OLYMPIC MEDALS - GOLD OR TOTAL - ONCE AND FOR ALL?

Question

For days YA has been full of debate about what counts, Total medals or Gold medals. I have stated time and again that the GOLD MEDAL TALLY is the one that has always been used, irrespective of what the US media is trying to sell.

Today I have been abused AGAIN by an ignorant imbecile re this matter stating that CHINA invented this Gold Medal Tally so that they could be ahead of the USA and that the USA has ALWAYS ranked by TOTAL MEDAL Tally.

Once and for all - IT IS NOT TRUE!

Not because I say so but because the INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE say so, and believe it or not, they are the people who make the rules on this NOT THE US MEDIA!

Go to the OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC MOVEMENT at:

http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/index_uk.asp and you will see EVERY Summer and Winter Olympic games from Athens in 1896 until today.

Select an individual Olympics and you will see toward the bottom right, "Medals By Country"

From Day One it has been done BY GOLD MEDALS NOT TOTAL MEDALS.

THE END... NO ARGUMENT... The US Media has cynically and conveniently changed the way medals are counted to suit themselves for the 2008 Beijing games and US fans have been sold a bill of goods!

Now, hopefully that will be the end of that once and for all!

N.B. I am not American bashing. I do not hold the US public responsible for the US media and if the US win more gold medals than China then they will be number 1 in the medal tally and will deserve their rank.

My country will NOT be in the hunt for 1st position so I wish you all good luck!

Answer 1

Who cares?  It's obvious the Chinese are kicking butt.

Answer 2

thanks

Answer 3

Completely agree. Gold standard it is.

Isnt American media just full of $hit? And some of the Americans are either conceited or ignorant. They actually think count by total is normal, just because the American media does it....bloody sad

I just dont get it. Do you americans want to aggravate others that much? Do you want to be hated by the world that much?

Answer 4

god oh why does this have to be asked again.  

Answer 5

only americans think so!!!

cause they have no guts to accept that china is the first....

look,

they invaded iraq regardless of the UN and now they also wanna change the medal count rule without the IOC...

and now i really feel americans r so mean!!

dont wanna answer the boring question again!!!!

Answer 6

I totally agree with you - the placings should be based on the gold medal count.

China has won more events than any other nation - it's as simple as that.  

And I hope, as you do, that this topic will now end.

Now let's get back to reading about how great Mr Phelps is, and how the Americans were cheated at gymnastics.

Yaawwwwn.

Answer 7

RabbitCC:  You have done it now.  You brought up Iraq.  Our government decided to throw some of our nation's finest people over into that desert despite the UN and their own country's disapproval.  Do some research and gather a little more information before you start discussing a war that not many Americans wanted to deal with.  You don't live in the US, so you don't know what it is like for us to lose friends, brothers/sisters, family members.  You have no idea.  Stop bringing up the war.

I agree, the medal tallies should go by the gold medal standard.  Being an American broadcasting major in college, I do know that the media in America has this ideal that it has to skew the news to put us in favor.  That's the way the American media industry works.  Do I agree with it?  No, but when it is putting money in the bank for you, what else can you do?

By the way...I am going into radio, so you don't have to worry about me skewing the news.  I'll just be introducing songs and talking about various non-controversial subjects!

Answer 8

you know, only gold medalists get their national anthems played, that already tells all.

Answer 9

get a life.

Answer 10

Not that i read your whole rant, but the IOC does NOT support anything about a medal count at all!!!!  The IOC would rather people just focus on the events and athletes that compete.  But if you want to get technical, medal count is the count of medals.  A Gold Medal count would be a count of Gold medals.  If you go by the phrase, then medal count is the total of medals won by a country.  But crying about this when the Olympics aren't even over is stupid and childish.  Right now at 9:46edt 20/08/08 the medal count is tied and China is listed as number 1.  Stop crying about this....it petty in nature.

Answer 11

I agree; what would people rather have

1 gold   or    1 Bronze

If it was counted by total it would mean that the two countries would be the same. When there not because the gold winners have won a harder medal x

Answer 12

i dunno

Answer 13

America used to count it by gold first too - and only started this total thing this year. All Americans should be insulted by the media treating them like idiots and making them look universally naive to try and sell papers and get more viewers. Its really very sad.

Answer 14

I thought the Olympics were for bringing countries together for the spirit of sportsmanship and friendship.  Why are all you people obsessed with what kind and how many medals any country has won?  I am sure the Olympic committee keeps track of every kind of medal that is won by country, which means that they always have the total medal count too.

Answer 15

whoa wait......WE invaded iraq? no BUSH invaded iraq

Answer 16

OK.