Solving the medal muddle
Mark Sappenfield | 08.24.08
I have solved the medal-table controversy irrefutably.
China won.
Is that total medals or gold medals, you ask. Popular vote or electoral college? Is this the 2000 presidential election all over again? Will there will need to be an emergency session of the Supreme Court to decide who the “winner” of the Olympics is.
Of course, there is no official winner. But the International Olympic Committee (IOC) ranks its medal table by gold medals. That means if someone had happened to win 300 silver and bronze medals and no golds here, it would have ended up being ranked 56th – behind Cameroon, which won a single gold in the women’s triple jump.
What, then, is the point of handing out three medals?
Then again, winning the actual event must count for something.
So here I give you the correct medal table:
1. China – 223
2. United States – 220
3. Russia – 139
4. Great Britain – 98
5. Australia – 89
6. Germany – 83
7. France – 70
8. Korea – 67
9. Italy – 54
10. Japan – 49
The secret math? Three points for a gold, 2 for a silver, 1 for a bronze.
Other crumbs of medal-table trivia:
* By the IOC’s ranking system, Michael Phelps would have finished 10th, one place ahead of France, had he been entered as a country.
* This is only the second time since World War I that two nations have split the gold medal and total medal lead. The other instance was in the 1964 Tokyo Games, when the US won 36 gold medals and 90 overall medals, while the Soviet Union won 30 gold medals and 96 overall medals.
* Compared with its results from Athens, China improved by 19 gold medals and 37 total medals. By far, the greatest increase came in gymnastics, going from one gold, zero silvers, and three bronzes (1-0-3) to 11-1-6 – a gain of 10 gold medals and 14 total medals. No other Chinese sport saw a gain of more than three total medals.
* China maintained or increased its medal totals from Athens in every sport but three. In each of these three, the decrease was only one. Fencing (from 0-3-0 in Athens to 1-1-0 in Beijing), judo (1-1-3 to 3-0-1), and shooting (4-2-3 to 5-2-1). In each, it increased its gold-medal total despite the decline in total medals.
* Fifty-one percent of China’s medals were gold. That is only the third time that more than half of overall leaders’ medals were gold. The others instances were the Soviets in 1972 and the Americans in 1952.
* Fifty-eight percent of American medals came from swimming (31), gymnastics (10), and track and field (23). After those three, America’s best sports by total medals were shooting and fencing, with six apiece.
* In no sport but swimming and track and field did the US win more than two gold medals. China won more than two gold medals in seven sports: badminton (3), diving (7), gymnastics (11), judo (3), shooting (5), table tennis (4), and weightlifting (8).
* There were six medal sweeps: three for the US (men’s 400 meter dash, men’s 400 meter hurdles, and women’s saber), two for China (men’s and women’s singles table tennis), and one for Jamaica (women’s 100 meter dash).
* Of the countries that won more than 10 medals, two won all their medals in one sport. Kenya’s 14 medals and Jamaica’s 11 medals all came in track and field.
* Of the countries that won more than 20 medals, none is more dependent on one sport than Australia: 20 of its 46 medals (43 percent) came from swimming.
* Eighty-seven countries won a medal, surpassing the record of 80, set in 2000.
* Five countries won their first medal: Togo, Mauritius, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Bahrain.
* Three countries won their first gold medal: Panama, Mongolia, and Bahrain.
* Armenia won six medals, all of them bronze. Cuba won 24 medals but only two golds.
* The last medals of Beijing: France (gold), Iceland (silver), Spain (bronze) for men’s handball.
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2. Mary A McKinley | 08.24.08
My feeling remains the same. Those countries whose athletes did not win a medal would have been happy with a silver or a bronze. Those who won silver or bronze just might feel “golden”. As you asked, “what then is the point of handing out three medals? Silver and bronze should be considered “special” and “winning the actual event must count for something “extra special”.
I have enjoyed your reports on the Olympic personalities. However, I am sorry to say that you have not solved the “medal muddle” for me. : ). Do you really think it is possible?
Thanks for doing a terrific job,
4. Seung | 08.25.08
I think the whole medal count, no matter how it’s weighted, is off because an equestrian gold where the horse does most of the physical exertion equals a team gold (e.g. basketball, baseball, handball). I think a team gold should count for more.
5. Solar Nano | 08.25.08
I also feel that medals should be weighted by the population of each country. Based on population and using your your medal table, who was the true winner of the 2008 Olympics? Certainly not China or the US! As well, publish these results for all participating nations!
6. Solar Nano | 08.25.08
One more thing, present an Olympic World Cup to the nation having the most points based on population. This makes the Olympic results ever more exciting and reason for smaller nations like Jamaica to participate and make their nation proud.
7. justme | 08.25.08
Will you post a revised score once the illegal chinese gymnasts are disqualified?
8. jumper | 08.26.08
To correct Seung’s comment…have you ever ridden a horse over 5′3″ fences with a 13′7″ spread? If you really believe that the horse is the only athlete there and doing most of the physical exertion, then give it a try some time! You’ll use muscles you never knew you had and be panting like you ran a marathon when you’re done, and you won’t be able to lift your limbs for days!!!! By the way, The US Equetrian TEAM, yes team, won the jumping Gold medal in a grueling and amazing edge of your seat jump off…you might just try watching. The equestrian athletes were 1200 miles away in Hong Kong, and easily ignored by the media and the world, but worked no less hard to get to China than any of the other athletes. They deserve every bit as much glory and respect as the rest of the athletes.
9. jumper | 08.26.08
Just one more thing…If ping pong, trampoline and badminton are worthy of medals than why shouldn’t an equestrian…especially since the pentathlon embodies what the Olympics stemmed from…the warrior who could shoot, JUMP A HORSE, swim, fence and run stronger, faster and better than his opponent in
>order to win a battle.
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1. Shane Wright | 08.24.08
Mark - can we also have the “math” on the per capita medals table - I imagine Jamaica is doing pretty well on that more realistic measure of national performance.