Which countries have the most naturally athletic populations?
For this I have decided to find out how many countries have won which medals. However, I will only look at the top 5 countries who took part in the 2008 Olympics because if the countries stand a chance they will of had to of done well in the recent Olympics which contained many more events. I will then find the average medals that they have won in each Olympic Games of which they have taken part in and use a points system to find the answer.
Key
1 Gold-15 points
1Silver-10 points
1Bronze-5 points
China
They have taken part in 7 Olympic Games.
Gold’s-163/7=23.285714285714 average gold medals
23.285714285714x15=349.28571428571
Silver’s-117/7=16.7142857142857average silver medals
16.7142857142857x10=167.142857142857
Bronze’s-106/7=15.1428571428571 average bronze medals
15.1428571428571x5=75.7142857142855
75.7142857142855+167.142857142857+349.28571428571=592.1428571428525 points average
USA
They have taken part in 27 Olympic Games.
Gold’s-946/27=35.037 average gold medals
35.037x15=525.555
Silver’s-765/27=28.3 average silver medals
28.3x10=283
Bronze’s-662/27=24.518
24.518x5=122.59
525.555+283+122.59=931.145 points average
Russia
They have taken part in 4 Olympic Games
Gold’s-108/4=27 average gold medals
27x15=405
Silver’s-97/4=24.25 average silver medals
24.25x10=242.5
Bronze’s-110/4=27.5 average bronze medals
27.5x5=137.5
405+242.5+137.5=931.145 points average
Great Britain
Great Britain have taken part in 28 Olympic Games
Gold’s-220/28=7.857142 average gold medals
7.857142x15=117.85713
Silver’s-277/28=9.89285714285714 average silver medals
9.89285714285714x10=98.9285714285714
Bronze’s-269/28=9.60714285714286 average bronze medals
9.60714285714286x5=48.0357142857143
117.85713+98.9285714285714+48.0357142857143=
264.8214157142857 points average
Germany
Germany have taken part in 25 Olympic Games
Gold’s-374/25=14.96 average gold medals
14.96x15=224.4
Silver’s-439/25=17.56 average silver medals
17.56x10=175.6
Bronze’s-469/25=18.76 average bronze medals
18.76x5=93.8
93.8+175.6+224.4=493.8 points average
As we can see from this information, the top two countries are the USA and Russia who are equal on an average of 931.145 points. However, because Russia has only taken part in 4 Olympic Games, I have decided to compare the 4 years Russia have been present with the USA.
USA 1996-2008
Gold’s-153/4=38.25 average gold medals
38.25x15=573.35
Silver’s-133/4=33.25 average silver medals
33.25x10=332.5
Bronze’s-120/4=30 average bronze medals
30x5=150
150+332.5+573.35=1055.85
From this comparison we can see that USA have been the most successful country in the Olympic Games.
By Matthew Webb