By Dr. Sawraj Singh
Although America was able to regain the first position in the 2012 Summer Olympics, yet on a closer look, the Olympic results show a trend that the western grip on Olympic Games is loosening. Many countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America improved their standings. Another trend was that these countries won medals in sporting events which were considered western-dominated. The western countries have lost that exclusive domination. For example, the Chinese were able to win medals in sports such as swimming and fencing.
Another interesting feature was that all countries considered to be part of the “axis of evil,” as well as countries considered adversaries by America, greatly improved their standings.
• In the 2008 Summer Olympics, Iran was in 51st position; in 2012, it moved to 17th position.
• In 2008, North Korea was in 34th position; in 2012, it moved to 20th position.
• In 2008, Cuba was in 28th position; in 2012, it moved to 16th position.
South Africa has become one of the leading countries in Africa. It has joined BRICS, greatly improving its relations with China and Russia. In 2008, it was in 70th position; in 2012, it moved to 23rd position.
Two other Asian countries also significantly improved their standings. Kazakhstan moved from 29th position in 2008 to 12th position in 2012. South Korea moved from 7th position in 2008 to 5th position in 2012. Among the major western European countries, only Great Britain significantly improved its medal count. In 2012, it moved to 3rd position from 4th position in 2008. China went down to 2nd position from first position in 2008.
Great Britain had 19 gold medals in 2008, and this went up to 29 in 2012. China won 38 gold medals in 2012 as compared to 51 in 2008. Both Great Britain’s rise and China’s fall are a reflection of the same phenomenon: home court advantage. Home court advantage has been calculated through statistical research to be responsible for a 30% increase in medals for the home team. However, China did better than was expected. China Daily had predicted 37 gold medals. BBC had predicted 32 gold medals. China has been able to diversify its medal-winning fields. Instead of winning mostly in traditional Chinese-dominated sports (such as table tennis, diving, and badminton), China was able to win in many other sports.
From the start of the modern Olympics, western countries, particularly the USA, dominated the Olympics. This was a unipolar situation. In the fifties, the Soviet Union beat the USA to take the number one position. The Soviet Union and its Eastern European allies were able to maintain the leading position until the collapse of the Soviet Union. This led to a bipolar situation. However, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the bipolar situation reverted back to the unipolar situation. When China beat the USA for the first position in 2008, it appeared that the situation may again revert to a bipolar situation. However, in 2012, the trend seems to be moving towards a multipolar situation.
All BRICS countries except China won more medals in 2012 than in 2008. Even though only South Africa made a dramatic gain, moving to 23rd position from 70th position, and winning 6 medals in 2012 compared to 1 medal in 2008. Yet the fact remains that all BRICS countries except China won more medals in 2012 compared to 2008. Russia and India received more medals despite their standings going down. Russia won 82 medals in 2012, compared to 73 in 2008, but its position dropped to 4th from 3rd, respectively. India won 6 medals in 2012 compared to 3 in 2008. However, its position went to 55th in 2012 from 50th in 2008. China is the only country which lost standing and the medal count; from first position, it went down to 2nd, and the medal count went down from 100 to 88. However, this can be explained because of home court advantage.
The home court advantage is not only going to evaporate for Great Britain in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil, but in all likelihood, it can also significantly bring the American medal count down too. Great Britain has taken upon itself the role of a peon of the USA, when Tony Blair accepted this position in the Bush Era. Therefore, the Americans, like the British, had home court advantage in London. The results of the next Olympics can be dramatic. In all probability, the Americans and the western European share of medals will fall very significantly, and developing countries will make significant gains. The trends in sports will most likely run parallel to political trends: instead of a unipolar world, we will have a multipolar world.
Dr. Sawraj Singh, MD F.I.C.S. is the Chairman of the Washington State Network for Human Rights and Chairman of the Central Washington Coalition for Social Justice. He can be reached at [email protected].
