findings for ephedrine and ephedrine-related compounds in low concentration. Additionally, in 1988 the federation reviewed the relevant documents with the athletes' names undisclosed and stated that "the medical committee felt satisfied, however, on the basis of the information received that the cases had been properly concluded by the USOC as 'negative cases' in accordance with the rules and regulations in place at the time and no further action was taken".[51][52]
The United States has had eight Olympic medals stripped, which is fifth in the ranking of countries with the most stripped medals.[53]
Unlike most countries, Team USA does not receive government funding. Instead, we rely on donations from family, friends and fans like you.
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