The Summer Olympics in Tokyo is over. In the medal table, there was a duel between China and the United States at the top to the end. After the last decision, the US team was not only at the top, for the third time in a row, with the usual number – with a total of 113 medals, the USA also won the most medals by show.
The German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) team won five fewer medals than it did five years ago in Rio de Janeiro, in the classic medal table, dropping four places from fifth to ninth. Discussions about the sports system in Germany are accelerating, but the German Football Association (DOSB) with President Alphonse Hormann is not doing well.
If we stick to general balance, this is what the medal table looks like after 339 competitions:
The medal table also includes discussions of the usefulness of the previous counting method. Saber fencer Max Hartung, who has criticized German sports for years as a sports spokesperson, did so recently In an interview with “Zeit” He advocates a different perspective: more individual, less records-oriented, and more with the athletes at the center.
Looking at the bigger picture, it might be fair to let every medal count. Gold will then be equal in value to silver and bronze. Then there would be at least one place exchange at the top in Tokyo, and the Japanese team would have ended up in fifth place:
It would be more balanced to include the total number of medals and the slightly higher value of gold medals. There will be such a change in the top 15, and the German team will return to the ninth place.
It becomes even more interesting when you compare countries’ economic performance to winning medals at the Olympic Games. Then Germany came in at 77th, and the USA at only 82nd – and San Marino would be crowned on top. The population of the republic, which is surrounded by Italy, is only 34 thousand, five of whom are eligible to enter Tokyo.
San Marino sent a team to the Olympics for the fifteenth time and managed to win medals for the first time. Athletic shooter Alessandra Pirelli won the bronze medal in the trap on the fifth day of the competition. “I don’t know what’s going on at home now,” the 32-year-old told Italian news agency ANSA. “Am I a champion? Now don’t exaggerate!” Three days later, Pirelli followed suit and won the silver medal in the mixed trap with Gian Marco Berti, and wrestler Miles Amin won the bronze.
Not surprisingly, San Marino is also at the top of the medal table if the return is turned into population. In the top 15 list, the Netherlands and Australia are also two countries ahead of Germany in the current ranking. The Dutch team won 36 medals from just 17.5 million people.
How big are the Olympic teams actually? The United States presented the largest team with 648 athletes. It is followed by Japan (619), Australia (491), China (425), Germany (422), and France (400).
San Marino headed to Tokyo with only five participants. Bermuda sent Dara Alizadeh (rowing) athlete and Flora Duffy athlete to the games. Duffy won gold in a triathlon—and would have put the tiny Atlantic island nation at the top of another medal table.
