2010 WINTER OLYMPICS--WHO OWNS THE PODIUM?

2010 WINTER OLYMPICS—WHO OWNS THE PODIUM?

First of all, congratulations to Canada on hosting a wonderful Winter Olympics! I grew up just across the border and have been across Canada several times. You have the friendliest people, wonderfully-maintained cities and you have a lot to be proud of in your beautiful country. It is a pleasure to have you as neighbors! You also have set a new Winter Olympics record for gold medals--so you own the podium, after all!



Country G S B T Population (2000) % of Combined Pop.

1. USA 9 15 13 37 281,421,906 12.096%
2. Germany 10 13 7 30 82,351,000 3.528%
3. Canada 14 7 5 26 31,902,000 1.356%
4. Norway 9 8 6 23 4,525,000 .177%
5. Austria 4 6 6 16 8,170,000 .334%
6. Russia 3 5 7 15 144,979,000 6.223%
7. South Korea 6 6 2 14 47,963,000 2.048%
8. China 5 2 4 11 1,279,161,000 55.038%
9. Sweden 5 2 4 11 8,877,000 .365%
10. France 2 3 6 11 59,925,000 2.563%
11. Switzerland 6 0 3 9 7,302,000 .297%
12. Netherlands 4 1 3 8 16,068,000 .674%
13. Czech Republic 2 0 4 6 10,257,000 .424%
14. Poland 1 3 2 6 38,625,000 1.646%
15. Italy 1 1 3 5 57,927,000 2.477%
16. Japan 0 3 2 5 127,066,000 5.452%
17. Finland 0 1 4 5 5,184,000 .206%
18. Australia 2 1 0 3 19,547,000 .824%
19. Belarus 1 1 1 3 10,335,000 .427%
20. Slovakia 1 1 1 3 5,422,000 .216%
21. Croatia 0 2 1 3 4,391,000 .171%
22. Slovenia 0 2 1 3 1,933,000 .066%
23. Latvia 0 2 0 2 2,367,000 .084%
24. Great Britain 1 0 0 1 59,912,000 2.562%
25. Estonia 0 1 0 1 1,416,000 .043%
26. Kazakhstan 0 1 0 1 16,742,000 .703%

Combined Totals 86 87 85 258 2,323,444,241 100.000%



There have been 21 Winter Olympics since they first began in 1924. Germany has won the overall medal count 9 times, Norway has won the overall medal count 7 times, Russia has won 3 times, the USA has won twice, and Sweden and Switzerland tied with Norway in 1948.


WINTER OLYMPICS THROUGH THE YEARS

YEAR WINNER MEDALS GOLD MOST GOLDS EVENTS

1924 Norway 11 4 Norway—4 17
4 Finland—4
1928 Norway 15 6 Norway—6 14
1932 USA 12 6 USA—6 14
1936 Norway 15 7 Norway—7 17
1948 Norway 10 4 Norway—4 22
Sweden 10 4 Sweden—4
Switzerland 10 3
1952 Norway 16 7 Norway—7 22
1956 Russia 16 7 Russia—7 25
1960 Russia 21 7 Russia—7 28
1964 Russia 25 11 Russia—11 34
1968 Norway 14 6 Norway—6 35
1972 Germany 19 7 Russia—8 36
1976 Germany 29 9 Russia—13 37
1980 Germany 28 9 Russia—10 38
1984 Germany 28 11 Germany—11 39
1988 Germany 33 11 Germany—11 46
Russia—11
1992 Germany 26 10 Germany—10 57
1994 Norway 26 10 Russia—11 61
1998 Germany 29 12 Germany—12 69
2002 Germany 36 12 Norway—13 80
2006 Germany 29 11 Germany—11 84
2010 USA 37 9 Canada—14 86


Although there have only been 6 countries that have won the overall medal count in the 21 Winter Olympics, there have been 39 countries plus a unified team which have won a total of 2570 medals since the first Winter Olympics began in 1924. The 6 winning countries have won more than 56% of all Winter Olympic medals, the top 10 countries have won over 80% of the medals, the top 14 countries have won over 90% of the medals, the top 18 countries have won over 95% of the medals, and the top 20 countries have won over 97% of the medals.


WINTER OLYMPIC OVERALL MEDAL COUNT SINCE THE BEGINNING

COUNTRY MEDALS PERCENT COUNTRY MEDALS



1. Germany 358 .139299610 21. Australia 9
2. Norway 303 .117898832 22. Belarus 9
3. Russia 285 .110894941 23. Liechtenstein 9
4. USA 253 .098443579 24. Estonia 7
5. Austria 201 .078210116 25. Slovenia 7
6. Finland 156 .060700389 26. Bulgaria 6
7. Canada 145 .056420233 27. Hungary 6
8. Sweden 129 .050194552 28. Kazakhstan 6
9. Switzerland 127 .049416342 29. Belgium 5
10. Italy 106 .041245136 30. Ukraine 5
11. France 94 .036575875 31. Slovakia 4
12. Netherlands 86 .033463035 32. Yugoslavia 4
13. South Korea 45 .017509727 33. Latvia 3
14. China 44 .017120622 34. Luxembourg 2
15. Czech Republic 41 .015953307 35. North Korea 2
16. Japan 37 .014396887 36. Spain 2
17. Unified Team 24 .009338521 37. Denmark 1
18. Great Britain 22 .008560311 38. New Zealand 1
19. Poland 14 .005447470 39. Romania 1
20. Croatia 10 .003891050 40. Uzbekistan 1



WINTER OLYMPICS GOLD MEDAL TOTALS SINCE 1924

COUNTRY GOLD MEDALS

1. Germany 128
2. Russia 114
3. Norway 107
4. USA 87
5. Austria 55
6. Canada 52
7. Sweden 48
8. Switzerland 44
9. Finland 41
10. Italy 37
11. Netherlands 29
12. France 27
13. South Korea 23
14. Unified Team 10
15. China 9
16. Great Britain 9
17. Japan 9
18. Czech Republic 7
19. Australia 5
20. Croatia 4
21. Estonia 4
22. Liechtenstein 2
23. Poland 2
24. Belarus 1
25. Belgium 1
26. Bulgaria 1
27. Kazakhstan 1
28. Slovakia 1
29. Spain 1
30. Ukraine 1
31. Uzbekistan 1

Total 861



WINNERS OF THE GOLD MEDAL COUNT

1. Russia 8 times
2. Norway 7 times
3. Germany 5 times
4. Canada 1 time
5. Finland 1 time
6. Sweden 1 time
7. USA 1 time


In a top-to-bottom comparison of medal counts based on population vs. actual medals awarded, Norway has over 56 times the number of per-capita medals as China. Although the forerunner of the Winter Olympics was the Nordic Games, over 100 winters and 21 Winter Olympics have come and gone since that time, and yet Norway’s consistent and unique dedication to Olympic excellence is still unmatched by any other country. Although the USA won the overall medal count in 2010, they only received a 19% higher medal count than the expected total that their population would indicate, while Canada received 846% more actual medals than the number of medals which could be expected based on their population. Canada also earned the largest number of gold medals ever awarded in a single Winter Olympics—over 1366% more gold medals than the expected total that their population would indicate. This is a job well done!


PER-CAPITA SUCCESS IN THE 2010 WINTER OLYMPICS

COUNTRIES MEDALS % EXPECTED MEDALS ACTUAL MEDALS

1. Norway +4331 % .531 23
2. Austria +1577 % 1.002 16
3. Slovenia +1515 % .198 3
4. Switzerland +1010 % .891 9
5. Sweden +1005 % 1.095 11
6. Canada +846 % 3.074 26
7. Finland +809 % .618 5
8. Latvia +794 % .252 2
9. Estonia +775 % .129 1
10. Croatia +585 % .513 3
11. Czech Republic +472 % 1.272 6
12. Slovakia +463 % .648 3
13. Netherlands +461 % 1.737 8
14. Germany +333 % 9 30
15. South Korea +280 % 5 14
16. Belarus +272 % 1.104 3
17. France +157 % 7 11
18. Poland +150 % 4 6
19. Australia +141 % 2.124 3
20. USA +119 % 31 37
21. Russia -7 % 16 15
22. Italy -20 % 6 5
23. Kazakhstan -81 % 1.812 1
24. Japan -280 % 14 5
25. Great Britain -700 % 7 1
26. China -1291 % 142 11

This medal count serves to point out what a tremendous achievement it is for countries with relatively low populations to accomplish so much, relative to average expectations based on their size. Where there is a will to excel in competition with other nations, population does not seem to be the leading indicator, but rather their dedication and long-term commitment to the goal of athletic greatness.

Questions answered in this analysis:

Q: Who won the 2010 Winter Olympics based on overall medal count?
A: USA—37 medals

Q: Who won the 2010 Winter Olympics gold medal count?
A: Canada—14 gold medals

Q: Who has won the most Winter Olympics based on overall medal count?
A: Germany—9 times

Q: Who has won the most Winter Olympics based on gold medal count?
A: Russia—8 times

Q: Who has won the most Winter Olympic medals since the beginning?
A: Germany—358

Q: Who has won the most Winter Olympic gold medals since the beginning?
A: Germany—128

Q: Who has achieved the greatest per-capita success in the Winter Olympics?
A: Norway--+4331 %

Q: Who owns the podium based on these 7 answers?
A: Germany x 3
Canada x 1
Norway x 1
Russia x 1
USA x 1

Mark Overt Skilbred

NBA STANDINGS--MARCH 2, 2010

1. Cleveland .770
2. Lakers .754
3. Orlando .672
4. Dallas .656
5. Denver .650
6. Atlanta .644
7. Boston .638
8. Utah .633
9. Phoenix .613
10. Oklahoma City .610
11. San Antonio .586
12. Portland .571
13. Toronto .525
14. Chicago .517
15. Houston .508
16. Milwaukee .508
17. New Orleans .508
18. Memphis .500
19. Miami .492
20. Charlotte .483
21. Clippers .417
22. Philadelphia .373
23. Washington .368
24. Detroit .350
25. New York .339
26. Indiana .333
27. Sacramento .333
28. Golden State .288
29. Minnesota .230
30. New Jersey .102

As March begins, the Cavaliers struggle to maintain their position atop the NBA. As Lebron James pointed out so clearly, basketball is a team effort, and it takes more than one great player to win a championship. The Lakers appear to have stabilized their offensive and defensive strategies well enough to maintain their position behind Cleveland. As both teams near the ¾ mark, the ability to maintain the discipline and concentration necessary to survive in the playoffs becomes more obvious to everyone. Championships are not maintained or won by wishful thinking, but by a determined team effort. Spring is almost here, so let’s try to get and stay healthy for the playoffs!

Mark Overt Skilbred