JungleLife:

Curling team is getting much better, thanks to their Canadian coach.

981977405:

OK Traveler but how many gold medals did the Australians win at the last Olympics?

Traveler:

Such comparisons are ludicrous. Australia has a population of 23 million, compared to China's 1.3+ billion, and USA's 300+ million. The most populous countries always win the most medals, simply by virtue of the fact they have more people to choose from.

Per head of population, though, Australia wins more medals than the larger countries. In 2012, Australia ranked 9th on medals per million of population, compared to USA at 50th, and China at 73rd. In 2004, Australia ranked 2nd, compared to USA 39th and China 69th

In 1956, Australia ranked 3rd overall on the medal tally, and in 2000 and 2004, Australia ranked 4th, defeating many more populous nations. At the last 6 Olympics, Australia has been in the top 10 in the overall medal tally, and medals per million of population.

Among the Olympic "superpowers" of USA, China, UK, Russia, Germany and Australia, Australia has always led in the medals per million of population tally since 1992 (the first year a united Germany competed).

Australia has also attended every modern Summer Olympics, something neither USA nor China can boast.

Australia has never been accused of organised and rampant cheating or drug use like at least one other Olympic superpower.

981977405:

Traveler, your statistics are meaningless in the end.  Numbers can be skewed any-which-way a statistician so chooses.  In the end, one is either first place or one is not first place -- that is how life goes.  Either one is a major power or one is not a major power -- that is a fact of history.

Australia is a nice, beautiful country with lots of good beaches, numerous highly venomous snakes, a pub on every corner, a quaint regional dialect and a charming opera house in Sydney.  It is a great country but it is is hardly a "player" as we say.

Traveler:

Yep. And China is notorious for skewing and falsifying numbers. But this post is about sport, not about USA being the only superpower. Let's get back on topic - sport.

981977405:

Traveler, I don't believe that I went off topic and I did not mention USA superpower issues.  Please stop always trying to control me.

Traveler:

981: It is not my intention to try to control you, and I am sorry if you feel that way. You mentioned major powers, and USA is the only superpower. However, that is off topic

I was talking, tongue-in-cheek, about Australia's superiority over China as a SPORTING superpower. SPORT is on topic. Perhaps you misunderstand our quaint little dialect.

As for the Olympics, they are just one sporting event that is held every four years. World Championships in many sports are held yearly, or more frequently than the Olympics. Additionally, the world records in many World Championship events are usually higher than the Olympic records in the same sport.

So World Championships in individual sports are generally regarded as of equal, if not higher, status than Olympic records. As example, holders of World Championships in boxing are held in higher regard than the Olympic gold medal winners of the same events. I was talking about world championships, which can't really be compared to Olympics, as most sports are not represented at the Olympics.

MissA:

Not that long ago, Traveler but things have changed a lot since then, sadly

Traveler:

Miss A: Shhh! The rest of the world don't know that. Let's not tell them.

And I'm sure our historical record of achievement  is much more important than just at one particular instant in time. We are, after all, still considered one of the six superpowers of sport.

981977405:

That is good to know re the superpowers of sport.  I also read somewhere that Australia has more pubs and drinking establishments per square kilometer than any other English-speaking country.  Is that considered a sport in Oz?

Traveler:

Again, off topic and inaccurate. Australians consider drinking a past time, not a sport. Do you have a link to the statistics on Australian drinking establishments per square kilometre?

We did, however, have an Australian Prime Minister who previously held the world record for the fastest drinking of a yard glass of beer (Bob Hawke, Guinness Book of Records). We are all very proud if him. Another world champion. This was during his university days, and he later graduated from Oxford.

981977405:

Traveler, Australia also has the world's swimming record for the only sitting Prime Minister in history who was swallowed up by a calm ocean and later rumored to be swimming alongside a Russian submarine.  That indeed is an athletic feat!

Traveler:

That was Harold Holt. He surfaced in Japan yesterday to break the world's underwater swimming record. Yet another world champion. Your information, however, is inaccurate. It was rather a rough ocean, and he was advised not to attempt the swim, but being Australian, he tried anyway. We don't walk away from a challenge. A Russian submarine? The drag would have sucked him underwater, and I'm sure somebody would have noticed it. Do you have a reliable source for that?