A first glance at the records shows the tremendous history of France and Great Britain when it comes to the Olympic Games, having participated in 27 editions of the event, the highest among all countries.
USA, Russia and Germany have an excellent Olympic Program and more-or-less set the standards of performance in a huge chunk of the Olympic Sports if not all.
Numbers at a glance of the top 5 Teams(and India):
Countries(IOC) | Avg No .of Gold | Avg No. of Silver | Avg No. of Bronze | Avg No. of Medals(Total) | Gold to Total Medals ratio |
USA | 37.5 (1) | 29.1 (1) | 25.6 (1) | 92.3 (1) | 0.4 (2) |
Russia | 31.9 (2) | 26.8 (2) | 26.2 (2) | 84.9 (2) | 0.38 (3) |
Germany | 17.1 | 18 (3) | 19.2 (3) | 54.3 (3) | 0.32 |
Great Britain | 8.74 | 10 | 10 | 28.9 | .30 |
France | 7.5 | 8.3 | 9.1 | 24.9 | .30 |
China | 22.3 (3) | 16.2 | 14 | 52.6 | 0.42 (1) |
India | 0.39 | 0.26 | 0.47 | 1.13 | 0.35 |
It is important to note that while USA tops the charts in almost all departments, China, with its representation in only 9 Olympics is the phenomenal story here with a surprising 3rd place in terms of the average Gold Medals and 1st place in the ratio of Gold to Total Medals. It will be interesting to see how things turn out for China in the upcoming games.
Sports are a culmination of enthusiasm, hard work, and passion. So it is not entirely fair to judge solely by numbers, but then again they are a pretty good indicator and numbers do not lie. If the above stats are anything to go by, and taking into consideration, the weather and climate of the host city coupled with the strength of the contingent, we can make a couple of predictions about the final medals tally board:
USA – We can safely assume USA to top the boards once more due to their proven strategic approach to the Games. They are the stalwarts and giants on the field.
China – The surprise candidate to follow USA and maybe even challenge them at the top of the board - China - is sending a 416-member strong contingent, the largest overseas representation at Rio.
Germany – The Germans have always had their standards and it can be safely said that no less than a top 3 finish will satisfy them; especially taking advantage of the considerably weakened Russian presence.
Russia/Great Britain – The Russians may be down but never out. They know how to fight tooth and nail will and not accede an inch of ground to the British.
South Korea/Australia – These are the dark horses of the tournament gauging by their performance over the last few years. They would do well to break into the top 6.
France – The perennial underachievers would have to put up an enthralling performance to do any better, especially after the rise of the new power China. A good performance at the Olympics will go a long way to bring cheer to the French public after the horrible year they have endured so far.
India – Looking at the 120-strong Indian contingent - the largest ever from India - there is reason for hope. If all goes well, Indians can hope to see more than 1 gold medal fly back from Rio. Unless there is a terrible disaster, a couple of silver and bronze medals seems like a surety, too.
