USA — quite the sporting superpower
In that delightful romantic comedy of 2002, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, there is a scene in which the heroine’s father, a proud Greek man, tells his prospective son-in-law, an American: “When my people were writing philosophy, your people were swinging from trees.”
The Americans may not match the Greeks — the Italians, the Chinese or the Indians for that matter — when it comes to the richness of history and ancient civilisation, but they have moved ahead of the rest of the world in many spheres at enviable speed. In sport too, the United States of America is quite the superpower. Little wonder, it is very much the dominant nation at the Olympics for over a century now.
Right from the start
The dominance began at the very first modern Olympics at Athens in 1896. USA finished on top of the medals table with 11 gold.
The Americans topped the tally in the last Olympics at London too.
In the 26 Olympics they have participated, they have finished first on 16 occasions and were second eight times. Twice they took the third place.
Coming first or second in all but two Olympics is a remarkable feat indeed.
And it is by some distance that they have beaten the competition in the historical medals table. They have so far won 2399 medals, of which 976 are gold.
Second-placed Soviet Union has 1010 medals. That country has dissolved into various nations, including Russia. But even if you add all those medals of the former Soviet countries to the account of the USSR, the resultant total will still not challenge the United States.
Russia is no longer the main challenger, even before its State-assisted doping scandal broke out. China is.
The Asian superpower made the world sit up and take notice when it dethroned the Americans at home in 2008. In London too, the Chinese were impressive though the Americans were back as the most-medalled country.
So what makes America unbeatable at the Olympics?
The big population helps. The United States is home to over 300 million, so there is a large talent pool.
China is another country that proves big population can translate to big share of medals. But, India has proved beyond doubt that population alone won’t be enough!
Money power
Studies have found that the GDP of a country could reflect on the number of medals it wins at the Olympics. The United States, China and Russia prove the rule, with India, one of the world’s fastest rising economies, once again being a major exception.
The main reason attributed to America’s success in Olympics is the strong base the country has at schools and colleges across a wide variety of sporting disciplines. The United States had begun intensive programmes for sports development and science soon after the 1896 Games.
World class facilities and highly-skilled coaches play important roles, too. And the high standard of professionalisation in sport and the successful, market-based leagues too have contributed. Sports bodies, such as USA Swimming, are excellently run and well-funded.
Swimming and athletics powerhouse
And it is swimmers and athletes who have won a high percentage of medals for USA. Between them, they have won 1287 medals but there are more medals to be won on the track and the swimming pool.
The Americans have lorded over many other sports too, including basketball, tennis and shooting.
They are the leading medal-winners in all those disciplines. In fact, there are only a few sports — like badminton, table tennis and handball — in which they are yet to reach the podium.
A survey conducted by the US Anti-Doping Agency in 2010 found that more than three-fifth of the American adults had some relation to sports-related activities. That means more than 160 million people were into sports in some way.
Yes, sport is a cultural thing, too.
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