The Tokyo Olympic Games, which ended Sunday in the Japanese capital, were the Games “of hope, solidarity and peace,” said the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in his speech at the closing ceremony at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium.
“You, the best athletes in the world, have been able to realize your Olympic dream because Japan has prepared the stage for your brilliant achievements. You, the Japanese people, can be extremely proud of what you have achieved. On behalf of all the athletes, we say: Thank you Tokyo! Thank you Japan!
“With your excellence, your joy, your tears, you have created the magic of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games,” said Thomas Bach, addressing the athletes. “You went faster, you went higher, you were stronger, because we were all together – united. You competed intensely with each other for Olympic glory. At the same time, you lived in peace, all together under one roof in the Olympic Village. This is a powerful message of solidarity and peace.
The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, received the Olympic flag to symbolize the passing of the baton with the Paris Games in 2024. A video trailer was published on Twitter Sunday evening.
Final medal table
As is traditional, the table prioritises the number of gold medals won. On this basis in 2016, the United States led the field with 46 golds, with Great Britain second on 27 and China third with 26. If countries have the same number of gold medals, the order is then dictated by which has the most silvers, and finally bronze if the numbers are still identical.
The US won 121 medals overall in Rio, while China had more medals overall than Britain, 70 to 67. UK Sport has said it hopes Team GB will win “between 45 and 70” medals in Tokyo.
Japan, the host country at the 2020 Games, came sixth in the medal table in 2016 with 12 gold medals. Before the pandemic it was targeting 30 golds at these Games, but its Olympic committee says it no longer has a target.
Australia came 10th at Rio, with eight gold medals, equal on golds with Italy, Hungary and the Netherlands.
