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The Olympics are over. Here go the medal counters figuring every which way trying to prove which country was this or that and why. Get over it. Athletes won the medals because they trained hard, sacrificed and were better than others.
How many of you medal counters have actually participated in any kind of competitive sport?
It is so sad to read all the BS.
Ah, it's all in good fun Mr Baron, at least from my perspective
Ah, it's all in good fun Mr Baron, at least from my perspective
Fun? Perhaps?
If patting yourself on the back and stroking your ego by building up the accomplishments of your country's athletes gives you a thrill, go for it. I do however resent those posters who constantly put down other countries. That is rather low class and
Not when you consider the size and wealth of a country it isn't! put it this way the UK can produce a medal winning athlete from approximately every 896,000 of its population but the US can only produce a medal winning athlete from approximately every 2,900,000 of its population! Both countries also have a HUGE advantage because they are rich countries.
Your argument doesn't hold water. It has already been explained that each country can only have a certain number of athletes in each event regardless of that country's population. How are you not understanding that?
I mean, I know we're awesome and all but gold after gold after gold, it gets tiring at some point. Seriously, other countries need to step up, we're winning wrestling, swimming, volleyball, soccer(!!!), gymnastics, and literally everything else. I'm just in awe at how amazing we are, that's all.
I'm not gonna read this whole thread, but I'm shocked that people can't see the obvious, which is that the USA wins more medals because it's simply got more athletes participating in the games than lots of other countries (with much smaller populations). And by the way, the USA did NOT win volleyball or soccer. And you've also got some sports where an athlete can participate in several different events e.g., swimming. Why do you think Michael Phelps has so many medals?
I'm not gonna read this whole thread, but I'm shocked that people can't see the obvious, which is that the USA wins more medals because it's simply got more athletes participating in the games than lots of other countries (with much smaller populations). And by the way, the USA did NOT win volleyball or soccer. And you've also got some sports where an athlete can participate in several different events e.g., swimming. Why do you think Michael Phelps has so many medals?
Winterfall's OP is utter BS. I posted a response (#190) a few days ago.
Your argument doesn't hold water. It has already been explained that each country can only have a certain number of athletes in each event regardless of that country's population. How are you not understanding that?
Just imagine how loudly people would be screaming if each country were allowed a number of participants in proportion to its population.
Letting countries have more entrants isn't going to boost medal counts for a country unless it's something like "group tug of war" that is added as an event.
Countries with major advantages are ones with a highly diverse genetic base. For example, Kenya has lots of runners....not so many shot-putters. The US has a little bit of everything where some countries are much more homogeneous.
Wealth is the other huge advantage. Swimming pools and gymnastics facilities and top-notch medical and other training staff cost a lot of money.
Another would be mechanisms to reward the pursuit of athletics. You might not make the Olympic team and make millions in endorsements like Phelps....but you can get a full-ride to college.
Lastly Title 9 and womens sport in the US are much more developed. I'd be curious how the comparative looks when you split male and female.
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