As usual, the medal tally at the Olympic games was lopsided
Summary
- But overall more countries are tasting sporting glory
AFTER A FORTNIGHT featuring 329 competitions, the battle for Olympic supremacy came down to the last event on the final day of the Paris games. When America’s women’s basketball team beat France’s in the final on August 11th, they also helped their country equal China’s tally of 40 golds at these games. As a result, America retained its position at the summit of the official medal table—which ranks countries based on the number of golds they win—thanks to a greater haul of silvers (44 compared with China’s 27). But the official table may overstate the threat to America’s crown. By another measure, which weights the value of all medals, team USA won by a substantial margin (see chart).
In valuing gold above all else, the official medal table can skew assessments of overall performance. For instance, Turkey won three silvers and five bronzes, but because it won no gold medals it languishes behind Pakistan, which won just one medal in all (a gold in javelin). Looking at total medals, however, is also unsatisfactory as it places the same value on a gold as on a bronze. One solution is to assign points to medals (three for a gold, two for silver and one for bronze). By this measure, America scored 250 points in Paris, 52 more than China did.
Using this system, only one team has beaten the Americans on medal points in the past nine games: the unified team representing the disbanded Soviet Union, at the Barcelona games in 1992. When China hosted the games in Beijing in 2008, it won more golds than the Americans but still lost when measuring by medal points. Hosts almost always enjoy a boost: France’s medal points nearly doubled from the previous edition in Tokyo. That may put China on the back foot at the next edition of the games in Los Angeles in 2028.
Although America and China have dominated the competition in recent years—together, they accounted for 22% of all medal points on offer in Paris, more than the accumulated share of the next four countries—more countries are getting on the podium. This year around 45% of participating countries won at least one medal. In 1992, the equivalent figure was 38%. Albania, Cape Verde, Dominica and St Lucia won their first-ever medals in Paris; Botswana and Guatemala secured their first golds. The improvement reflects the greater number of medals on offer, as more events are added, as well as sport’s globalisation, which has allowed techniques and knowledge to spread further and faster.
Ultimately, however, serious Olympic success is determined by the wealth and population of a country. Rich, big countries have more resources to invest and deeper pools of talent. The share of countries with more than 20 medals has remained largely unchanged since 1992. That makes a minnow’s success all the more special.
