Olympic winners - It is the economy, Stupid…
With time, the Tokyo Olympics will slowly fade from our collective memory. The Indians will remember Neeraj’s heroics, Sindhu’s sustained brilliance and the rise of Indian Hockey. The world will remember some broken records, Jamaica’s 1-2-3 in the 100 M race (Jamaicans won the Gold, Silver and the Bronze) and Emma McKeon’s haul of seven medals. While there were several new entrants on the podium, some things remained the same.
The phrase “It’s the economy, stupid” was coined by James Carville, Bill Clinton’s election strategist in 1992. Loosely, it meant that if you take care of the economy, the voters will take care of you.
So, what is the link with Olympics? Unlike the football, cricket, hockey, rugby world cups where teams compete to win in a particular sport, the Olympics showcase the might of a nation’s sporting capabilities. Not surprisingly, there is a discernible pattern over the last many decades.
The 2020 Olympics medal tally further reinforces the pattern. The top three economies of the world are the US, China and Japan. Surprise, surprise – the top three countries on the medal’s tally – US, China and Japan!!!!!
Let us spice it up further. The top 5 economies of the world are the US, China, Japan, Germany and the UK. Their combined medal tally was 33% of the total medals at stake and a whopping 40% of the Gold medals at stake.
What appears clear is this equation - Economic might = Athletic Might = More Medals.
The correlation becomes even more strong when you consider this information. The top 15 economies of the world together have 75% of the global GDP and 65% of the Olympic medals.
Of course, there are exceptions like Russia and the former USSR. For these countries, much like China today, the Olympics was a platform to indicate their might. It worked till the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, the last time USSR was a combined entity (participating as EUN) . But, as it disintegrated and it’s economy collapsed with the GDP ranking sliding from No 2 in the world to the 10th, it’s Olympic tally also steadily fell.
From 1992 to 2020, it has been the US all the way, except for an aberration in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
There is another pattern to be read. That of China gnawing away at the American superiority and almost threatening to dethrone it in the medal tally – does not sound too different from the world of global economy, right?
This equation suggests a simplistic truth - the less people have to worry about their livelihood, the more they will pursue loftier goals – an Olympic medal is one of them. With the sheer wealth at their disposal, the top economies have a massive advantage in providing world class facilities. Combine these two and you have a potent Olympic combination.
A lesson for the poor countries like India – sporting success, especially at the Olympics is closely intertwined with economic power. Till we become a strong economy, stories of the Neeraj Chopra kind will be exceptions and not the norm.
If we aspire to be in the top 10 Olympic nations in the coming decade, Modiji’s $5 Trillion dollar dream must come true, else we will be clutching at straws.
