August 25, 2016

007 For the Love of Olympics – For the Love of Data

26 minutes

Fun Fact: The main riff in NBC’s Olympic them is from Bugler’s Dream (1958) by Leo Arnaud.

History

Most believe games started in 776 BC as part of a religious festival in Greece to honor Zeus; however, some evidence suggests it could have started as early as the 10th century BC

The stadion race was the first event, a 600 foot race. This may have been the only event for the first 13 Olympics

They occurred every four years for twelve centuries, until 396 AD; then there was a break in games until 1896

How to Qualify for the Olympics

Individual:

For each gender, up to three people per country can attend if they meet the entry standard

For each gender, one person per country can attend if no one meets the standard

Team: Each country may send one team that meets the entry standard

Slightly more complicated criteria for relays and marathon – generally involving your finish in various qualifying events

Fun Fact: The marathon was not added until 1896 in Athens and was standardized at 26.2 miles in the 1908 London games because that was the distance between Windsor Castle and White City Stadium.

Cost of the Games

Many people feel the Olympics are a terrible investment for the host country. Rio’s estimated cost was $3bn, but it is projected to be at least 50% over budget at approximately $4.6bn.

MetricValue

BRL / month1972

BRD to USD0.31

USD / month611.32

USD / year7335.84

Estimated cost of games4600000000

Cost in # of yearly salaries627058.39

Population209567920

Cost in % of population0.002992

Sochi is the most expensive so far, but Summer games are typically more expensive than Winter.

Fun Fact: The first Winter games were in 1924 (Chamonix).

Who are the Athletes?

Country Rankings

CountryPopulation AthletesRank by # of Athletes

United States3241187875631

Brazil2095679204832

Germany806823514403

Australia243093304284

France646681294085

United Kingdom (Great Britain)651111433726

China13823233323527

Canada362863783208

Japan1263237153129

Spain4606460431210

CountryPopulation AthletesRank by Population

China13823233323521

India13268015761232

United States3241187875633

Indonesia260581100284

Brazil2095679204835

Pakistan19282650276

Nigeria186987563777

Bangladesh16291086478

Russian Federation1434398322839

Mexico12863200412510

CountryPopulation AthletesRank Per Capita

Republic of the Cook Islands*2094891

Palau2150152

Nauru1026323

San Marino3195054

British Virgin Islands*3065945

Bermuda*6166286

Saint Kitts and Nevis5618377

Seychelles97026108

Tuvalu994319

Antigua and Barbuda92738910

Fun Fact: The flame started at the 1928 Amsterdam games.

Gender & Age Breakdown

Who are the Oldest and Youngest of All Time?

CategoryMaleFemale

Oldest CompetitorOscar Swahn (Sweden)

Age 72

1920, ShootingLorna Johnstone (UK)

Age 70

1972, Equestrian

Oldest Gold MedalistOscar Swahn (Sweden)

Age 64

1912, ShootingLida "Eliza" Pollock (USA)

Age 63

1904, Team Archery (Bronze)

Oldest MedalistOscar Swahn (Sweden)

Age 72

1920, Shooting (Silver)Lida "Eliza" Pollock (USA)

Age 63

1904, Archery (Bronze)

Youngest Gold MedalistKlaus Zerta (Germany)

Age 13

1960, RowingDonna Elizabeth de Varona (USA)

Age 13

1960, Swimming - Team

Youngest MedalistDimitrios Loundras (Greece)

Age 10

1896, Gymnastics - Team (Bronze)Luigina Giavotti (Italy)

Age 11

1928, Gymnastics - Team (Silver)

Fun Fact: Boxing and wrestling were added in 708 BC and 688 BC respectively.

A Look at the Medals

Summer Medal Values & Rewards

Gold: $600 (The gold medal consist of just 1% of actual gold, 92.5% silver and 6.16% copper).

Silver: $325 (While in silver medal, the gold is replaced by more copper, the rest of the material is the same like gold medal)

Bronze: $3 (Bronze medal however is 97% copper and 2.5% zinc and 0.5% tin)

Who are the Big Winners at Rio 2016?

Total Medals

Italy and Canada had a strong showing in total medals, but fell off in gold medals

Top 10 controlled almost 60% of total medals

CountryTotal Medals % of Total MedalsRunning TotalRank

United States1210.124229979466120.124229979466121

China700.0718685831622180.196098562628342

United Kingdom (Great Britain)670.0687885010266940.264887063655033

Russian Federation560.0574948665297740.32238193018484

Germany420.0431211498973310.365503080082145

France420.0431211498973310.408624229979475

Japan410.0420944558521560.450718685831626

Australia290.0297741273100620.480492813141687

Italy280.0287474332648870.509240246406578

Canada220.022587268993840.531827515400419

Korea, South210.0215605749486650.5533880903490810

Fun Fact: If Texas were a country, it would rank 8th for # of medals in the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Total Gold

Brazil and Argentina won many golds, but few others

Top 10 controlled 70% of total golds

CountryGold % of Gold MedalsRunning TotalRank

United States460.149837133550490.149837133550491

United Kingdom (Great Britain)270.0879478827361560.237785016286642

China260.0846905537459280.322475570032573

Russian Federation190.0618892508143320.384364820846914

Germany170.0553745928338760.439739413680785

Japan120.0390879478827360.478827361563526

France100.032573289902280.51140065146587

Korea, South90.0293159609120520.540716612377858

Netherlands80.0260586319218240.566775244299679

Australia80.0260586319218240.59283387622159

Hungary80.0260586319218240.618892508143329

Italy80.0260586319218240.644951140065159

Brazil70.0228013029315960.6677524429967410

Spain70.0228013029315960.6905537459283410

Percentage of Medal Type by Country

Six countries won nothing but Gold

Fiji and Argentina dominated in Golds as a % of total medals

CountryGold Silver Bronze Total Medals

Puerto Rico*1001

Singapore1001

Tajikistan1001

Kosovo1001

Jordan1001

Fiji1001

Argentina0.750.2504

Jamaica0.545454545454550.272727272727270.1818181818181811

Hungary0.533333333333330.20.2666666666666715

Croatia0.50.30.210

Greece0.50.166666666666670.333333333333336

Slovakia0.50.504

Bahrain0.50.502

Vietnam0.50.502

Independent Olympic Athletes0.500.52

Cote d'Ivoire0.500.52

The Bahamas0.500.52

Fun Fact: Swimming was added as an event in 1896 (freestyle); backstroke was added in 1904.

Michael Phelps

32nd among 205 currently competing countries as far as most medals won

28 total medals – 23 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze

13 individual medals puts him ahead of Leonidas of Rhodes – sprinter form 152BC

50 miles swam per week in prep for 2008 Olympics; 12,000 calories consumed each day

If Katie Ledecky maintained her current medal pace, she’d be 39 before she tied Phelps

He hasn’t won bronze since 2004

Popularity of Events

Swimming, Track and Field, Gymnastics, and Soccer are the most popular sports for people to watch. 538 did an interesting comparison in the 2012 Olympics to come up with a medal multiplier based on number of events vs. number of viewers. The US, China, and Russia dominate on an adjusted medal count.

See the chart below (again based on London 2012). Sailing, for instance, has a lot of events but not much viewership, so it gets a reduction. Soccer, however, has only a few events but a large amount of viewers, so it’s multiplier is very high.

Growth – Interest in the Olympics, number of events, number of competitors, and costs are all going up. On a per capita basis, it hasn’t been this hard to win a medal since 1896.

Sources

http://www.penn.museum/sites/olympics/olympicorigins.shtml

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetorch/2016/08/11/487838010/what-team-usa-looks-like-a-by-the-numbers-look-at-america-s-olympic-athletes?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=news

https://github.com/flother/rio2016

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetorch/2016/08/14/489832779/if-michael-phelps-were-a-country-where-would-his-gold-medal-tally-rank

http://www.foxsports.com/olympics/gallery/28-incredible-facts-about-michael-phelps-28-olympic-medals-23-golds-count-how-many-081316

http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/http://olympstats.com/

http://olympstats.com/

http://www.topendsports.com/events/summer/oldest-youngest.htm

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/winning-an-olympic-gold-medal-hasnt-been-this-difficult-since-1896/

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/which-countries-medal-in-the-sports-that-people-care-about/

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/hosting-the-olympics-is-a-terrible-investment/

https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1607/1607.04484.pdf

http://www.chron.com/olympics/article/Where-Texas-would-rank-in-Olympic-medal-count-if-9176024.php

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/brazil/wages

https://www.google.com/?ion=1&espv=2#q=brl%20to%20usd

http://www.totalsportek.com/news/olympic-gold-medal-prize-money/

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/19/sport/olympic-rewards-by-country/

https://www.olympic.org/swimming-equipment-and-history

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_2016_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Qualification#Qualifying_standards

...more

View all episodes

By For the Love of Data

August 25, 2016

007 For the Love of Olympics – For the Love of Data

26 minutes

Fun Fact: The main riff in NBC’s Olympic them is from Bugler’s Dream (1958) by Leo Arnaud.

History

Most believe games started in 776 BC as part of a religious festival in Greece to honor Zeus; however, some evidence suggests it could have started as early as the 10th century BC

The stadion race was the first event, a 600 foot race. This may have been the only event for the first 13 Olympics

They occurred every four years for twelve centuries, until 396 AD; then there was a break in games until 1896

How to Qualify for the Olympics

Individual:

For each gender, up to three people per country can attend if they meet the entry standard

For each gender, one person per country can attend if no one meets the standard

Team: Each country may send one team that meets the entry standard

Slightly more complicated criteria for relays and marathon – generally involving your finish in various qualifying events

Fun Fact: The marathon was not added until 1896 in Athens and was standardized at 26.2 miles in the 1908 London games because that was the distance between Windsor Castle and White City Stadium.

Cost of the Games

Many people feel the Olympics are a terrible investment for the host country. Rio’s estimated cost was $3bn, but it is projected to be at least 50% over budget at approximately $4.6bn.

MetricValue

BRL / month1972

BRD to USD0.31

USD / month611.32

USD / year7335.84

Estimated cost of games4600000000

Cost in # of yearly salaries627058.39

Population209567920

Cost in % of population0.002992

Sochi is the most expensive so far, but Summer games are typically more expensive than Winter.

Fun Fact: The first Winter games were in 1924 (Chamonix).

Who are the Athletes?

Country Rankings

CountryPopulation AthletesRank by # of Athletes

United States3241187875631

Brazil2095679204832

Germany806823514403

Australia243093304284

France646681294085

United Kingdom (Great Britain)651111433726

China13823233323527

Canada362863783208

Japan1263237153129

Spain4606460431210

CountryPopulation AthletesRank by Population

China13823233323521

India13268015761232

United States3241187875633

Indonesia260581100284

Brazil2095679204835

Pakistan19282650276

Nigeria186987563777

Bangladesh16291086478

Russian Federation1434398322839

Mexico12863200412510

CountryPopulation AthletesRank Per Capita

Republic of the Cook Islands*2094891

Palau2150152

Nauru1026323

San Marino3195054

British Virgin Islands*3065945

Bermuda*6166286

Saint Kitts and Nevis5618377

Seychelles97026108

Tuvalu994319

Antigua and Barbuda92738910

Fun Fact: The flame started at the 1928 Amsterdam games.

Gender & Age Breakdown

Who are the Oldest and Youngest of All Time?

CategoryMaleFemale

Oldest CompetitorOscar Swahn (Sweden)

Age 72

1920, ShootingLorna Johnstone (UK)

Age 70

1972, Equestrian

Oldest Gold MedalistOscar Swahn (Sweden)

Age 64

1912, ShootingLida "Eliza" Pollock (USA)

Age 63

1904, Team Archery (Bronze)

Oldest MedalistOscar Swahn (Sweden)

Age 72

1920, Shooting (Silver)Lida "Eliza" Pollock (USA)

Age 63

1904, Archery (Bronze)

Youngest Gold MedalistKlaus Zerta (Germany)

Age 13

1960, RowingDonna Elizabeth de Varona (USA)

Age 13

1960, Swimming - Team

Youngest MedalistDimitrios Loundras (Greece)

Age 10

1896, Gymnastics - Team (Bronze)Luigina Giavotti (Italy)

Age 11

1928, Gymnastics - Team (Silver)

Fun Fact: Boxing and wrestling were added in 708 BC and 688 BC respectively.

A Look at the Medals

Summer Medal Values & Rewards

Gold: $600 (The gold medal consist of just 1% of actual gold, 92.5% silver and 6.16% copper).

Silver: $325 (While in silver medal, the gold is replaced by more copper, the rest of the material is the same like gold medal)

Bronze: $3 (Bronze medal however is 97% copper and 2.5% zinc and 0.5% tin)

Who are the Big Winners at Rio 2016?

Total Medals

Italy and Canada had a strong showing in total medals, but fell off in gold medals

Top 10 controlled almost 60% of total medals

CountryTotal Medals % of Total MedalsRunning TotalRank

United States1210.124229979466120.124229979466121

China700.0718685831622180.196098562628342

United Kingdom (Great Britain)670.0687885010266940.264887063655033

Russian Federation560.0574948665297740.32238193018484

Germany420.0431211498973310.365503080082145

France420.0431211498973310.408624229979475

Japan410.0420944558521560.450718685831626

Australia290.0297741273100620.480492813141687

Italy280.0287474332648870.509240246406578

Canada220.022587268993840.531827515400419

Korea, South210.0215605749486650.5533880903490810

Fun Fact: If Texas were a country, it would rank 8th for # of medals in the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Total Gold

Brazil and Argentina won many golds, but few others

Top 10 controlled 70% of total golds

CountryGold % of Gold MedalsRunning TotalRank

United States460.149837133550490.149837133550491

United Kingdom (Great Britain)270.0879478827361560.237785016286642

China260.0846905537459280.322475570032573

Russian Federation190.0618892508143320.384364820846914

Germany170.0553745928338760.439739413680785

Japan120.0390879478827360.478827361563526

France100.032573289902280.51140065146587

Korea, South90.0293159609120520.540716612377858

Netherlands80.0260586319218240.566775244299679

Australia80.0260586319218240.59283387622159

Hungary80.0260586319218240.618892508143329

Italy80.0260586319218240.644951140065159

Brazil70.0228013029315960.6677524429967410

Spain70.0228013029315960.6905537459283410

Percentage of Medal Type by Country

Six countries won nothing but Gold

Fiji and Argentina dominated in Golds as a % of total medals

CountryGold Silver Bronze Total Medals

Puerto Rico*1001

Singapore1001

Tajikistan1001

Kosovo1001

Jordan1001

Fiji1001

Argentina0.750.2504

Jamaica0.545454545454550.272727272727270.1818181818181811

Hungary0.533333333333330.20.2666666666666715

Croatia0.50.30.210

Greece0.50.166666666666670.333333333333336

Slovakia0.50.504

Bahrain0.50.502

Vietnam0.50.502

Independent Olympic Athletes0.500.52

Cote d'Ivoire0.500.52

The Bahamas0.500.52

Fun Fact: Swimming was added as an event in 1896 (freestyle); backstroke was added in 1904.

Michael Phelps

32nd among 205 currently competing countries as far as most medals won

28 total medals – 23 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze

13 individual medals puts him ahead of Leonidas of Rhodes – sprinter form 152BC

50 miles swam per week in prep for 2008 Olympics; 12,000 calories consumed each day

If Katie Ledecky maintained her current medal pace, she’d be 39 before she tied Phelps

He hasn’t won bronze since 2004

Popularity of Events

Growth – Interest in the Olympics, number of events, number of competitors, and costs are all going up. On a per capita basis, it hasn’t been this hard to win a medal since 1896.

Sources

http://www.penn.museum/sites/olympics/olympicorigins.shtml

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetorch/2016/08/11/487838010/what-team-usa-looks-like-a-by-the-numbers-look-at-america-s-olympic-athletes?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=news

https://github.com/flother/rio2016

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetorch/2016/08/14/489832779/if-michael-phelps-were-a-country-where-would-his-gold-medal-tally-rank

http://www.foxsports.com/olympics/gallery/28-incredible-facts-about-michael-phelps-28-olympic-medals-23-golds-count-how-many-081316

http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/http://olympstats.com/

http://olympstats.com/

http://www.topendsports.com/events/summer/oldest-youngest.htm

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/winning-an-olympic-gold-medal-hasnt-been-this-difficult-since-1896/

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/which-countries-medal-in-the-sports-that-people-care-about/

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/hosting-the-olympics-is-a-terrible-investment/

https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1607/1607.04484.pdf

http://www.chron.com/olympics/article/Where-Texas-would-rank-in-Olympic-medal-count-if-9176024.php

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/brazil/wages

https://www.google.com/?ion=1&espv=2#q=brl%20to%20usd

http://www.totalsportek.com/news/olympic-gold-medal-prize-money/

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/19/sport/olympic-rewards-by-country/

https://www.olympic.org/swimming-equipment-and-history

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_2016_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Qualification#Qualifying_standards

...more

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007 For the Love of Olympics – For the Love of Data

007 For the Love of Olympics – For the Love of Data