We’ve reached part 3 of our 2021 rewind. After looking at my favorite individual athletes, it’s time to wrap things up with the 20 most impressive team performances.
Top 25 Individual Performances by Female Athletes
Top 25 Individual Performances by Male Athletes
#20 United States Women’s Soccer
While the defending World Cup champions failed to win it all, they rebounded well from a 3-0 defeat to Sweden. Team USA escaped in penalties in the QF against Netherlands, narrowly lost to Canada, and then secured a bronze medal against Australia.
#19 Japan Women’s Basketball
In basketball all eyes are usually on Team USA. Japan broke onto the scene at their home Olympics to win their first medal in women’s basketball. They opened the tournament with a victory over France, then escaped with a one-point victory over Belgium in the quarterfinal. Japan dominated France again in the semis and gave team USA a good battle in the finals, losing 90–75 and securing a silver medal.
#18 United States Baseball and Softball
I had fun watching both of these teams play and was heartbroken to see them both lose in gold medal matches. The baseball team was a strange combination of young prospects and over the hill veterans. The softball team was full of big names and exciting players that we don’t get to see enough.
You can find both gold medal matches Japan’s entry further below
#17 Serbia Men’s Water Polo
Team Serbia won a medal for the 6th consecutive Olympics and repeated as champions. The team went 6–2 and had by far the best offense averaging 12.9 goals per game.
#16 United States Women’s 3x3 Basketball
USA brought a team of WNBA players to compete in the inaugural 3x3 tournament. After a 6–1 group stage, the squad won 18–16 over France and then 18–15 over Russia to take the gold.
#15 Argentina Women’s Field Hockey
After going 3–2 in the group stage, Argentina dominated Germany, one of the tournament favorites, 3–0 in the quarterfinal. They took down India 2-1 to reach the final, where they eventually lost. The silver medal was Argentina’s fifth medal in the past six Olympics.
Argentina vs India Semifinal Replay
#14 France Men’s Volleyball
Men’s volleyball has a long Olympic history, but France had never found itself on the podium. They honored a retiring head coach with a spirited gold medal performance in Tokyo. France was almost eliminated after going 2–3 in the group stage. They were pushed to set five in the quarterfinal against Poland. After sweeping Argentina, France once again needed a five-set victory to win the gold over Russia.
#13 Bulgaria Rhythmic Gymnastics
In the history of group and individual Rhythmic Gymnastics, Russia/USSR have won 12 of 15 gold medals. The Russian team in the group event were big favorites. Bulgaria taking the gold from Russia was one of the biggest surprises of the Olympics. The side-by-side of Russia’s team absolutely devastated and Bulgaria celebrating in total shock was quite the scene.
#12 Netherlands Women’s Field Hockey
Netherlands has won medals in 9 of the past 10 Olympics. The Dutch won their fourth ever gold medal in dominant fashion, going 8–0 with a combined score of 29-2.
#11 France Men’s and Women’s Handball
France dominated the sport of Handball at Tokyo 2020. The men’s team went 7–1 to win their third gold in the past four Olympics. The women’s team won their first ever gold. After going 2–2 in the group stage, France avenged a loss to Russia and a tie against Sweden in the knockout stage.
#10 United States Men’s and Women’s Basketball
Team USA always enters the Olympics with the lofty expectations of being heavy favorites. Both the Men’s and Women’s teams emphatically delivered. The Women’s team won their 7th straight gold with six wins by an average margin of 16 points. The Men’s team won its 4th straight gold. After falling to France in the first game, they rattled off five straight wins including a close one over France in the gold medal game.
#9 Japan Baseball and Softball
Japan pushed for these sports to come back for Tokyo 2020 and battled to overcome the United States in the gold medal match of both sports. It’s astonishing how Japan has embraced the sport. There is no doubt they care more about Baseball/Softball than USA, and this victory combined with the World Baseball Classic means Japan can easily claim the title of having the best baseball in the world.
#8 United States Women’s Volleyball
After winning medals in 2008, 2012, and 2016, USA won its first ever gold at Tokyo 2020. USA went 4–1 record in the group stage and dominated the knockout stage with three straight sweeps.
#7 India Men’s Field Hockey
India has won 8 gold medals historically, but 1980 was the last Olympics that they won any medal. India broke a forty-year slump. They started out 4–1 in the group stage. India then defeated Great Britain 3–1 in the quarterfinals. In a thrilling bronze medal match, India broke the drought with a 5–4 win over Germany. It’s only a bronze, but an inspiring performance from a team that once dominated the sport.
#6 New Zealand Men’s and Women’s Rugby
The women’s team went 6–0. They won the goal medal with an average margin of victory of 19 points. Over on the men’s side, the kiwis started 5-0 with an average score of 30-10, before losing in the finals to walk away with silver.
#5 United States Women’s Water Polo
Team USA averaged over 15 goals per match en route to a 6–1 record and a comfortable gold medal win. This was the third straight gold medal victory for USA women’s water polo. Members of this team were also survivors of a 2019 balcony collapse at a South Korean nightclub that killed two people.
#4 Australia Men’s Basketball
After many years of trying, Australia won its first ever medal in men’s basketball. Besides a blowout loss against USA, the Aussies went 5-0 in their other matches, winning by an average score of 17 points per game. That includes a historic 107-93 win over Slovenia in the bronze medal match.
#3 France Judo
Japan dominated Judo in the individual events. Out of 14 possible gold medals, Japan walked away with 9. Clearly, Japan would be the heavy favorite in the brand-new team judo event, thanks to a roster of gold medal winners. That’s what made France’s achievement one of the biggest surprises of Tokyo. In the first round, France was almost knocked out by Israel, needing a tiebreaker to advance. France cruised to the final and dominated Japan, winning the gold medal 4–1.
#2 Canada Women’s Soccer
Canada won bronze medals at the previous two Olympics, and then was knocked out early at the 2019 World Cup. Every game for Canada was a thriller. In the group stage, they advanced with just one win and two draws. They played to another draw against Brazil in the quarterfinal and barely advanced on penalty kicks. They defeated team USA in the semifinal 1–0. For the 4th time in 7 matches, Canada was tied after regulation, needing a nail-biting penalty shootout to win the gold medal over Sweden.
#1 Fiji Men’s and Women’s Rugby
The Men’s Rugby team from the small island of Fiji dominated every stage of the tournament to repeat as Olympic champions. They won 6 matches by an average score of 26 to 11. The women’s team joined the party by pushing the eventual champions New Zealand to overtime in the semifinals and then overcoming Great Britain in the bronze medal match. They went 4-2 with an average score of 21 to 12.
