EU “wins” olympics… August 30, 2004 at 1:35 pm
So many in the EU claim (though they mention “tongue in cheek”) that they “Won” the olympics with their 82 golds and 286 total medals.. The US is next with 35 golds and 103 total. There’s also talk about EU athletes carrying the EU flag to show their unity in the 2008 games.
OK.. I’m all for that. But of course, that means that they don’t get to have up to 25 teams per event (1 team per each of the 25 EU countries that participated this year) anymore.. only 1. Or, if they prefer, the US gets to have 50 teams per event… 1 per state, since the EU seems to imply in some cases that their individual countries are basically like the US’ states.
All in all, this claim of their’s is just stupid. As if 25 countries vs 1 in all other cases (US, China, Russia, etc) is anything close to fair when comparing medals.
Have to agree with you there. Although we like the thought of our shared victory (who wouldn’t?) it’s not very realistic to claim it.
On the other hand, that whole ranking isn’t very realistic, since countries are way too different in population and sports budget to claim any title out of it. That goes for the USA as well.
Anyway, don’t forget spokesman Kemppinnen made a joke rather than a statement. But if you like, we can include Canada’s medals in the “North-American” count, to make it more fair 🙂
greetings from the Netherlands,
basz.