I’m going to be a real killjoy and a wet blanket. But it’s all for a good cause – it’s prevent us Brits feeling even more superior than we already feel!
Led by the BBC, we’re all getting ever so excited about the possibility of our greatest ever Winter Olympic medal haul. If one of the speed skaters grabs a medal tomorrow that will make 5 medals in total, more than we have ever won before.
However, have you noticed all the new events that we get in the Winter Olympics these days – curling, skeleton bob, snowboarding, moguls, ski cross and quite a few more. There are almost 6 times as many medals available now than there were in the inaugural games of 1924. If you take the new events out of the equation then our medal tally would be a big fat zero.
There is a fascinating article for stats geeks on Business Week that explores the inflation of medals at the Winter Olympics.
Nevertheless, well done to the curlers, the Lizzy Yarnold and the snowboarding lass that got the commentators a bit over excited.
Finally, just as a point of interest did you know that the following have all made an appearance as a Winter Olympics demonstration sport but have never made it onto the full programme: Snowshoeing, Military Patrol, Bandy, Synchronised Ice Skating, Ski Ballet, Skijoring and last, but not least – Dog Sled Racing!
Skijoring never made it as a full Olympic sport!
nathan the alien 