Originally posted by: Imdmn04
Originally posted by: freegeeks
it's a bit ridiculous to compare countries with population numbers that are so different IMHO
a better way would be the number of medals in relation with the population of a country
US = 29 medals
population=293 million
1 medal for every 10 million Americans
china=22 medals
population=1298 million
1 medal for every 59 million Chinese
EU-15=55 medals
population=381 million
1 medal for every 7 million Europeans
The Netherlands is very impressive
population=16 million
medals=9
1 medal for every 1,7 million pothead :shocked: (j/k)
Australia=16 medals
population=19 million
1 medal for every 1,2 million Australians :shocked:
etc.....
Yes, I'm bored at work
Ok if you are saying it is ridiculous to compare countries with different populations, then it is also ridiculous to compare wealthier nations to poorer nations. After all the wealthy nations has access to first class gyms, equipments, trainers, supplements, etc. which gives the atheletes from those nations an advantage, just like a more populous nation holds a natural advantage over the smaller ones because they can select from a larger gene pool.
What I am trying to say is, there is no single solution to medal counts, there are way too many factors you have to account for to accurately measure a country's ability to produce atheletes.