American Dominance
ONCE UPON A TIME, in a land far, far away a grand battle began. So big was this battle, that almost all nations inevitably became involved. The fittest, fastest, bravest men and women fought continuously for nearly three weeks to win the ultimate prize: what else....GOLD!!
So it wasn't a war, but it was the next best thing (actually almost all things are better than war...except onions). It was the Olympics. And anyone that knows me (or has read any recent posts) knows that I obsess over the Olympics. This year was no exception except that my job kept me from becoming a complete immobile couch potato.
About halfway through the Olympics, I sent a text to a best friend of mine and asked if he had any profound thoughts from the games thus far. His response was two words: American Dominance.
In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, USA won 110 medals nearly evenly spread between gold (36), silver (38), and bronze (36). In London 2012, the US increased their count of gold by 10 with a bit of a decrease in the other two. This year in Rio, the US maintained their gold count from 2012 (46) while bringing their silver and bronze counts up to where they were in Beijing (37 and 38 respectively).
In total, the US brought home 121 of the available 954 medals, which is nearly 13% of all medals awarded. Remember also that in team events, the US could only win one medal which could (if the US were allowed more than one team) cause an even more unbalanced result in favor of the US. To put a bit more perspective into this, the entire continent of Africa was awarded only 31 medals, a total nearly quadrupled by the US. All of Central and South America combined only raked in 67 medals. China and Russia combined (know as two Olympic powerhouses) would only narrowly beat out the US in total medals while still not matching the US in the amount of gold being carried home.
The obvious highlights of American dominance begin on the mats of women's gymnastics where the US demolished the competition by more than eight points. The team itself was led by the greatest women's gymnast of all time, Simone Biles. The dominance then went to the pool where Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky won often and in record breaking fashion. On the track, American ladies again left the competition in the dust including key wins in shot put and the 4x100 along with a podium sweep in the 100 meter hurdles. Let's not forget the "World's Greatest Athlete", Ashton Eaton, repeating as champion in the decathalon, the first repeat in this event since Daley Thompson of Great Britain in 1984.
The moral of our American fairy tale, is that the US is the both the beast and the prince. Currently dominant and being chased after. I doubt that the trend will change anytime soon, but that may also be due to the fact that there is a long four years until the ultimate battle of all nations reconvenes in Tokyo, Japan. The Trek To Tokyo begins......NOW!!!
So it wasn't a war, but it was the next best thing (actually almost all things are better than war...except onions). It was the Olympics. And anyone that knows me (or has read any recent posts) knows that I obsess over the Olympics. This year was no exception except that my job kept me from becoming a complete immobile couch potato.
About halfway through the Olympics, I sent a text to a best friend of mine and asked if he had any profound thoughts from the games thus far. His response was two words: American Dominance.
In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, USA won 110 medals nearly evenly spread between gold (36), silver (38), and bronze (36). In London 2012, the US increased their count of gold by 10 with a bit of a decrease in the other two. This year in Rio, the US maintained their gold count from 2012 (46) while bringing their silver and bronze counts up to where they were in Beijing (37 and 38 respectively).
In total, the US brought home 121 of the available 954 medals, which is nearly 13% of all medals awarded. Remember also that in team events, the US could only win one medal which could (if the US were allowed more than one team) cause an even more unbalanced result in favor of the US. To put a bit more perspective into this, the entire continent of Africa was awarded only 31 medals, a total nearly quadrupled by the US. All of Central and South America combined only raked in 67 medals. China and Russia combined (know as two Olympic powerhouses) would only narrowly beat out the US in total medals while still not matching the US in the amount of gold being carried home.
The obvious highlights of American dominance begin on the mats of women's gymnastics where the US demolished the competition by more than eight points. The team itself was led by the greatest women's gymnast of all time, Simone Biles. The dominance then went to the pool where Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky won often and in record breaking fashion. On the track, American ladies again left the competition in the dust including key wins in shot put and the 4x100 along with a podium sweep in the 100 meter hurdles. Let's not forget the "World's Greatest Athlete", Ashton Eaton, repeating as champion in the decathalon, the first repeat in this event since Daley Thompson of Great Britain in 1984.
The moral of our American fairy tale, is that the US is the both the beast and the prince. Currently dominant and being chased after. I doubt that the trend will change anytime soon, but that may also be due to the fact that there is a long four years until the ultimate battle of all nations reconvenes in Tokyo, Japan. The Trek To Tokyo begins......NOW!!!
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