RIO DE JANEIRO — There was a time when they were considered the ladies’ auxiliary to the US Olympic team, and if any of them dared drink champagne during the ocean crossing, they were summarily sidelined. But four years ago in London, not only were there more women than men on the US roster, they won as many gold medals (29) as the entire British team.
That narrative has continued south of the equator. With two days remaining in these Olympics, the American women have collected 53 of their country’s 103 medals and 22 of the 37 golds. That is more than the entire Russian team, which once backboned the former Soviet Union steamroller that topped the table at all but one of the Olympics that it attended from 1956 through its breakup in 1992.
Undoubtedly the primary reason is Title IX, the federal gender equity law that was passed 44 years ago and has created a permanent pipeline of talent, especially in scholarship sports. But the US Olympic Committee also has been pumping approximately $50 million a year into the summer and winter sports, most of it directed at those like track and field, swimming, gymnastics, and rowing that are most likely to provide fistfuls of medals.
The “money-for-medals” concept, which was derided when former USOC executive director Norman Blake introduced it in 2000, is based on performance and potential, what present CEO Scott Blackmun likens to the approach of a venture capital investor. That was the approach in the 1970s and ’80s of the defunct German Democratic Republic, which focused on women’s sports like swimming that produced multiple medals from one athlete who usually was doped.
Women’s sports were less developed globally then, drug detection far less sophisticated, and the output per Ostmark much greater than it was for men’s sports. With the GDR long gone, the Soviet Union busted into 15 mostly poorer pieces, and China less interested in lavishing yuan on summer teams now that Beijing is eight years in the rear-view mirror, the Americans are grabbing medals at a record pace here, particularly on the women’s side.
The swimmers collected eight golds and 16 total medals, with Katie Ledecky picking up as many individual victories (three) as the entire Australian team. More significantly, the US made the podium in 14 of the 16 events. The women’s track team had four golds and 13 total going into Friday night’s pole vault, 5,000, and sprint relay. They swept the 100-meter hurdles, and won the shot put and placed in the 1,500 and steeplechase for the first time.
The gymnastics team demolished everybody, claiming the team crown again, going 1-2 in the all-around for the second time in three Games, and making the stand in all four event finals, with Simone Biles winning vault and floor exercise. Their total of nine medals was the most since the Soviet Union won 10 in 1972.
Most notable about the American haul has been not so much its dominance of the multi-medal disciplines as much as its breadth. So far, the women have won or are guaranteed medals in 15 sports, including mixed-gender.
Helen Maroulis took down Japan’s three-time champion Saori Yoshida for the first-ever US gold in wrestling. Kristin Armstrong won road cycling’s time trial for a record third straight time. Kayla Harrison repeated as a judo titlist and Claressa Shields has a strong chance to do the same in boxing in Sunday’s final against Nouchka Fontijn of the Netherlands. And Sarah Robles picked up the first weightlifting medal since 2000.
Those sports largely are dependent on USOC cash, which can vary by quadrennium depending upon revenues that come mostly from TV rights fees, sponsorships, and donations. But American dominance of the scholarship sports likely will continue indefinitely as the feeder system continues to pump out gushers of elite talent.
In 1982, there were 80 women’s college soccer varsities. Last year, there were more than 1,000. Basketball teams increased from 705 to more than 1,100. Crew programs soared from 43 to 146, water polo from one to 60. The numbers have been showing up on the medal stand for a couple of decades now.
The basketball team, which lost to the Soviets by 35 points in 1976, will be going after its sixth straight title Saturday against Spain.
The soccer team stumbled here against the Swedes but had won gold four times in five Games. The women’s rowing eight, which hasn’t lost at the global level since 2005, took its third consecutive gold here. The water polo team, which dunked Italy for a repeat gold Friday, has medaled at every Games since the sport was added to the women’s program in 2000.
And the field hockey team’s fifth-place showing was its best ever at an overseas Olympics.
It was fitting that the Americans’ 1,000th gold medal in modern Games history was collected in the pool here by the women’s medley relay. It was swimmer Eleanor Holm who was booted off the 1936 team by team leader Avery Brundage for having a few glasses of bubbly. Now, he’d likely be toasting her.
John Powers can be reached at john.powers@globe.com.