Betting on the Olympics has become a common practice, with many gamblers placing bets on which country will top the medal table. However, the Olympics medal table is not as straightforward as it seems, with various factors influencing the final results. In the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics, the USA boasts the largest team with 594 competitors out of a total of 10,500. On the other end of the spectrum, countries like Belize, Liechtenstein, Nauru, and Somalia have only sent one athlete each to the Games.
One of the complications in determining the medal table is that athletes do not compete as countries but as members of their National Olympic Committees (NOC). In Paris 2024, 206 NOCs are participating in the games. Furthermore, athletes from countries like Russia and Belarus, who are banned from the Olympics, compete as Individual Neutral Athletes (INU) under a neutral flag. Additionally, there are 37 athletes competing as part of the Refugee Olympic Team.
To get a clearer picture of a country’s success in producing athletes who meet the Olympic qualifying standard, a better measure is ‘athletes per million of population.’ In this table, Slovenia leads with 42.9 athletes per million, followed by New Zealand, Ireland, and Jamaica.
The presentation and interpretation of the medal table have also become contentious. The common convention is to rank NOCs by the number of gold medals won, followed by silver and bronze in case of ties. However, some countries choose to present the table based on the total number of medals won, regardless of color.
Currently, the USA leads the medal count in Paris 2024, prompting media outlets like the Washington Post, ESPN, and NBC to adopt the total number of medals approach. The New York Times has opted for a hybrid system, showing both the total medals and a gold-first tally simultaneously.
The USA has a rich history of topping the medal table, leading in 18 out of the 29 Modern Games. They also hold the top spot in the overall medal table for the Modern Games, with 2,959 medals, ahead of Russia, Germany, and Great Britain.
China, a rising superpower in the Olympics, has consistently been in the top three since their breakthrough in the 2008 Beijing Games. In Tokyo 2020, they narrowly missed out on topping the medal table, coming in second to the USA.
As of Day Seven in Paris 2024, China leads the table with 11 golds, followed closely by the USA with nine golds. France and Australia are also performing well, with Great Britain and South Korea rounding out the top six.
The battle for the top spot in the medal table is expected to be between the USA and China, with the current odds favoring the USA. However, China is not to be underestimated, especially in their medal-winning events like badminton and table tennis.
For bettors, predicting the number of medals a country will win in Paris can be a lucrative endeavor. The USA’s odds to win over 40.5 golds look promising, as do bets on Great Britain & Northern Ireland to win under 62.5 total medals and Ireland to win over 7.5 medals.
In conclusion, the drama at the medal table in the Olympics adds an extra layer of excitement for both spectators and bettors, as countries vie for supremacy in one of the world’s most prestigious sporting events.