US Medals table

[ilw]

It has just been pointed out to me that some US newspapers, tv news etc are looking at a medals table where the US is winning:

United States 26 28 28 82
China 45 14 20 79
Russia 13 14 18 45
Britain 16 10 11 37
Australia 11 12 13 36

Whereas everyone else in the world (and i do mean everyone) is looking at the IOC official medals table which prioritises golds and looks like this:

China 44 14 19 77
United States 26 28 28 82
Great Britain 16 10 11 37
Russia 13 14 18 45
Australia 11 12 13 35

Feeling a little inferior are we? Not accustomed to being second rate perhaps?

[Skiz]

It has just been pointed out to me that some US newspapers, tv news etc are looking at a medals table where the US is winning:




Whereas everyone else in the world (and i do mean everyone) is looking at the IOC official medals table which prioritises golds and looks like this:

China 44 14 19 77
United States 26 28 28 82
Great Britain 16 10 11 37
Russia 13 14 18 45
Australia 11 12 13 35

Feeling a little inferior are we? Not accustomed to being second rate perhaps?

Both of those show the USA winning in the total medal count.

It just depends on how you want to view the results. By gold medals or by total medals.

Quit stereotyping, troll. You anti-Americans will find anything you feel you can spin against us.

[NA_Magus]

Because obviously the American people are in charge of their media...right? Almost every host does exceptionally well at their Olympics.
So who's feeling inferior?

[ilw]

hmm missing the point perhaps, the medals tables were supposed to have the same contents, but obviously one of them is more up to date.

The point was that nobody ranks countries by total number of medals, its always done by how many golds, so China is the leading nation in this olympics by a long way (no doubt helped by its host nation status)

What i found funny was that certain Merkin media outlets "coincidently" decided now was a good time to rank countries by total medals.

US no. 1! Go team

[NA_Magus]

I know NBC has started doing that and I agree it shouldn't be like that, but they have every right to present the same information the way they want. Just because some outlets do so, it doesn't mean we all (or any of us...) have some inferiority complex. So what was the point of this thread other than to troll?

[Skiz]

Looking at some non-American sites, its seems they are ranked in different ways.

The BBC ranks them by gold medals, while CBC (Canadian Broadcasting) ranks them by total medals earned, so no, not everyone else ranks them differently.

Would you like to whine about how we notate our dates differently as well?

You couldn't beat JP or chalice or several others who've passed through here in rodage quantity, or quality, if you tried, hard.

And you'd be doing it in a fashion less interesting than a brick. A gray one.

[Cheese]

I'm not surprised because they've usually done it the way they're currently doing it.

I have no time for runners-up or third-placers so, as long as they remain in the lead for gold medals, I shall be declaring China the winners of the 2008 Olympics.

From the official site:

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not recognise global ranking per country; the medal tables are displayed for information only.


The medal tables by country are based on the number of medals won, with gold medals taking priority over silver and bronze. A team victory counts as one medal.

So really, there isn't an officially correct way to represent the data. Rather, it is up to the broadcaster. Though I think that most of the world agrees gold counts for more than 1st and 2nd placed losers.

[wardawgg]

well i wish i could say Jamaica has lots of gold medal, or lots of medals in total but i can't, so i'll not get into this total medal fight, but our medals are history making ones, heheh, go usian bolt

[peat moss]

What a load of crap , who gets the most medals wins . Totals count where I come from . Nice to see great performances from the lesser nations , my country Canada included .


Well see how many medals China gets in the winter games .Don't get me wrong their deserving of all their medals , diving and gymnastics was outstanding . Can they play Hockey ? Nope nope ..

well i wish i could say Jamaica has lots of gold medal, or lots of medals in total but i can't, so i'll not get into this total medal fight, but our medals are history making ones, heheh, go usian bolt

I'm waiting for the bubble to burst , doping comes to mind . I say this in jest as most of the great Jamaican runners were wearing Canadian flags . That in it's self just seems so wrong , participate under the colours of your natural born country and be proud of it . Is that so much to ask ?


I want add that I'v been watching most of the high lites of the games with my wife and youngest son and marveled at the skill of the athletes . We just complained when it seemed the judges were biased ,not at the country or the athlete that was trying their best . Life is never fair but always seems to have a silver lining , my son whats to try out for track and field and that's great .

[Skiz]

What a load of crap , who gets the most medals wins . Totals count where I come from . Nice to see great performances from the lesser nations , my country Canada included .

I agree. Silver and bronze have to count for something.

Besides, I can be completely subjective and see both totals independently, and even evaluate the significance of each. For me, viewing the total medal count or the total gold medals both hold a relative importance.

I can (and do) look at NBC's medal standings and recognize both totals.