# Olympics. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 14, 2004, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics/259859 "2004-08-14T18:54:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nonpolar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3da27b/32.png) [@nonpolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nonpolar)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2004, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics/259859/1 "2004-08-14T18:54:02Z")
To all you sports fans :who will win most medals at the Olympics? I think Russia. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2004, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics/259859/2 "2004-08-14T19:04:38Z")
Nah, Australia. ---
**Author:** ![Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunshine_and_Smiles)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2004, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics/259859/3 "2004-08-14T20:08:35Z")
And I’ve gotta pull for the States myself. On the other hand, I’m most proud of the lone qualifier from the British Virgin Isles. Carry on, my good man! ~S&S ---
**Author:** ![Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightwatch_Trailer)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2004, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics/259859/4 "2004-08-14T20:23:35Z")
According to this unwieldy [chart](http://www.photius.com/rankings/medals2.html) (sorry, it was the best I could do on short notice), the US won the most medals in 2000. I’ll have to choose them again this year, though I hope they lose miserably in basketball. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2004, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics/259859/5 "2004-08-14T20:46:45Z")
The United States. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2004, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics/259859/6 "2004-08-14T21:10:37Z")
The team with the most drug cheats. That would be … ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2004, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics/259859/7 "2004-08-14T21:17:04Z")
The Isle of Man. Note to opening ceremony planners - If the name of a country sounds exactly the same in English, French, and the Host’s language, have the announcers say it only once. Somehow hearing three different women say Canada sounded silly. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2004, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics/259859/8 "2004-08-14T22:07:59Z")
But Togo, Togo, Togo made me giggle 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2004, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics/259859/9 "2004-08-15T02:11:49Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > Somehow hearing three different women say Canada sounded silly. But it’s such a _pretty_ name! Try it: Canada. Canada. Rolls off the tongue, eh? You’re right, though, 3 times in a row is odd. It’s like going to the Monster Truck show on Sunday-Sunday-Sunday! ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2004, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics/259859/10 "2004-08-15T02:37:33Z")
It will be the United States. There’s piles of talk of the United States having trouble because of the few athletes that they lost due to steroids. First of all, the number isn’t that large and second of all they’re a deep country on the track (and in the pool but I haven’t heard of them losing swimmers due to steroids). They’ve got a real shot at sweeping the 100M even without Tim Montgomory…that is if Asafa Powell has a bad race that or something. For most sprints and middle distances as well as most field events (save a few) they will always have a contender. This year Paul Hamm (that’s right ain’t it?) has a shot at a bunch of Gymnastics medals as well which is normally reserved for the Europeans and Asians. I’d almost be willing to put money on that if you add up all the United state’s swimming and Track and field medals then they will beat every other county. It isn’t inconceivable that Russia or China could have a good Olympics and beat them…but I doubt it. The cool thing about being from Canada is that when we do win a medal, and especially a gold, it means so much more. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2004, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics/259859/11 "2004-08-15T03:52:08Z")
I’m really liking the payout on Ivory Coast. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2004, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics/259859/12 "2004-08-15T04:04:50Z")
That’s **Cote d’Ivoire**! Weren’t you paying attention during the parade? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2004, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics/259859/13 "2004-08-15T04:27:38Z")
And if the payoff comes through, it’ll be the **_Casey_ d’Ivoire** shortly thereafter. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2004, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics/259859/14 "2004-08-15T06:20:06Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > Nah, Australia. No, it’ll be the United States, i reckon. Ever since the old post-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) split into a bunch of separate nations, the US has topped the medal count. The last time anyone other than the US toped the count was Barcelona, where the CIS won 112 total medals to the USA’s 108, and 45 gold to America’s 36. If you want to vote for Australia, you need a situation where the criterion is medals per head of population. In the July/August 2004 edition of the _Atlantic Monthly_, one of the magazines’s staff researchers looked at the past two summer Olympics (Atlanta, Sydney) and ranked nations baseed on medals won per head of population. Australia came out on top. (The study included only countries that won at least 5 medals, i guess as a correction for those occasions where a tiny nation will get one medal.) The researcher, in allocating figures for each country, worked out what each nation’s “expected” tally of medals would be if all the medals were distributed among the nations proportionally, based on population. Then, he compared the “expected” count to the actual count. The results were: 1. Australia: 18.2 times its expected share 2. Jamaica: 17.05 3. Cuba: 16.98 4. Norway: 13.2 5. Hungary: 13.1 6. Bulgaria: 12.2 7. Belarus: 10.7 8. The Netherlands: 9.7 9. New Zealand: 9.6 10. Denmark: 7.9 The United States had a figures of about 2.5 The worst ranking among large nations was India, which, with two total medals, won “less than one percent of its expected share.” ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2004, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics/259859/15 "2004-08-15T06:31:31Z")
By the way, see if you can see a pattern in the medal winners at the first five modern Olympics: **1896 Athens** Most medals: Greece **1900 Paris** Most medals: France **1904 St. Louis** Most medals: United States **1908 London** Most medals: United Kingdom **1912 Stockholm** Most medals: Sweden I guess that travel difficulties and the expense involved for amateur athletes who wanted to go away to compete meant that there was a strong home team advantage. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2004, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics/259859/16 "2004-08-15T15:39:45Z")
> [@calm kiwi](#): > > But Togo, Togo, Togo made me giggle 🙂 Sounds like part of an 80s frat movie. “Togo! Togo! Togo!” Or, to butcher the Simpsons: “Togo! Togo! Togo! 2000!” “Marge, he stole my idea!” Or maybe a remake of _Tora Tora Tora_. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2004, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics/259859/17 "2004-08-15T18:27:58Z")
I’m rooting for Burkina Faso. ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2004, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics/259859/18 "2004-08-16T14:34:11Z")
Forget all that. The real question is which nation will have the most atheletes disqualified for doping. My money’s on China. ---
**Author:** ![nonpolar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3da27b/32.png) [@nonpolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nonpolar)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2004, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics/259859/19 "2004-08-16T17:24:19Z")
> [@Bookkeeper](#): > > Forget all that. The real question is which nation will have the most atheletes disqualified for doping. My money’s on China. Canada has also its share of doping scandals.