Category Archives: Olympics

Lost, But Not Least: Wrestling at the Olympics

Posted on February 25, 2013 by

By Anthony Zonfrelli The worldwide wrestling community was shaken last week when the IOC ruled that it would remove the sport from the 2020 Olympics. This decision left many in disbelief—after foot racing, wrestling, added in 708 B.C., is the … Continue reading →

Posted in Olympics | Tagged , , | 30 Comments

Final COSTAS Medal Standings

Posted on August 16, 2012 by

Here are the final COSTAS medal standings, complete through the end of Olympic play on August 12. For an explanation of the methodology behind COSTAS, click here, and here for the COSTAS standings after the first week of the Olympics.

Posted in Olympics | 1 Comment

Who is the Most Dominant Olympian of All Time?

Posted on August 12, 2012 by

by Andrew Mooney Following the exploits of Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt in London, the word “greatest” has been getting thrown around quite a bit. As with any time this word comes out, one has to question just how much … Continue reading →

Posted in Olympics | 5 Comments

Dream Over: How the U.S. Could Lose

Posted on August 8, 2012 by

By Andrew Mooney On Wednesday, the U.S. men’s basketball team begins its gold medal defense in earnest as they square off against Australia in the quarterfinals, a contest the U.S. has been given 1/100 odds to win, according to various … Continue reading →

Posted in Menu, Olympics | 1 Comment

COSTAS Standings, Week One

Posted on August 6, 2012 by

by Andrew Mooney As promised, here are the COSTAS standings for the first week of Olympic competition. To learn more about how COSTAS is calculated and what it intends to measure, read my original post here. Medal figures are current … Continue reading →

Posted in Olympics | 1 Comment

The Bodies of Champion Gymnasts

Posted on August 3, 2012 by

by Andrew Mooney Four feet, eleven inches, and 90 pounds is hardly the prototypical physique of a world-class athlete, but as American gold medalist Gabrielle Douglas proved yesterday, it’s more than enough to perform extraordinary feats on one of sport’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Olympics | Leave a comment

Slowly but Surely, International Basketball Catching Up to US

Posted on July 30, 2012 by

by Andrew Mooney One of the biggest yawn-fests of a story in the buildup to this year’s Olympic basketball tournament was the idle bantering between this year’s US team and the original Dream Team from 1992. It seemed fitting that … Continue reading →

Posted in Menu, Olympics | Leave a comment

COSTAS: The Weighted Olympic Medal Count

Posted on July 27, 2012 by

by Andrew Mooney A couple of days ago, I wrote about a different way to think about the traditional Olympic medal standings, which reflected the unevenness of the playing field from which athletes from all over the world come to … Continue reading →

Posted in Olympics | 3 Comments

Winning Golds without Gold: An Economic Analysis of the Medal Standings

Posted on July 24, 2012 by

by Andrew Mooney This post can also be seen on Boston.com here. The Olympics are, to a large extent, rigged from the outset. The countries that have made regular appearances at the top of the medal standings at the last … Continue reading →

Posted in Olympics | 5 Comments

Swimming on Steroids: The Suits That Brought Down Records

Posted on July 21, 2012 by

By Andrew Mooney This post can also be seen on Boston.com here. The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing were remarkable for many reasons—the opening ceremonies, the human rights controversies, the Redeem Team—but the signature moments many Americans will remember came … Continue reading →

Posted in Olympics | 1 Comment