Is anyone else surprised and/or disappointed by Russia's performance this time?

Question

last i checked they only have like 9 gold. So they are behind Great Britain and Australia, and are close to the likes of Korea! (no offense to them, they have performed very well, but are usually down the table in past Olympics). Russia used to be a powerhouse, even in Athens they were 3rd on the table.

Anyone else majorly surprised or do you see them as a rapidly declining superpower?

Answer 1

This is my answer from a similar question: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...

As you already know, the Soviets were the dominant Olympics powerhouse until the USSR collapsed. The Soviets won the most gold medals in seven of the nine Games they appeared in (the USA won the other two). Since then Russia has been losing its dominance in more and more sports with every passing Olympics. They are quickly fading. The 1992 Summer Games were the last time Russia won the most gold medals (as the Unified Team), and the 2000 Summer Games may be the last time Russia is in 2nd place.

Russia isn't just losing dominance in the Summer Games either. They used to be the best in the Winter Games as well, but the 1994 Winter Olympics were the last time Russians were in 1st place. So what is happening, particularly with the Beijing Games now? How did Russia drop from 3rd place in gold in Sydney four years ago, to 6th place in Beijing now (with only a few days left to compete)?

It could be a lot of things. It could be because of the war between Georgia and Russia, which could be affecting the Russian athletes mentally, breaking their concentration. Or it could be because the Russian government isn't spending enough money to build new sports facilities. Most of Russia's sports gymnasiums and equipment is from the Soviet era. It could also be that many of the great coaches that trained the Soviet team have now retired and Russia hasn't found good coaches to replace them.

The Chinese have adopted the Soviet system for training athletes and they seem to be doing quite well with it (ignoring all the controversies with cheating). The Beijing Games have been a disaster for Russia and perhaps this will wake up their leadership and convince them they need to do something about it. With enough money and dedication, I'm sure the Russians can quickly regain their top spot.