LaserWolf said:The three tables below show the ranking based on (1) gold medals won, (2) total medals won and also (3) using a weighted medal score.
Table: Top ranked teams based on GOLD MEDALS per million population
rank Country Gold Silver Bronze Total Medals total gold
/million pop
1 Finland 101 83 115 299 19.22
2 Hungary 159 141 159
459 15.91
3 Sweden 142 160 173 475 15.65
4 Bahamas 4 2 4 10 12.89
5 Norway 54 48 42 144 11.55
6 New Zealand 36 15 35 86 8.47
7 Denmark 41 63 66 170 7.43
8 Bulgaria 51 84 77 212 7.13
9 Estonia 9 8 14 31 6.97
10 Australia 131 137 164 432 6.09
Table: Top ranked teams based on TOTAL MEDALS per million population
rank Country Gold Silver Bronze Total Medals total medals
/million pop
1 Finland 101 83 115 299 56.90
2 Sweden 142 160 173 475 52.35
3 Hungary 159 141 159
459 45.94
4 Bahamas 4 2 4 10 32.21
5 Denmark 41 63 66 170 30.82
6 Norway 54 48 42 144 30.79
7 Bulgaria 51 84 77 212 29.66
8 Estonia 9 8 14 31 24.01
9 Switzerland 45 70 66 181 23.74
10 New Zealand 36 15 35 86 20.22
Table: Top ranked teams based on the WEIGHTED MEDAL SCORE per million population
(using the Topend Sports weighted ranking system: Gold=6 Silver=2 Bronze=1 points)
rank Country Gold Silver Bronze Total weighted Medal Count weighted
/million pop
1 Finland 101 83 115 299 887 168.79
2 Sweden 142 160 173 475 1345 148.22
3 Hungary 159 141 159
459 1236 139.61
4 Bahamas 4 2 4 10 32 103.08
5 Norway 54 48 42 144 462 98.80
6 Denmark 41 63 66 170 438 79.41
7 Bulgaria 51 84 77 212 551 77.08
8 New Zealand 36 15 35 86 281 66.08
9 Estonia 9 8 14 31 84 65.06
10 Switzerland 45 70 66 181 476 62.44
Notes:
The data includes all medals won at the summer Olympic Games (not including 2012). The original medal list source: wikipedia.
The population data is sourced from the CIA World Book for 2011. There are quite a few countries/teams that no longer exist that have won medals in the past.
The following teams have not been included in this analysis due to no current population data; Soviet Union, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Unified Team, Yugoslavia, Mixed team, Australasia, Russian Empire, Serbia and Montenegro, Bohemia, Independent Olympic Participants, British West Indies.
http://www.topendsports.com/events/summer/medal-tally/all-time-comparison-pop.htm
Who would have guessed the Finnish to be the true Olympic Powerhouses? If only they had a larger population to pool from, their national anthem would be a popular ringtone on Itunes. The pretzel shapes that you must contort to downplay the USA Olympic history is rather amusing. So, if I got this right, the total medal count from (1896 to 2011) divided by (the population in 2011) gives Finland as the most successful nation ever in the Olympics? Burn. Oh man you got me! What a fantastically strange argument. Totals medals in history divided by the current population. Hmmm. Population changes over time. Before I go on, to any reader, please ask 3 of your coworkers tomorrow to name 1 Finnish Olympic athlete and the most memorable Finnish Olympic moment, then do the same once again this time with an American Olympic athlete and the most memorable American Olympic moment.
I will humor you with the following small peek at some data. Let's do a snapshot from an old Olympic meet and a more current Olympic Meet. Say 1908 Summer Olympics, the first year that Finland competed, by this time the USA already had 3 Olympics events under it's belt. Finland, 5 total medals (1 Gold). USA, 47 total medals (23 Gold). 1908 Finland Population, 2.7 million. 1908 USA Population, 76 million. So with, roughly, 28 times more people the USA produced 9 times more medals. Now 1996 Summer Olympics, Finland, 4 total medals (1 Gold). 1996 USA Olympics team, 101 total medals (44 Gold). 1996 Finland Population, 5 million. 1996 USA Population, 265 million. So the USA with roughly 53 times more people produced 25 times more medals. According to the data, between 1908 and 1996 the Finnish population almost doubled and they produced 1 less medal than they did in 1908. On the other hand, the US population roughly tripled and it produced double the medals it had in 1908.
The Bahamas being the 4th most successful country in terms of medals per capita is the first clue that something is amiss here. There are only so many medals to be awarded and only so many events to take place in. The better, more sound argument would be the total medals available to win divided by the athletic pool per country. That ratio is more telling. For example with data easily available, the total medals awarded in the 1996 Summer Olympics: 842. USA's share of that is roughly 12 percent. Finland's share 0.5 percent. USA had 646 competitors out of a total of 10,318 athletes. A ratio of 6.2 percent. Finland had 76 competitors out of 10,318. A ratio of 0.74 percent. USA had 8.5 times more athletes than Finland and won 8.5 times more medals. NO, WAIT. That's NOT what happened. The USA had 8.5 times more athletes than Finland but won 25 times more medals. Rinse and repeat among any given Olympic event at any point in history and the numbers will agree.
And your point was....