Medal Counts

It's interesting to note that the Olympic medal counts are being reported differently in different countries.

For instance, in the U.S., the standings are being tallied based on the total # of Olympic medals--conveniently giving the Americans a hefty lead over the Chinese.

However I've noticed that on most international web sites, the countries are ranked purely on the total # of gold medals, which places the Chinese comfortably in first.

While I certainly admit that the "spirit of the Olympics" is not embodied by concentrating solely on which country has done better than another, my instinct for fairness leads me to suggest a more just ranking system.

I would propose that 3 points be given for gold, 2 points for silver, and 1 point for bronze--that way, not all medals are considered equal, but the focus isn't only on the gold medalers--which seems unfair given that often the difference between 1st and 2nd can be a few hundredths of a second.

Inicidentally, using this method as of today the U.S. & China would be virtually deadlocked in first place (US: 191 pts versus China: 190 pts).