Medal count

Whatever the Olympic ideal is, it struggles to breathe in the atmosphere of the current focus on medal count.

The medal count becomes nationalistic and political. It becomes pure vc. tainted. It becomes what can be discovered and what can be hidden.

For me, it becomes a realization that the playing field will always be uneven. The media will give full attention to the sexy and short shift to the rest. It will find its heart-wrenching back stories to feed us.
New training advancements and medical discoveries and equipment design will make world records suspect.

It's no coincidence that countries with the highest GDP are the highest in medal count. Athletes in those countries have the time, the financial resources, the training, the media attention to get them to their highest levels of achievement. Does anyone believe that an athlete in Mauretania can compete equitably with an American athlete?

And who gets the lucrative endorsement contracts as an incentive?

I do not take anything away from the work and commitment of the athletes. But I think it's fair to be realistic about Olympic games and the organization that stages them.