Team USA receives a lot of hardware whenever the summer and winter Olympics are played — but what happens to their gold, silver and bronze medals once they return home?
Michael Phelps revealed in September 2016 that he doesn’t “ever travel” with his medals, which include 23 gold, three silver and two bronze, totaling 28 trophies.
The greatest swimmer in Olympic history told television host Ellen DeGeneres at the time, “I have probably seen them all together maybe twice.” Phelps played coy about where his medals are housed, adding, “I don’t bring them out often.”
Jordan Chiles, meanwhile, left her hardware in the hands of her parents. The gymnast won a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games and a gold and bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics, but they all stay at her mom and dad’s place.
Scroll down to see where some of Team USA keeps their Olympic medals — and why many pick the sock drawer:
Ryan Lochte
Ahead of the 2012 London Games, Lochte told the Today Show that his trophies are “in a sock drawer.” He added, “I think that’s where all my Olympic medals are.”
Lochte earned 12 medals during his time as a swimmer, six gold, three silver and three bronze.
Abby Wambach
The soccer star won two gold medals with Team USA, one during the 2004 Athens Games and one during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Wambach told the Today Show in July 2012 that she too keeps her trophies in “my sock drawer.”
Brenda Villa
The water polo player, who has four medals from four different Olympic Games, agreed with both Lochte and Wambach, telling the outlet, “Your socks are soft and they’ll keep your medals safe.” Villa took home the gold with the rest of Team USA’s water polo team in 2012, and she had scored two silvers and a bronze in previous Olympics.
Betsey Armstrong
Armstrong told the Today Show that same year that her 2008 Beijing Games silver medal and her 2012 gold medal for water polo are also safely in her room. “I don’t keep it in my sock drawer,” she teased. “I keep it inside of a sock so it doesn’t get rusted or tarnished or messy.”
Mariel Zagunis
The four-time Olympian, who is the most decorated athlete in the history of U.S. fencing, told the Today Show her medals are cozy “in a drawer, but not the drawer with my socks.”
Natalie Coughlin
The former professional swimmer told Today in July 2012, “I have 11 Olympic medals. They were in my sock drawer and then my father decided that wasn’t safe enough, so he got me a safe.” (Her total is 12, after adding a bronze in 4x100m freestyle during the London Games.)
Christie Rampone
“I keep my medals in my pots and pans in my kitchen,” the three-time Olympic gold medalist told the Today Show in July 2012. “I figure, ‘Who’s gonna look in the kitchen.’”
Michael Phelps
Phelps hinted at his hiding spot for his medals during a September 2016 appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, revealing, “They are in a secret place where probably two people in the world know where they are.”
Jordan Chiles
“So recently I just bought a house for my parents,” the gymnast told NBC Los Angeles ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics. “My mom decided to put a safe chest with memorabilia — ever since I started gymnastics to where I am now. So those medals are in a nice safe box.”
Adeline Gray
The female wrestler made her Olympic debut at the 2016 Rio Games, but it wasn’t until the 2020 Tokyo Games that she won her first medal. “Right now a couple of my medals are at the Olympic Museum in Colorado Springs,” she told NBC in July 2024, referring to all her championships, including her silver Olympic medal. “But a couple of them are in my closet and a few in a jewelry drawer.”
Oksana Masters
The 17-time paralympic medalist told the network in July 2024 that her medals “are in socks” at her house. “I love socks. Fun fact,” Masters, who has competed in para-Nordic skiing, para-biathlon, para-cycling and para-rowing, won seven golds, seven silver and three bronze heading into the 2024 events.
Katie Moon
The pole vaulter won her first gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics and hasn’t stopped staring at her accomplishment since. “Usually, I just set it right on my dresser,” Moon revealed during a July 2024 interview with NBC. “So I walk past it every day when I get up. It’s a nice reminder of a pretty cool moment.”
Ashleigh Johnson
“I keep my gold medals at my mom’s house in a trophy case that also has the swimming participation ribbons that we won as a family when I was growing up,” the two-time water polo gold medalist laughed, telling NBC, “It’s among the family treasures.” (Johnson returned as part of Team USA’s women’s water polo crew for the 2024 Paris Games.)
