Why does USA have such good Olympic competitiors?

[smahala1991]

They got the highest medal count this Olympics tying China with the most gold medals. What do US athletes have that the other nations don’t?

[Anonymous]

A number of reasons. One being that we have a diverse culture of people to pick from. Plus we may have more people in our country than smaller countries. So it’s like a small high school going up against a bigger high school. You have hundreds, maybe thousands of students at a bigger school so there’s more options as far as who to pick for your team. In a smaller school maybe you have 20 kids tryout, so the quality isn’t the best compared to that of a bigger school. It could be the training as well, maybe more advanced training techniques, equipment to help athletes recover quicker. I think too a lot of the sports in the Olympics may have come from the US so we have an advantage as far as training a lot longer in these events over years. As time goes on we’ve developed more skills as far as coaching among other things. The US has a lot of expensive training facilities for athletes. Like IMG. IMG works w a lot of high school kids as far as football, basketball. I’m not even sure if other countries have colleges where they have major sports programs like we do here. Not just at the collegiate level but even at the high school level. Texas is big on high school football.

[Lionman95]

Because the US values sports more than any countries. As you can get a college sponsorship for great at a sport right?
Over here in Germany that wouldn't be possible. Being good at a specific sports especially if you go to a regular advanced school there's nothing to gain from it one has to figure out how to attend sports competitions and not fail classes that lead to repeating the year. Another big aspect many sports that attend in the Olympics don't draw much attention over here so participants of the Olympic team have to work a second job. They can't live from being good canoeing or being good acrobatics, so they have reduced time to train.

[Lionman95]

Thanks for the MHO

[FreyaRed]

There are countries with better Olympic medal balance per capita than US or China.

Australia as example. 53 Medals with 27 million people =0,594 million per medal

US 126 Medals with 334 millions people = 2,674 million per medal

China is even worse 91 medals with 1409 million people = 15,486 million per medal

[jennifer_bloom]

They cheat by sending 200 times as many athletes as places like Saudi Arabia or Nepal. I know cause I attended a global pan am games ceremony at university 6 years ago and I know poor countries have 4 athletes while America has 400 per sport.

[BootyKiller06]

6,909 athletes were part of the Pan American games of 2023
631 were American

6,680 athletes were part of the Pan American games of 2019
643 were American

6,123 athletes were part of the Pan American games of 2015
624 were American

5,996 athletes were part of the Pan Americans games of 2011
618 were American

shall we continue?

[jennifer_bloom]

@BootyKiller06 this is a hyperbole exaggeration cause I do not remember exact figures and I was at the opening ceremonies where all sports members are represented on the same day. Not a specific event where only one sport is seen. I do stand by my point that America has over 200 times as many athletes as poor countries.

[BootyKiller06]

so how large should each national contingent be?
should they all be equal in size?

[Red_Arrow]

Sending more athletes is not cheating. It is having more athletes that are better competitors. If a poor country has only 4 athletes that are Olympic caliber, then they will only be able to put 4 competitors in the competition.

[AI Opinion]

The secret behind the USA's success in the Olympics lies in a combination of factors. One major advantage is their highly developed sports infrastructure, offering top-notch training facilities and coaching. Additionally, there's significant financial investment in sports development and youth programs. This helps identify and nurture talent from a young age. The culture of competition and excellence also plays a part, motivating athletes to achieve their best. Finally, having a diversity of athletes contributes to a broader talent pool. All these elements together create a powerhouse of Olympic competitors.

[RebelinSteel]

What is the population of the US compared with other countries? Do other countries have huge colleges dedicated to sports? The only countries that have historically done this are China, Russia and US.
The population of US 335 million ish v Australia 26 million. The difference in medals though is pretty much half.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_college_athletic_programs_by_U.S._state

[BetaBucks]

We're one of the most populated countries in the world, and we are rich af, so we have the time and resources to dedicate to developing children's athletic abilities. And lot of people to develop. Plus, we are the global hub for immigration, so we get to steal from the world's talent too.

[Quigly]

Cause that's what America prioritizes over anything else. A school in America might rank the worst in education with illiterate kids graduating or dropping out all together. But, the School team is going to the championship this year. Rah! Rah! Rah!

So we have people that can't do simple math. But, they are good at sports.

Just because a Country is good in sports. Does not mean it's a successful country. It's actually the exact opposite

But, that's what the Olympics tries to falsely portray.

[NathanDavis]

they put a whole lot of money into it... and it pays off

the rest is interest and dedication, lots of it

[Red_Arrow]

The United States has many rich businesses that support Olympic competition. They put a lot of money into training good athletes who are of Olympic caliber. Plus, they support athletic programs at schools, which gives a lot of physical training to the athletes. Many of the school athletes become good enough to enter Olympic competition.

[McLlovin]

We invest in our athletes more then other countries. Look at even the incident with bad living situations at this year Olympics. The host nation did a poor job providing a good place for the athletes to stay.


And do you know what America did? They moved our athletes to a luxury million dollar hotel.

[Twalli]

We're a big country with a diverse climate and good education. We get people from all over the world. They bring their expertise. Combining that with other experts in the same field increases our breadth of knowledge and skill. That's how ed can train athletes to their physical limit.

[buzzword]

What the US has is a bunch of citizens that aren't interested in watching satanic Olympics. Ratings fell through the floor and many people left France early.

[RedInnocent69]

Big country with a lot of money and good sport development programs, including the college/university system.

[lightbulb27]

Sports has $ value in usa so parents schools invest.

[kellytheman]

Well we are the most diverse country and biggest countries in the world and most of are athletes need to qualify and train nonstop for the Olympics and the athletes and coaches kind of have it down to a science for a great athlete.

[Kelley1]

Part of the reason is the rules as applied favor the USA and the great influence the USA has.

[Bklynbadboy12]

That's untrue

[msc545]

Because in the US sport are more important than academics. Ever wonder why the US literacy rate is so low relative to many other countries?

[LiamJHayden]

The USA is willing to take in the best from other nations.

[princeofromance]

We have the most opportunities to produce elite athletes.

[Amur8711]

Multiple factors; population size, racial diversity, and economy.

[The_Santa_Claus]

The food
Steak and eggs ! Haha

[FunkyMonkee]

They practice and train a lot.

[jahaims]

Money