Dubious distinction for RP

The Philippines is among the highest-ranked countries in the world to rank prominently in two Olympic categories. Unfortunately, the recognition is hardly flattering.

The first category is "Most Medals Won with No Gold Medals."Mongolia is safely on top of the list with five silvers and 10 bronzes for a total of 15 medals. A bronze from Athens was the latest addition to the haul. Four of its silvers came from freestyle wrestling and the other from judo. Mongolia has competed in the Olympics since 1964.

The Philippines is next in the ladder with two silvers and seven bronzes for a total of nine medals. Boxing delivered both silvers. Filipino athletes were blanked in the medal standings in the last two Olympics. The Philippines made its Olympic debut in 1924.

Chile broke out of the pack after picking up two golds in Athens. Before Athens, Chile and the Philippines were tied for second place with nine medals and no golds.

In 1992, Nigeria was in the thick of the race with four silvers, four bronzes and no gold. Boxers produced three of the silvers. But in 1996, Nigeria bagged two golds, a silver and three bronzes to leave the cellar for good. The golds were from soccer and women’s long jump.

Colombia and Latvia were also cited in 1992 with six medals apiece, none of them gold. Colombia, however, emerged with a gold four years ago as Maria Isabel Urrutia topped the 75 kilogram women’s weightlifting event. Latvia took its first and only gold when Igors Vihrovs ruled the floor exercises in gymnastics in Sydney.

In Athens, Mongolia pocketed a bronze, Chile two golds and a bronze, Nigeria two bronzes, Colombia a bronze and Latvia four silvers.

Bohemia, which used to form the bulk of the Czech Republic, is in the history books as having collected six Olympic medals–no gold–from 1900 to 1908. It bowed out of Olympic competition in 1912.

Like the Philippines, Malaysia has not hit paydirt in the Olympics. It has won three medals so far, a silver and two bronzes–all from badminton. Malaysia, keeping in step with its Southeast Asian neighbor, failed to capture a medal in the last two Olympics.

The second category is "Five Most Populated Countries with No Medals in Athens."

Of 202 countries, 127 went home empty-handed from the recent Olympics. Pakistan was No. 1 in the group with a population of 154 million. Five Pakistan boxing qualifiers slugged it out in Athens but not even International Amateur Boxing Association president Anwar Chowdry could make a difference.

Bangladesh was in second place with a population of 147 million. Next was Vietnam with 81 million. Fourth was the Philippines with 80 million. Congo was fifth in the roster with 53 million.

In terms of total Olympic medals per capita, Bahamas was No. 1 in Athens with a gold and a bronze to deliver to a population of only 314,000 or 157,000 people per medal. Australia was No. 2 with 49 medals and a per capita count of 402,673.

The US was the overall leader with 103 medals but its per capita average was 2,854,786. Worse was overall No. 2 China with 63 medals and a per capita figure of 20,634,920.

Writer Gerard Baker came up with another look at the medal standings. He ranked the countries according to the worth of each medal related to their gross domestic product. Baker noted that Cuba’s 27 medals, including nine gold, was produced by an economy with a GDP of $26 billion, compared to the US’ 103 medals and $10.4 Trillion.

"The top output-adjusted nation is Cuba, making it, on this score if no other, 100 times more efficient, giving Fidel Castro one more reason to thumb his nose at his bigger, wealthier neighbor," said Baker. "Elitists may object to the methodology and insist that more weight be given to gold medals won but adjusting the gold factor does not change much. It took the US $300 Billion of GDP to win each of its 34 gold medals while Cuba managed nine. If there is consolation for the US, it must be in the enduring inverse relationship between freedom and medal-winning prowess."

In the Olympic all-time medal standings, the US is No. 1 with 2,218 medals. No Asian country is in the top 10 even as in Athens, China, Japan and South Korea were in the honor roll. China was No. 2, Japan No. 5 and South Korea No. 8.

There were 10 Asian countries that claimed at least a gold in the last Olympics–China with 32, Japan 16, South Korea 9, Thailand 3, Iran 2, Taiwan 2, Uzbekistan 2, Kazakhstan 1, Indonesia 1 and the United Arab Emirates 1. Other Asian countries that were in the medal roster were North Korea, Hong Kong, India, Mongolia and Syria.

The quest for the Olympic gold medal remains an elusive dream for the Philippines. Unless the country’s sports authorities are united and inspire the Filipino athletes with their selfless leadership, the search will go on forever.