Olympic Medal Counts

[dioxide45]

Something interesting I noticed about Olympic medal count standings for Beijing. NBC lists their medal counts in the order of total medals, so USA is on top. However the other country media outlets (I checked Canada, Australia, England) list them in the order of most Gold medals. So that puts China on top. I found this to be an interesting observation.
Something tells me that if USA had more golds but less overall medals, the way they are listed by NBC and other countries would be the oposite?

 

[BocaBum99]

What matters is how many Golds. NBC is just catering to its US audience.

 

[Keitht]

This subject was raised on the BBC this morning. What they did was allocate 3 points for Gold, 2 for Silver and 1 for Bronze. Calculated on that basis China was still at the top with US second. In fact I think something like the top 10 remained exactly where they were.
What I find amusing is that the attitude of the US always seemed to be "First isn't just best, it's the only place. Everything else is losing" It's only when things aren't going so well that some parts of the media try to change the rules.
I remember a comment once that 2nd is 'first loser'. On that basis at least the US are bigger losers than China.

 

[cgeidl]

True Gold winners

IMHO the South African woman who competed (not just swam) for 6.2 miles and came in 16th is this games biggest winner.
She did this outstanding feet with one leg as she lost the other at age 17.
She was a little disappointed in her performance and said it was not a big burden as all she had to do was pull a bit harder with her left arm.
I would like to see a special category like the Oscars to recognize the real heroes who bring tears to those watching but get no Olympic recognition.
Maybe the diamond category.

 

[Steamboat Bill]

You can always buy an olympic medal on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/SYDNEY-2000-OLY...ryZ78130QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/1984-L-A-Olympi...ryZ78130QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[BocaBum99]

This subject was raised on the BBC this morning. What they did was allocate 3 points for Gold, 2 for Silver and 1 for Bronze. Calculated on that basis China was still at the top with US second. In fact I think something like the top 10 remained exactly where they were.
What I find amusing is that the attitude of the US always seemed to be "First isn't just best, it's the only place. Everything else is losing" It's only when things aren't going so well that some parts of the media try to change the rules.
I remember a comment once that 2nd is 'first loser'. On that basis at least the US are bigger losers than China.

Here is the picture of the British Empire in the 1920s.

How big is it now? I think we know who the biggest losers are. :hysterical:

Even timeshares don't lose that much value in 90 years.

 

[ricki999]

IMHO the South African woman who competed (not just swam) for 6.2 miles and came in 16th is this games biggest winner.
She did this outstanding feet with one leg as she lost the other at age 17.
She was a little disappointed in her performance and said it was not a big burden as all she had to do was pull a bit harder with her left arm.
I would like to see a special category like the Oscars to recognize the real heroes who bring tears to those watching but get no Olympic recognition.
Maybe the diamond category.

These type of stories are why sports is my favorite drama.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU3jfbb172E&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk7QbKGgsm8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V22PebTiik