The U.S. Olympic team of 555 qualified athletes includes a record 292 women after the last sports announced their rosters Monday, which is more women than have competed for any nation at a single Olympics, according to Olympic historians.
The previous record for female competitors was 289 by China at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, according to sports-reference.com.
China’s announced delegation before the 2008 Olympics was 639 athletes with a reported 301 women, but 289 ended up competing, according to Olympic historians.
The previous high for U.S. women was also at the Beijing Games, somewhere between 282 and 288 athletes based on varying numbers from reliable sources.
The U.S. Olympic team will have more women than men for a second straight Games. In London, the U.S. had slightly more women than men, the first time in Olympic history that it sent more women than men to an Olympics.
In Rio, the disparity is greater -- 292 women versus 263 men at the current count.
A few more athletes could join the U.S. roster before or during the Games based on reallocating quota spots, plus team replacement athletes in fencing.
The Olympic roster size is pending until the U.S. Olympic Committee officially nominates the team.
