Medal tables at major multi-sport events like the Olympics and Commonwealth Games are officially ranked primarily by the number of gold medals a country has won, not by the total number of medals across all colors.

Under this system, a country with fewer total medals but more golds ranks above a country with more total medals but fewer golds, a method the International Olympic Committee and Commonwealth Games Federation both use for their official standings.

Gold Medals Come First, Not Total Medals

Why Different Sources Sometimes Show Different Rankings

When countries are tied on gold medal count, the tiebreaker moves to silver medals next, and then bronze, only using total medal count as a last resort if a country matches another exactly across gold, silver, and bronze.

Some media outlets and countries unofficially rank by total medal count instead, which is why you might occasionally see different medal table orderings reported for the same event depending on the source's chosen ranking method.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia β€” overview of Olympic medal table ranking conventions
  2. International Olympic Committee β€” official Olympic medal ranking methodology
  3. Commonwealth Sport β€” official Commonwealth Games medal table conventions

FAQ

Are medal tables ranked by total medals or gold medals first?

Officially, by gold medal count first β€” a country with fewer total medals but more golds ranks above one with more total medals but fewer golds.

What happens if two countries have the same number of gold medals?

The tiebreaker moves to silver medal count, then bronze, with total medal count used only as a last resort.

Why do some media reports show different medal table orderings for the same event?

Some outlets unofficially rank by total medal count instead of the official gold-first method, producing different orderings from the same results.

About the Author

We reference Wikipedia, International Olympic Committee, and Commonwealth Sport to explain the background and current understanding of this topic.

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