So Great Britain did really well in the Olympics this year, coming forth in both total number of medals, and in the number of gold, silver and bronze.
| Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Britain | 19 | 13 | 15 | 47 |
So well done to all the Olympic Athletes for taking part, from whatever country.
Britain is of course part of the European Union. Alexander Stubb, the Finnish Foreign Minister who is in the news at lot a the moment after taking charge in Georgia, one said that "the EU will always be more than an international organisation, but less than a state." (Source - PDF)
So the people running the young Europeans website, had the fab idea of adding all the EU's medals up.
| Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EU | 87 | 101 | 92 | 280 |
| China | 51 | 21 | 28 | 100 |
| USA | 36 | 38 | 36 | 110 |
| Russia | 23 | 21 | 28 | 72 |
Only a couple of medals away from getting more than the next three regions combined!
Maybe you disagree with Stubb and think the EU is not any different than other international organisations. In that case we would compare the EU to America's and Russia's international organisations.
| Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EU | 87 | 101 | 92 | 280 |
| NAFTA | 41 | 47 | 43 | 131 |
| CIS | 31 | 35 | 56 | 122 |
Still win!
<p>Flawed logic. This comparison would only make sense if the EU could only send the same amount of competitors as a single country.</p>
<p>Since it is treated as many small countries there is many more EU competitors in some events than a single country would be allowed, any comparison must be weighted to account for this.</p>
<p>Great discussion and a great "add-on" with the European countries!</p>
<p>I still find medals per Capita very interesting because it indicates how many medals a country has won, from the pool of potential athletes living in the country.</p>
<p>I found this widget that displays who won the 2008 Olympics from different perspectives.
It displays medals won by total medal count and gold count.
In addition it can show medals won per million inhabitant and per million dollar GDP.</p>
<p>I think you might like it:-)
<a class="reference external" href="http://www.youcalc.com/apps/1219403616554?application_popup=1">http://www.youcalc.com/apps/1219403616554?application_popup=1</a></p>
<p>Its easy to put on your blog</p>
<p>A straight medal count isn’t necessarily the most fair:-)</p>
<p>And the greatest flaw with this "simple" talley?</p>
<p>Women's eights final:
1 United States 6:05.34 Gold
2 Netherlands 6:07.22 Silver
3 Romania 6:07.25 Bronze</p>
<p>Men's quadruple sculls final:
1 Poland 5:41.33 Gold
2 Italy 5:43.57 Silver
3 France 5:44.34 Bronze</p>
<p>Women's quadruple sculls final:
1 China 6:16.06 Gold
2 Great Britain 6:17.37 Silver
3 Germany 6:19.56 Bronze</p>
<p>Men's lightweight fours final:
1 Denmark 5:47.76 Gold
2 Poland 5:49.39 Silver
3 Canada 5:50.09 Bronze</p>
<p>Men's lightweight double sculls final:
1 Great Britain 6:10.99 Gold
2 Greece 6:11.72 Silver
3 Denmark 6:12.45 Bronze</p>
<p>Women's lightweight double sculls final:
1 Netherlands 6:54.74 Gold
2 Finland 6:56.03 Silver
3 Canada 6:56.68 Bronze</p>
<p>That is the results from one days finals in JUST rowing.
Notice something? more then one EU country winning in those events</p>
<p>That raw total shows nothing</p>