United States at the
Paralympics
Flag of the United States
IPC codeUSA
NPCUnited States Olympic & Paralympic Committee
Websitewww.teamusa.org/US-Paralympics
Medals
Ranked 1st
Gold
926
Silver
868
Bronze
827
Total
2,621
Summer appearances
Winter appearances

The United States of America (USA), represented by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, has participated in every Summer and Winter Paralympic Games and is currently first on the all-time medal table. The nation used to be a dominant Paralympic power in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, but has steadily declined since the 1990s to a point where it finished sixth in the 2012 Summer Paralympics medal count. The team then improved to a fourth-place finish in 2016, and third in 2020, and unexpectedly finished first at the 2018 Winter Paralympics.

The United States was the co-host of the 1984 Summer Paralympics in Stoke Mandeville and New York. It also hosted the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta and 2002 Winter Paralympics in Salt Lake City.

Medal tables

See also: All-time Paralympic Games medal table
Red border color indicates host nation status.

Best results in non-medalling sports:

Summer
Sport Rank Athlete Event & Year
Badminton Did not participate
Football 5-a-side Did not participate
Winter
Sport Rank Athlete Event & Year
Wheelchair curling 4th Augusto Perez
Patrick McDonald
James Pierce
Jacqui Kapinowski
James Joseph
Steve Brown		 Mixed tournament in 2010

Flagbearers

Records

Summer Paralympics

Multi-medalists

Athletes who have won at least three gold medals or five medals at the Summer Paralympics. Bold athletes are athletes who are still active.

No. Athlete Sport Years Games Gender Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Trischa Zorn Swimming 1980-2004 7 F 41 9 5 55
2 Jessica Long Swimming 2004-2020 5 F 16 8 5 29
3 Erin Popovich Swimming 2000-2008 3 F 14 5 0 19
4 Bart Dodson Athletics 1984-2000 5 M 13 3 4 20
5 John Morgan Swimming 1984, 1992 2 M 13 2 0 15
5 Elizabeth Scott Swimming 1992-2000 3 F 10 2 5 17
6 Edward Owen Athletics
Swimming		 1964-1988 7 M 9 2 2 13
7 Tatyana McFadden Athletics 2004-2020 5 F 8 7 4 19
8 Brad Snyder Swimming 2012-2020 3 M 6 2 0 8
9 Jean Driscoll Athletics 1988-2000 4 F 5 3 4 12
10 Marla Runyan Athletics 1992-1996 2 F 5 1 0 6
11 David Larson Athletics 1988-2000 4 M 5 0 3 8
12 Dennis Oehler Athletics 1988-1996 3 M 4 3 3 10
13 Brian Frasure Athletics 2000-2008 3 M 4 3 2 9
14 Tony Volpentest Athletics 1992-2000 3 M 4 1 0 5
15 Paul Nitz Athletics 1992-2012 6 M 4 0 1 5
16 Danny Andrews Athletics 2000-2008 3 M 4 0 0 4
16 Raymond Martin Athletics 2012 1 M 4 0 0 4
18 David Wagner Wheelchair tennis 2004-2016 4 M 3 3 2 8
19 Freeman Register Athletics 1992-2000 3 M 3 1 2 6
20 Mallory Weggemann Swimming 2012-2020 3 F 3 1 1 6
21 Nick Mayhugh Athletics 2020 1 M 3 1 0 4
22 Kelley Becherer Swimming 2008-2012 2 F 3 0 4 7
23 Justin Zook Swimming 2004-2012 3 M 3 0 1 4
24 Royal Mitchell Athletics 2000-2008 3 M 3 0 0 3
25 Jeremy Campbell Athletics 2008-2012 2 M 3 0 0 3
26 Ross Davis Athletics 1992-2000 3 M 2 4 3 9
27 Cheri Madsen Athletics 1996-2016 6 F 2 4 2 8
28 Roy Perkins Swimming 2008-2016 3 M 2 3 3 8
29 Scot Hollonbeck Athletics 1992-2004 4 M 2 3 0 5
30 Gregory Burns Swimming 1996-2000 3 M 2 2 1 5
31 Marlon Shirley Athletics 2000-2008 3 M 2 2 1 5
32 Karissa Whitsell Cycling 2004-2008 2 F 2 1 2 5
33 Cortney Jordan Swimming 2008-2016 3 F 1 8 3 12
34 Amanda McGrory Athletics 2008-2016 3 F 1 2 4 7
35 Cheri Blauwet Athletics 2000-2008 3 F 1 1 4 6
36 Aimee Bruder Swimming 1996-2008 4 F 0 1 4 5

Multi-gold medalists at single Games

This is a list of athletes who have won at least two gold medals in a single Games. Ordered categorically by gold medals earned, sports, then year.

No. Athlete Sport Year Gender Gold Silver Bronze Total
Athletics
1 David Larson Athletics 1992 M 4 0 0 4
Marla Runyan Athletics 1992 F 4 0 0 4
3 Danny Andrews Athletics 2004 M 3 0 0 3
4 Dennis Oehler Athletics 1988 M 3 0 1 4
5 Jean Driscoll Athletics 1996 F 2 1 1 4
6 Curt Brinkman Athletics 1980 M 2 1 0 3
Joe Gaetani Athletics 1992 M 2 1 0 3
8 Maureen Gaynor Athletics 1988 F 2 0 0 2
Cycling
1 Karissa Whitsell
Guide: Katie Compton		 Cycling 2004 F 2 1 1 4
2 Barbara Buchan Cycling 2008 F 2 0 0 2
Swimming
1 Trischa Zorn Swimming 1988 F 12 0 0 12
2 John Morgan Swimming 1992 M 8 2 0 10
3 Erin Popovich Swimming 2004 F 7 0 0 7
Elizabeth Scott Swimming 1992 F 7 0 0 7
5 Jessica Long Swimming 2012 F 5 2 1 7
6 McKenzie Coan Swimming 2016 F 3 1 0 4
Rebecca Meyers Swimming 2016 F 3 1 0 4
Brad Snyder Swimming 2016 M 3 1 0 4
9 Gregory Burns Swimming 1996 M 2 1 0 3
10 Kelley Becherer Swimming 2012 F 2 0 2 4
Wheelchair tennis
1 Randy Snow Wheelchair tennis 1992 M 2 0 0 2
Multiple sports
1 Ed Owen Athletics 1968 M 4 0 1 7
Swimming 2 0 0
2 Sharon Hedrick Athletics 1980 F 3 1 0 5
Wheelchair basketball 0 0 1

Multi-medalists at single event

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2020)

This is a list of athletes who have won at least three medals in a single event at the Summer Paralympics. Ordered categorically by medals earned, sports, then gold medals earned.

No. Athlete Sport Event Years Games Gender Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Trischa Zorn Swimming 100m backstroke 1980-2004 7 F 5 1 1 7
2 Jessica Long Swimming 400m freestyle 2004-2016 4 F 3 1 0 4
3 Ross Davis Athletics 100 metres 1992-2000 3 M 2 1 0 3
Bart Dodson Athletics 200 metres 1992-2000 3 M 2 1 0 3
Rudy Garcia-Tolson Swimming 200m individual medley 2004-2012 3 M 2 1 0 3
Roy Perkins Swimming 50m butterfly 2008-2016 3 M 2 1 0 3
7 David Larson Athletics 400 metres 1988-1996 3 M 2 0 1 3

Athletes with most appearances

Summer Paralympics
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2020)

This is a list of athletes who have competed in four or more Summer Paralympics. Active athletes are in bold. Athletes under 15 years of age and over 40 years of age are in bold.

No. Athlete Sport Birth Year Games Years First/Last Age Gender Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Pamela Fontaine Table tennis
Wheelchair basketball		 1964 1984-2016 20 - 52 F 0 1 1 2
2 Trischa Zorn Swimming 1964 1980-2004 16 - 40 F 44 9 5 55
3 Lex Gillette Athletics 1984 2004-2016 20 - 32 M 0 4 0 4
Winter Paralympics
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2020)

Prize money

When a US 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.[1] The USOPC increased the payouts by 25% to $37,000 for gold, $22,500 for silver, and $15,000 for bronze beginning in 2017.[2] 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.[3][4] Since 2018, payouts to Paralympic athletes have been the same as to the Olympians. The International Paralympic Committee noted that "'Operation Gold Awards' for [American] Paralympic athletes [would] be increased by as much as 400 percent."[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ Cao, Athena Cao (15 August 2016) Uncle Sam goes for gold, too: Up to $9,900 per Olympic gold medal First Coast News via USA Today
  2. ^ "USOC Increases 'Operation Gold' Payouts By 25% Beginning in 2017". Swimswam.com. 14 December 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  3. ^ Many Countries Pay Big Bonuses For Olympic Medals. This One Is Shelling Out $2.7 Million.
  4. ^ Some countries pay more than six figures to athletes who bring home a medal -- but not the U.S.
  5. ^ Paralympians to earn equal payouts as Olympians in the USA
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