Tokyo 2020, who ‘won’ the Olympics? San Marino and Holland, that’s why …

Who ‘won’ the Olympics? The United States? The China? No. San Marino won in Tokyo 2020. Or, perhaps, Holland. The medal table of the Games just ended lends itself to analyzes and interpretations which, on the basis of not only sporting parameters, gives different rankings than those expressed by tracks, fields, swimming pools and platforms. For example, if we consider the population parameter and the relationship between inhabitants and medals, San Marino flies to the top which – with its 33 thousand inhabitants – manages to bring home a silver and two bronzes and leaves behind, among the ‘ mini-rivalries’, Granada, Bermuda and Bahamas. If the field is restricted to nations with more than 1 million inhabitants, the best results – for the podiums / inhabitants ratio – belong to New Zealand, which leaves Japan with 7 golds, 6 silvers and 7 bronzes. The giants of the medal table are lost in the low and very low areas of the demographic-sporting ranking. Russia beyond the 40th position, the United States 54th, China even 77th. And Italy? The Azzurri, returning from a record expedition with 10 golds and 40 medals, are tenths in the traditional medal table. The loot, compared to the approximately 60 million inhabitants, is transformed into a 35th place ‘without infamy and without praise’. The mechanism penalizes countries such as India, Nigeria and Mexico which leave Tokyo with little metal. On the contrary, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary and Denmark find themselves very high in the standings. Yes, but how would the top ten of the medal table change if population were an evaluation criterion? Turnaround served, with Holland on top of the world ahead of Australia and the United Kingdom. Italy, fourth, would do better than Japan and France. For Russia, Germany, USA and China the consolation of the last 4 positions.