Are Canadian Olympians outperforming more populous nations?
Posted August 17, 2016 7:50 am.
Last Updated August 17, 2016 8:41 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (NEWS 1130) – Our medal count in Rio has hit 14 after another golden performance last night and, while Team Canada is well back from the leaders when it comes to podium-finishes, our Olympians may be punching above their weight when you consider the size of our population.
With three golds, two silvers and nine bronzes so far at the Summer Games, Team Canada is 17th in the medal standings, well behind the leading US, Great Britain and China.
Associate Professor of Engineering at the University of Toronto Timothy Chan says if you look at medals on a per capita basis, Canada is doing great.
“If you look at the US, it has 10 times the population that Canada has and their medal count is roughly only seven times more. In an extreme case, China has a population about 40 times the size of Canada and yet they only have four times the medal count we have right now. From that perspective, we are doing very well,” Chan tells NEWS 1130.
“In more concrete numbers, the US has roughly 2.5 medals per 10 million people, China has about 0.3 medals for every 10 million citizens and Canada has about 3.5 medals per 10 million people.”
But Chan admits there are factors other than population count affecting medal tallies in Rio, including funding.
Team Canada could add to its Olympic medal total today with Canadians competing in finals in wrestling and equestrian jumping.
