This morning I was searching for a medal count when I came across an interactive map that adds a lot of perspective to Olympic hosts and their medal count. It tracks each countries medal count since the 1896 Athens games. (This can also serve as a great history and geography lesson). I quickly discovered a trend- China has been moving higher in the ranks of medal contender for some time now, and more eye-opening than anything else, it has been a trend for 11 out of the 26 Olympics (excluding the current Beijing 2008) that the host country receives the most medals. So for China to win the most medals or be in the top 3 is no phenomenon or a bribing scandal, but most likely, it is history repeating itself.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Medal Count Perspective
The Olympic medal count has been a topic of conversation since August 9th when medals started being won. The official Beijing Olympic newspaper claims everyday that China is leading the medal count, while they have more golds, the U.S. has more medals. There have been side comments of bribery or thoughts of training athletes rigorously for some years- China has known they would host the Olympics for seven years- enough to train athletes in even the most random sports. The Chinese national pride bubble is getting bigger and more flashy with each passing day and Chinese win where their national anthem can be heard.
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