France is set to nearly triple its gold medal haul from the Tokyo Olympics in Paris and is poised to meet President Emmanuel Macron's goal of a top-five finish on the overall medals table, according to Nielsen's Gracenote forecast.
The latest Gracenote virtual medals table, based on data from major global and continental competitions since the Tokyo Games, predicts 27 gold medals and 60 total medals for the host nation.
Local gold medal hopes include Teddy Riner, aiming for a third individual title in judo; the rugby sevens team with scrumhalf Antoine Dupont at the helm; and the men's soccer team managed by Thierry Henry and captained by Alexandre Lacazette.
France finished eighth in the gold medal tally in Tokyo three years ago with 10 golds but is on course for its best Olympics since 1900 when it hosted the Games for the first time and topped the table with 27 golds.
Gracenote forecasts that the United States will finish on top of the medals table for a fourth successive Games with 39 golds and 112 medals overall, although China could challenge them if they add a few more golds to their predicted 34.
Britain will hold on to fourth place behind France with 17 gold medals, Gracenote said, followed by the Netherlands (16) and Australia (15).
Japan will experience a dip after finishing third on home soil in Tokyo three years ago with 27 gold medals. The Gracenote table has the Japanese team seventh with 13 titles.
The Russian Olympic Committee team finished fifth on the Tokyo medals table, but only a few Russians and Belarusians will compete this year as neutral athletes due to sanctions put in place after the invasion of Ukraine.
"With competitors from Russia and Belarus being banned from international competition in almost all Olympic sports since February 2022, it is not possible to assess potential performance accurately," Gracenote said.
"However, it appears that the number of competitors from these countries is severely limited in Paris."
The opening ceremony of the third Paris Olympics will take place on Friday.
