American Women Are Winning More Medals Than Men For Team USA

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In women's hockey, Team USA mounted an upset victory over Canada in a penalty shootout, clinching the first American gold in the competition since the 1988 Nagano Olympics. Canada was dejected, the US elated, but the underlying takeaway from the game speaks to one trend: When it comes to Team USA's medal tally in PyeongChang, women are leading the charge. 

Female athletes have won 13 of the 23 medals earned by Americans at the Winter Olympics. Out of the nine gold medals won by Americans, women clinched five. Adding to the tally are two medals won by mixed-gender teams or duos. Additionally, women have notched three of the seven silver medals won by Americans, and four of the six bronzes. Basically, when it comes to Team USA's best performances, there's women everywhere

Similarly to the USA's women's hockey victory, 2018 is on pace to be the first Olympics in 20 years in which women have out-medaled their male counterparts. It's all very historic and wonderful for female athletes. 

Elana Meyers Taylor won silver alongside her bobsled teammate Lauren Gibbs on Wednesday. Their triumph coincided with four American medals won that day, all of them by women. She told reporters: “To win our medal on the same day as some of these incredible women, it was, yes, girl power, women roar, it was such a magical day." 

Without its female athletes, Team USA would have been on course for a disastrous performance. According to Five Thirty Eight's medal tracker, the US should have won 10.8 more medals than it has, when factoring in the country's historical performance data from past Games. 

Considering that gold medalists Chloe Kim and Mikaela Shiffrin are still super young, this just might be the start of a new chapter in American Olympic history. 

Check back during the games for all of Thrillist’s continuing Olympics coverage. Think of us like an all-knowing friend watching along with you to answer all the important questions, like how heavy are Olympic medals. We'll explain everything from curling rules and figure skating scoring to what OAR means, why winning athletes are receiving stuffed animals and much, much more.

Sam Blum is a News Staff Writer for Thrillist. He's also a martial arts and music nerd who appreciates a fine sandwich and cute dogs. Find his clips in The Guardian, Rolling Stone, The A.V. Club and Esquire. He's on Twitter @Blumnessmonster