Hosting an Olympic Games is an economic disaster, even in non-pandemic times. After more than a century and over 50 installments, there are enough case studies to conclude that the home nation is invariably the biggest loser from the world’s largest sporting event.
Except in the medal tally.
A look at the count of gold, silver and bronze shows that the host country gets a significant boost, one that persists in subsequent games.
Japan’s incredible haul for Tokyo 2020, with 27 gold medals, puts it third behind the U.S. and China. Significantly, it captured the top prize in 7.9% of all events on offer this past fortnight. That compares with 3.9% in Rio 2016 and 2.3% for London 2012.(2) Rankings, by tradition, are based on first prizes. This year, the U.S. topped the tally with 39 gold and a total of 113, ahead of China at 38 and 88, respectively. Japan’s 58 overall rounded out the nation’s most successful games.
