24/7 Wall St.: Countries That Will Win the Most Olympic Medals
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Countries That W... According to a newly released report, the United States is predicted to win the most medals at the London 2012 Olympics. For a country with less than five percent of the world’s population, the U.S. is expected to win 103 medals at the XXX Olympiad, 10 percent more than the runner up — China. This may come as no surprise to some, considering that it has won the most medals in 14 of the 25 Summer Games that it has participated in, including the past five Games.
These are the ten countries that will win the most medals in the London Olympic Games. (AP Photos)
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10. Japan Predicted 2012 Medal Count: 25
All-Time Medals: 360
Population: 127.81 million
GDP: $5.87 trillion
GDP Per Capita: $45,903
Japan was the first Asian country to host the Olympics and has hosted three: the Tokyo Summer Games of 1964, the Sapporo Winter Games of 1972, and the Nagano Winter Games of 1998. Japanese athletes tend to bring home medals in judo, gymnastics, swimming and wrestling events. In the 2008 Olympics, Japanese athletes won 25 medals — 13 of them in judo and wrestling events for both men and women. According to Yahoo! Sports, there are five Japanese athletes to watch for in London in events that Japan typically excels in, as well as shooting and equestrian. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
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9. Italy Predicted 2012 Medal Count: 26
All-Time Medals: 522
Population: 60.77 million
GDP: $2.19 trillion
GDP Per Capita: $36,116
Italy won 28 medals at the Beijing Olympics four years ago, including eight gold medals. While it won those medals in 13 different sports in 2008, ranging from archery to shooting, a quarter of its medal count was from fencing. Italy’s dominance in fencing is expected to continue in 2012. Seven-time Olympic medalist Valentina Vezzali, the flag bearer for Italy at the opening ceremonies, will compete in her fifth Olympics in both the team and individual foil events. She has won five gold medals since 1996 and could become only the fourth Olympian ever to win four consecutive gold medals in the same event. Other returning gold medalists for Italy include boxer Roberto Camarrelle and swimmer Federica Pellegrini. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichin/Filei)
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8. South Korea Predicted 2012 Medal Count: 29
All-Time Medals: 215
Population: 49.78 million
GDP: $1.12 trillion
GDP Per Capita: $22,424
South Korea has the lowest GDP and all-time Summer Olympic medal count on this list, winning 215 since it began competing in 1948. Since the country’s breakthrough in the Los Angeles Olympics of 1984, it has remained a top competitor in the Summer Games, ranking among the top 10 in medal count. Korea’s projected medal count is slightly lower than its previous Olympic outcome of 31 medals: five in archery as well as four gold medals in Taekwondo. Most of the country’s Summer Olympic gold medals have historically come from archery and wrestling events. South Korea hosted the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, and last year, was awarded the rights to host the 2018 winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
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7. France Predicted 2012 Medal Count: 39
All-Time Medals: 633
Population: 65.44 million
GDP: $2.77 trillion
GDP Per Capita: $42,377
France holds the fifth-highest Summer Olympic medal count in the world with 633 medals, and Emily Williams’s analysis projects that the French athletes will win one fewer medal than they did in 2008. During the Summer Games, France’s strongest events have historically been cycling and fencing. In the 2008 Beijing Games, French athletes won the highest medal counts in swimming (six), followed by a tie of four medals for judo and fencing — these three sports accounted for 35% of France’s 2008 medal count. The country hosted five Olympic Games in the 20th century and has participated in 26 Olympic Games. According to the BBC, several French cyclists could be medal contenders in London. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa De Olza)
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6. Germany Predicted 2012 Medal Count: 39
All-Time Medals: 658.5
Population: 81.72 million
GDP: $3.57 trillion
GDP Per Capita: $43,689
For the 2012 Games, 391 German athletes will participate in 23 different sports. Compared to its 2008 achievement of 41 medals in 22 different sports, Germany’s medal expectations are slightly lower for 2012. Germany’s strength in 2008 was in canoe races, where the delegation won three golds, two silvers and three bronzes. It won an additional five medals, including three golds, in equestrian events. Yet sports such as swimming and track and field, regarded as opportunities for medal pickups because of the number of events, are not strong points for Germany. The country won only three swimming medals in 2008 and only one medal in track and field. (AP Photo/Victor Caivano)
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5. Australia Predicted 2012 Medal Count: 42
All-Time Medals: 443.5
Population: 22.62 million
GDP: $1.37 trillion
GDP Per Capita: $60,642
While Australia ranks fifth in how many medals it is supposed to win in these London Games, it ranks first among the top 10 all-time medal winners for the number it has won per million citizens, with 19.6. By comparison, the United States, has 7.4 medals per million citizens. Australia has competed in every Summer Games and has hosted two Summer Olympics, M elbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000. Many of Australia’s medals have come from its swimmers — 168 to be exact. This is 100 more medals than the Land Down Under won in track and field, the sport in which it had the next best showing. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)
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4. United Kingdo... Predicted 2012 Medal Count: 62
All-Time Medals: 725.5
Population: 62.64 million
GDP: $2.43 trillion
GDP Per Capita: $38,818
Look for the U.K. delegation to take it up a notch in front of its home crowd. With the country hosting the Olympics for the first time in 64 years, it has doled out nearly $500 million for athletic training and development since 2009, notes the Wall Street Journal. That investment may pay off as the host athletes are expected to win 62 medals this year, up from 47 in 2008 and 30 in 2004. In 2008, U.K. athletes won their medals in 13 different sports. But the track cyclists and road cyclists combined won 14 of those 47 medals, eight of them gold. Cyclist Chris Hoy will be back for his fourth Olympics to defend three of his Olympic titles he won during the Beijing Olympics. Meanwhile, distance runner Mo Farah could be a contender for gold in both the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter races. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
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3. Russia Predicted 2012 Medal Count: 67
All-Time Medals: 1,445, including USSR
Population: 141.93 million
GDP: $1.86 trillion
GDP Per Capita: $13,089
Counting the all-time number of medals that Russia has won over the course of the Summer Olympics can be confusing because it has competed as many different nations throughout the history of the Games. Including the medals of the USSR, the Russian Federation ranks second with 1,445 all-time medals won at the Summer Olympics, behind the United States with 2,302. The number of medals the world’s largest country by surface area has won is remarkable when you consider that it has competed in eight fewer Summer Games than the United States. Russia has won most of these medals in track and field with 256, gymnastics with 225 and wrestling with 156. Moscow was on a shortlist of five cities bidding to host the 2012 Summer Games. The only Summer Olympics that the country has hosted was in this same city in 1980. The United States boycotted the Games that year. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
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2. China Predicted 2012 Medal Count: 94
All-Time Medals: 385
Population: 1,344.13 million
GDP: $7.30 trillion
GDP Per Capita: $5,340
In 2008, China hosted its first Olympic Games in Beijing, winning 100 total medals. China’s strongest sporting events are gymnastics, table tennis and diving — it earned 34 medals in these sports in 2008. This year, the Chinese Olympic Delegation and Emily Williams predict that the country will win fewer medals than in 2008. According to the Wall Street Journal, a member of the Chinese delegation performed an analysis that showed that historically, host countries win medals in 32% fewer events in the next Olympics. According to this analysis, China is expected to come home with 68 medals, far fewer than the 94 medals that Emily Williams predicts. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
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1. United States... Predicted 2012 Medal Count: 103
All-Time Medals: 2,302
Population: 311.59 million
GDP: $15.09 trillion
GDP Per Capita: $48,442
The United States is irrefutably the most dominant participating country in Olympic history. The country’s cumulative 2,302 medals is more than double its nearest rival, the USSR, which has won only 1,122 (1,445 including post-Soviet Russia). The U.S. won more gold medals than any other country at 929, compared to the USSR’s 440 (549 including post-Soviet Russia). This year, Williams predicts that 35 of the U.S.’s 103 expected medals will be gold. The U.S. won 110 medals in 24 different sports in 2008. Swimmers won 31 of those medals, while track and field athletes won 23 of them. In 2012, swimming rivals Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte could win a combined count of 14 medals, while up-and-coming swimmer Missy Franklin could alone win seven medals herself. Meanwhile, track sprinters Allyson Felix and Sanya Richards-Ross are in contention for several medals each. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
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