# Several Olympics questions

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/several-olympics-questions/186271>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 4, 2003, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/several-olympics-questions/186271 "2003-07-04T18:37:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aslan_of_Narnia)\
**Post date:** [July 4, 2003, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/several-olympics-questions/186271/1 "2003-07-04T18:37:20Z")

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1. What country has held the Olympics the most times?
2. What country has the most gold medals?
3. What makes a country ineligible for being nominated/holding the Olympics?
4. Do the athletes get paid anything, besides getting money from sponsors, for competing/winning?

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**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\
**Post date:** [July 4, 2003, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/several-olympics-questions/186271/2 "2003-07-04T18:45:14Z")

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1. The United States  
St. Louis 1904  
Los Angeles 1932  
Lake Placid 1932  
Squaw Valley 1960  
Lake Placid 1980  
Los Angeles 1984  
Atlanta 1996  
Salt Lake City 2002

A total of 8

1. Don’t know the total, but I think the U.S. still holds the gold medal lead, but it depends upon how you want to count the USSR/Russia.

2. The only way for a country to be ineligible to compete in or even host the Olympics is for it not to be part of the Olympic Movement. If the country has a recognized Olympic Committee according to the International Olympic Committee, you’re good to go.

3. Most national Olympic federations pay their athletes in some way and then give you a bonus for winning a medal.