The Effect of Country Population, Economy and Scientific Research on Country's Olympic Success

Abstract

In this study, it was aimed to examine the relationship between the number of gold/total medals obtained by the top 20 countries in the gold medal rankings in the Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and London 2024 Summer Olympic Games and the population, economy and scientific research of these countries. Descriptive survey model, one of the quantitative research methods, was used in the study. Data were obtained through scientific studies and document analysis. For the number of researches in the field of sports sciences; scientific researches published in Web Of Science (WOS) in the 4 years between the two Olympics were analyzed and documents suitable for the purpose of the research were provided. For population and economy data, current data for all Olympics were used. There are many variables that affect the Olympic success of countries. It is possible to mention many variables such as economy, population, socio-cultural structure, science and technology, facilities, clubization, athlete incentive policies, and extraordinary talents. In this study, scientific research, population and economy among the factors affecting Olympic success (gold medals/total medals) were examined and Pearson correlation analysis, x2 analysis and regression analysis were used to evaluate the data obtained. As a result, economy was found to be the parameter that most influenced the ranking of gold medals and total medals. The number of gold medals and total medals were found to be influenced by population and scientific research, respectively, while the number of gold medals and total medals were influenced by scientific research and population, respectively. These results may shed light on future research and the development of Olympic strategies.

Keywords

• Olympic Games
• Medal
• Success

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