Olympic games statistics and results. Olympiad statistics

OLYMPIC GAMES(Summer Olympic Games, Olympiad), the largest international complex sports competitions of our time. The principles, rules and regulations of the Olympic Games are defined Olympic Charter. At the suggestion of P. de Coubertin the decision to organize the Olympic Games in the manner of the ancient ones and to create International Olympic Committee(IOC) was adopted by the International Sports Congress in Paris in 1894. The Olympic Games are held in the first year of the Olympiad. The Olympiads have been counted since 1896, when the first Olympic Games took place. The Olympiad also receives its number in cases where the games are not held (for example, the VI Olympiad - in 1916, XII - in 1940, XIII - in 1944). Apart from Olympic sports, the Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games (established by the NOC of the country where the next Olympic Games will be held) has the right to include demonstration competitions in 1-2 sports not recognized by the IOC in the program of their choice. The timing of the Olympic Games since 1932 is no more than 15 days. The Olympic Games in Paris (1900) and Saint Louis (1904) were timed to coincide with the World exhibitions .

The Olympic movement has its own symbol, emblem and flag, approved by the IOC in 1914 at the suggestion of Coubertin in 1913. The Olympic symbol is 5 intertwined rings of blue, black, red (top row), yellow and green (bottom row) colors, which symbolize 5 combined in Olympic movement of parts of the world (respectively - Europe, Africa, America, Asia, Australia). The flag - a white cloth with the Olympic rings, has been raised at all the Olympic Games since 1920. Also in 1913, the motto was approved - Citius, Altius, Fortius (faster, higher, stronger), proposed by A. Dido, a friend and ally of Coubertin, and which became part of the Olympic emblem. The Olympic symbol and motto made up the official Olympic emblem (since 1920). The list of statesmen and crowned persons who opened them testifies to the high prestige of the competitions: Athens, 1896 - George I (King of Greece); Paris, 1900 - there was no opening ceremony; St. Louis, 1904 - David Francis (President of the World's Fair); London, 1908 - Edward VII (King of Great Britain and Ireland); Stockholm, 1912 - Gustav V (King of Sweden); Antwerp, 1920 - Albert I (King of Belgium); Paris, 1924 - Gaston Doumergue (President of France); Amsterdam, 1928 - Heinrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (Prince Hendrik of the Netherlands); Los Angeles, 1932 - Charles Curtis (Vice President of the United States); Berlin, 1936 - Adolf Hitler (Reich Chancellor of Germany); London, 1948 - George VI (King of Great Britain and Northern Ireland); Helsinki, 1952 - Juho Kusti Paasikivi (President of Finland); Melbourne, 1956 (equestrian competitions held in Stockholm) - Philip Mountbatten (Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh - Prince Consort of Great Britain) and Gustav VI Adolf (King of Sweden); Rome, 1960 - Giovanni Gronchi (President of Italy); Tokyo, 1964 - Hirohito (Emperor of Japan); Mexico City, 1968 - Gustavo Diaz Ordaz (President of Mexico); Munich, 1972 - Gustav Heinemann (Federal President of Germany); Montreal, 1976 - Elizabeth II (Queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland); Moscow, 1980 - Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR); Los Angeles, 1984 - Ronald Reagan (US President); Seoul, 1988 - Ro Dae Woo (President of the Republic of Korea); Barcelona, ​​1992 - Juan Carlos I (King of Spain); Atlanta, 1996 - William (Bill) Jefferson Clinton (U.S. President); Sydney, 2000 - William Patrick Dean (Governor General of Australia); Athens, 2004 - Konstantinos Stephanopoulos (President of Greece); Beijing, 2008 - Hu Jintao (General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee); London, 2012 - Elizabeth II (Queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland); Rio de Janeiro, 2016 - Michel Temer (Vice President of Brazil). The only woman to open the Olympics Queen Elizabeth II; as of January 1, 2020, she is the only statesman in the history of the Olympic Games to have opened them twice (Melbourne, 1956; London, 2012).

Traditional Olympic rituals: 1) lighting the Olympic flame at the opening ceremony (first lit from the sun in Olympia in 1936 and delivered by torchbearers to Berlin, the organizer of the Olympic Games); 2) Taking the Olympic oaths. The Olympic oath of athletes (the text was written in 1913 by Coubertin, it was first pronounced in Antwerp in 1920 by the Belgian fencer V. Buan): “On behalf of all athletes, I promise that we will participate in these Games, respecting and observing the rules by which they are held, in a truly sporting spirit, for the glory of sport and for the honor of their teams.” Olympic Oath of the Judges (included in the opening ceremony at the suggestion of the USSR Olympic Committee and held from the Olympic Games in Mexico City, 1968): “On behalf of all judges and officials, I promise that we will fulfill our duties at these Olympic Games with complete impartiality, respecting and respecting the rules under which they are held in a truly sporting spirit.” At the London 2012 Olympic Games, the Coaches' Olympic Pledge was made for the first time: “On behalf of all coaches and all those around the athletes, I pledge that we will conduct ourselves in a manner that upholds the spirit of sportsmanship and fair play, in accordance with the fundamental principles of the Olympic Movement. ". 3) Presentation of medals to the winners and prize-winners of the competitions. For the 1st place, the athlete is awarded a gold medal, for the 2nd - a silver medal, for the 3rd– bronze. In the case when two athletes (teams) shared 1st-2nd places, both are awarded a gold medal; if the participants share 2nd-3rd or 2nd-4th places, everyone is awarded silver medals, and bronze medals are not awarded. In boxing competitions, two athletes who lose in the semi-finals receive bronze medals. In 1928, the IOC approved the image on the front side of the medal of the ancient Greek goddess Nike with a laurel wreath in her hand, on the reverse side - the sport, the emblem of the Games, and other symbols; 4) raising the national flag and performing the national anthem in honor of the winners. According to the charter, the Olympic Games are competitions between individual athletes and not between national teams. However, the so-called. unofficial team standings - determining the place occupied by teams by the number of points received (points are awarded for the first 6 places according to the system: 1st place - 7 points, 2nd - 5 points, 3rd - 4 points, 4th - 3 points, 5th - 2 points, 6th - 1 point). Traditionally, a table of medal counts is maintained for countries with the priority of medals of the highest value. An athlete (or team) who wins a gold medal at the Olympic Games or the Olympic Winter Games is honored with the title of Olympic Champion. This title is not used with the prefix ex, such as ex-world champion. The largest number of medals in the history of the Summer Olympic Games (as of January 1, 2020) was won by athletes of the national teams: USA (27 participations; 1022 gold, 794 silver, 704 bronze); Russia; Germany; Great Britain (28; 263, 295, 289); China (10; 227, 164, 152); France (28; 212, 241, 260).

The Olympic Movement (as of January 1, 2016) includes 206 countries (including geographical areas), whose National Olympic Committees are recognized by the IOC. In the period 1896–2016, 31 Olympic Games were held (three of them did not take place due to world wars); 4 held in the USA; 3 - in the UK; 1 each in Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Canada, the USSR, the Republic of Korea, Spain, China, Brazil. According to the Olympic Charter, the honor of hosting the Olympic Games is given to the city and not to the country (or territory). The decision on the election of the Olympic city (the capital of the Olympic Games) is taken by the IOC no later than 6 years before the start of these Games at the IOC session. The application of a candidate city must be approved by the NOC of that country. The nominating city is required to provide the IOC with a government-approved written guarantee and a certain financial contribution (refunded to unelected cities). Since 1932, the host city of the Olympic Games has been building Olympic village- a complex of residential premises for participants in the games. Among various obligations, the Olympic city submits for the approval of the IOC the program for holding the Olympic Games, and since 1968, the national cultural program. The tradition of combining physical and artistic culture dates back to the Olympic Games of Ancient Greece, where sports competitions were accompanied by competitions in various arts. The forerunners of the modern cultural program were art competitions (1906–52) and fine art exhibitions (1956–64). At the Olympic Games in 1968–72, the cultural program was international in nature, since 1976, according to the Olympic Charter, it has been national and covers all types of art, literature, photography, sports philately, etc. More often than other cities in the world, London was elected the capital of the Summer Olympic Games (3 times), Athens, Paris, Los Angeles (2 times each).

In 1980 Moscow was the capital of the Games of the XXII Olympiad; elected during the 75th session of the IOC on 10/23/1974 in Vienna. The main stadium of the Moscow Olympics was the Central Stadium. V. I. Lenin (about 100 thousand seats, the modern name is Luzhniki), where the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games, athletics competitions, the final match of a football tournament took place; a number of competitions were held in the Leningradsky Prospekt area of ​​Moscow - at the Dynamo and Young Pioneers stadiums and at the CSKA sports complex. Specially built for the Olympic Games: the Olimpiysky sports complex on Mira Avenue, which includes a multi-purpose indoor stadium (about 35,000 seats; 22 disciplines of the Olympic program) and a swimming pool; the Krylatskoye cycling track (with two stands for 3,000 seats), near which there is a circular cycling track and an archery field (here, in 1972–73, the Krylatskoye rowing canal was built for the European Rowing Championship; stands - approx. .2.5 thousand seats); equestrian complex "Bitsa" (tribune for 5 thousand seats); sports palaces "Izmailovo" (temporary collapsible tribune - up to 4 thousand seats; weightlifting competitions) and "Sokolniki" (about 7 thousand seats; handball tournament games); shooting range "Dynamo" (approx. 3 thousand seats) in the suburban town of Mytishchi; Olympic Village. Over 5,000 athletes from 80 countries competed for 203 sets of medals in 21 sports. Athletes of the USSR national team won the largest number of medals in the history of the Olympic Games - 195 (including 80 gold, 69 silver and 46 bronze). Some competitions with the permission of the IOC were held in other cities. Group football tournaments and quarter-final matches were held in Kyiv, Leningrad and Minsk; sailing regatta was held in Tallinn. (Such exceptions were allowed before. For example, in 1956, due to quarantine and a ban on the import of horses into Australia, equestrian competitions were even held in another country - in Sweden, in Stockholm.) For political reasons, the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow were boycotted by a number of countries, refused to participate. After 4 years, the NOC of the USSR and a number of other socialist countries boycotted the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. In 1906, Athens (22.4–2.5) hosted the Extraordinary Olympic Games with the participation of 903 athletes from 20 countries. These competitions have not received official recognition from the IOC.

To comply with the Olympic ideals and the noble principles of competition at the Olympic Games and the Olympic Winter Games in 1968, the IOC and international sports federations established a doping control procedure, which is carried out by special anti-doping commissions. Since 1976, Olympic medalists have undergone special doping tests; if an athlete is found guilty of taking doping he is disqualified and forfeits his awards. On November 10, 1999, with the support of the IOC, the World Anti-Doping Agency(WADA). In recent years, regardless of the statute of limitations, WADA laboratories have been rechecking the analyzes of athletes taken during previous Olympic Games (Beijing, 2008; London, 2012), which often leads to the revision of individual results, disqualification of winners and changes in the results in the unofficial team medal standings (see the table in the article World Anti-Doping Agency). Before the start of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro (2016), at the initiative of WADA, for various reasons, many Russian athletes were suspended from participating in the competition, including all athletes (with the exception of long jumper D.I. Klishina) and weightlifters , most swimmers and rowers, tennis player M. Yu. Sharapova. As a result, the composition of the Russian national team was reduced by almost 50%.

In 6 types of the Olympic program (cycling, athletics, swimming, shooting, archery, weightlifting) Olympic records are recorded regardless of at what stage of the competition (preliminary, qualifying or final) they were set. If the result exceeds the world record, then it is considered both a world and an Olympic record.

Since 1968, the organizers of the Olympic Games have been using the Olympic mascot for propaganda and commercial purposes.

To reward especially distinguished athletes, figures of the Olympic movement and major statesmen in the mid-1970s. the Olympic Order was established (had three degrees) - Gold, Silver and Bronze (now only the first two). The first recipient of the Golden Olympic Order was the ex-president of the IOC E. Brundage. The current members of the IOC are not awarded Olympic orders.

See table 1 for dates and main results of the Summer Olympic Games. See table 2 for athletes who have won the most Olympic medals at the Olympic Games. See table 3 for athletes who have participated in 6 or more Olympics.

Table 1. The main results of the Summer Olympic Games (Athens, 1896 - Rio de Janeiro, 2016).

* United German team.

** United team of the countries of the former USSR.

Table 2. Athletes with the most victories at the Olympic Games (Athens, 1896 - Rio de Janeiro, 2016).

3 Olympic gold medals won at the Olympic Games approx. 200 athletes (as of January 1, 2020), including representatives of Russia (including the USSR): A. V. Azaryan, D. V. Bilozerchev, S. L. Boginskaya, O. A. Brusnikina, O. A. Bryzgina , G. E. Gorohova , A. N. Dityatin , V. V. Ekimov , V. F. Zhdanovich , A. I. Zabelina , V. N. Ivanov, T. V. Kazankina , A. A. Karelin , M. A. Kiseleva , A. I. Lavrov , V. G. Mankin , A. V. Medved , V. I. Morozov, V. A. Nazlymov , V. V. Parfenovich , T. N. Press , V. D. Saneev , E. V. Sadovy , B. Kh. Saytiev , L. I. Khvedosyuk-Pinaeva , S. A. Chukhrai .

Table 3. Athletes who took part in 6 or more Olympiads (as of 1.1.2020).

*The athlete also competed at the Olympic Winter Games.

The failed Olympic Games are marked in red.

Summer Olympic Games.

I. 1896 Athens. Greece. The very first Olympic Games, after the revival of the Olympic movement.

II. 1900 Paris. France.

III. 1904 Saint Louis. USA.

Extraordinary games. 1906 Athens. Greece. These games were held to develop the popularity of the Olympic Movement. Although the International Olympic Committee strongly supported them, it does not recognize them as official Olympic Games.

IV. 1908 London. Great Britain.

V. 1912 Stockholm. Sweden.

VI. 1916 Berlin. Germany. The games were canceled due to the First World War.

VII. 1920 Antwerp. Belgium.

VIII. 1924 Paris. France.

IX. 1928 Amsterdam. Netherlands.

X. 1932 Los Angeles. USA.

XI. 1936 Berlin. Germany.

XII. 1940 Helsinki. Finland. The games were canceled due to the Soviet-Finnish War and the outbreak of World War II.

XIII. 1944 London. Great Britain. Games canceled due to World War II.

XIV. 1948 London. Great Britain.

XV. 1952 Helsinki. Finland.

XVI. 1956 Melbourne and Stockholm. Australia and Sweden. The main part of the competitions of the Olympic Games took place in Australia, but the other part, due to the peculiarities of the hot Australian climate, in Sweden.

XVII. 1960 Rome. Italy.

XVIII. 1964 Tokyo. Japan.

XIX. 1968 Mexico City. Mexico.

XX. 1972 Munich. Germany.

XXI. 1976 Montreal. Canada.

XXII. 1980 Moscow. USSR.

XXIII. 1984 Los Angeles. USA.

XXIV. 1988 Seoul. South Korea.

XXV. 1992 Barcelona. Spain.

XXVI. 1996 Atlanta. USA.

XXVII. 2000 Sydney. Australia.

XXVIII. 2004 Athens. Greece.

XXIX. 2008 Beijing. China.

XXX. 2012 London.

XXXI. 2016 Rio de Janeiro. Brazil. Rio de Janeiro won the competition among the cities that applied. For the first time, the Olympic Games will be held in South America.

Winter Olympics.

I. 1924 Chamonix. France. First Winter Olympic Games.

II. 1928 St. Moritz. Switzerland.

III. 1932 Lake Placid. USA.

IV. 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Germany.

(V). 1940 Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Germany. The Olympic Games have been canceled due to the outbreak of World War II in Europe.

(VI). 1944 Cortina d'Ampezzo. Italy. The Olympic Games have been canceled due to the continuation of the Second World War.

V. 1948 St. Moritz. Switzerland.

VI. 1952 Oslo. Norway.

VII. 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo. Italy.

VIII. 1960 Squaw Valley. USA.

IX. 1964 Innsbruck. Austria.

X. 1968 Grenoble. France.

XI. 1972 Sapporo. Japan.

XII. 1976 Innsbruck. Austria.

XIII. 1980 Lake Placid. USA.

XIV. 1984 Sarajevo. Yugoslavia.

XV. 1988 Calgary. Canada.

XVI. 1992 Albertville. France. The IOC has decided to move the timing of the Winter Olympics by two years, relative to the Summer Olympics. This was done to definitively separate the Winter Olympic Games from the Summer ones and to promote the popularization of the Olympic Movement.

XVII. 1994 Lillehammer. Norway.

XVIII. 1998 Nagano. Japan.

XIX. 2002 Salt Lake City. USA.

XX. 2006 Turin. Italy.

XXI. 2010 Vancouver. Canada.

XXII. 2014 Sochi. Russian Federation. Sochi won the competition among the cities that applied to host the Games.

XXIII. 2018 Pyeongchang. South Korea. Pyeongchang won the competition among the cities that applied to host the games.

Practically in every Olympic Games there are changes in the type of competition. Some sports added, and some removed from the Olympic Games. In addition, demonstration performances in various sports are also held.

Thanks to technological progress, it is possible to obtain the necessary data about sports events in real time. The software allows you to analyze a huge number of indicators, identify dependencies, and make the necessary forecasts. Olympiad statistics required by coaches, athletes, managers, fans and businessmen.

Main characteristics

The statistics of the Olympiad displays the number of participants, countries and types. The personal achievements of each athlete are also taken into account.

Olympic medal statistics the team standings is conducted separately. Below are the results recent competitions in Korea, Rio, Sochi and London.

What does the table say:

1. For each type of Olympiad, the number of athletes and participating countries increases. They are interested in winning and receiving the honorary title of Olympic.
2. The list of sports disciplines has not changed over the past years. However, inclusion in new sports is not ruled out.
3. In the column "Medal standings" it is presented at the Olympiad in the context of national achievements. For example, Russia is in the top five in two summer games.

Russia in the world ranking

Today, the achievements of teams depend not only on the training and strong-willed qualities of the participants. The Olympics are gradually becoming the arena of politicalpressure, pharmaceutical development and commerce.

The Korean Winter Games are an example of third-party interference. Positive results of doping tests led to the suspension of the Russiannational team from participating in O Olympics 2018. The International Olympic Committee allowed only selected athletes to compete.

The conditions of their participation were humiliating. The team played under a neutral flag. They called her "O Olympic athletes from Russia.

Doping "cleansing" led to the fall of the Russian Federation in the rating table.

However, the results of the games over the past twenty years confirm the stable position of the Russian Federation in the top five. The exceptions were the games in Pyeongchang and Vancouver. Statistics of the Russian team at the Olympics:

In Korea, Russian athletes took 13th place, in Canada - 11th. But if we analyze the ratio of the number of awards to the size of the country, we can determine the criterion for the effectiveness of athletes. On the example of the USA and Russia in the Vancouver games, it is approximately the same. The calculation is done by dividing the number of medals by the population of the country.

Olympic statistics 1988 allows one more comparison to be made. Then the USSR took 1st place. The team had 29 medals.The population of the Soviet Union was 293.04 million people. Performance indicator- 0.099. That is, it is below the Russian coefficient of 0.105 in Vancouver.

Summer tournaments confirm the high level of training of Russian athletes.In 1988, the coefficient of the USSR was - 0.45. The indicator of Russia in 2010 is 0.5.

Ice hockey competition

Olympic achievements are the personal result of each athlete, and in hockey - the team. Hockey Olympiad statistics for the entire history of the games of the USSR and Russia - 9 gold medals. So much for Canada. FROM statistics of victories at the hockey olympiads.

The coaching staff builds a strategy for the next game based on an analysis of key issues. For example, who to release on the ice, what tricks to use for a particular opponent, how to use team members.

Statistics help clubs decide whether to trade players or sign a new contract. And also to analyze how each player "fits" into the team's tactics. Fans of such data are not available.

New business segment

The latest technologies allow developing unique algorithms for processing and analyzing a variety of information. Calculations based on the received data open up opportunities for profitable investments. The cost of technical equipment is justified by the demand for such information. The phrase “Who owns the information, owns the world” becomes relevant for club managers, coaches, athletes and investors.

I want to slightly change your attitude towards the results of the last Olympics, statistically show the level of our sport, compare the data with the level of the USSR at the time of its collapse and see in which country the sport is really developed the best, and in the end give a small forecast for the next two Olympics.

Today it can be seen that in the minds of the majority, the opinion about a sharp decrease in the level of our athletes has become stronger. This is explained by the drop in the quality of training compared to what existed in the USSR, and the results of the last Olympics in Vancouver are described mainly as a “failure”. In my opinion, this is largely wrong.

To do this, I propose to evaluate the quality of the country's performance in Vancouver not by the number of medals (or the seniority of the gold-silver-bronze type), but by the ratio of medals won and the size of the country's population. The number of medals per 1 million population can be considered the main criterion efficiency training in a given country.

Let's compare the efficiency in Russia and the USSR. At the 1988 Winter Olympics, the USSR won 29 medals and took first place in the overall standings. Taking into account the population at the time of the collapse (293,047,571 people), we obtain the efficiency 0,098 , which is lower than the result of Russia at the last Olympics.

The situation is similar with the Summer Olympic Games. Having won in the same 1988 with 132 medals in the overall standings, the USSR showed effectiveness 0.45 , and Russia, at the Beijing Olympics had 0.507 , which is also higher than in the Soviet period.

Once again, I focus on the fact that the population of Russia is half the size of the USSR at the time of its collapse. Thus, the quality of the search and training of gifted athletes in terms of their performance did not become worse, but remained at the same level. A small increase in efficiency can be attributed to the emergence of new sports. As you can see, the performance completely contradicts the assertion that athletes were better prepared in the USSR. They were prepared exactly in such a way as to take first place in the overall standings, and with that level of population, this was quite enough.
Let's build a graph based on the performances of our team at the Winter Olympics since 1994.

The decline in performance over the past 16 years can be explained by the fact that after the collapse of the USSR, most of the Soviet athletes chose to play for Russia. Therefore, in 1994 we could win the Olympics thanks to the old reserve, and today we have exactly 2 times fewer medals, which fully corresponds to the size of the population with a similar level of training. At the same time, the performance in 2006 in Turin was more than successful, and the results in 2010 are really worse than one would expect, especially in terms of gold medals. At the same time, in the overall standings, the team performed more successfully than in 2002. The fact that athletes took fewer gold medals, despite the increase in their total number, contradicts the general trend in which there should have been 5 or 6 of them. gold medals can be written off as a failure.

Influence of the venue of the Olympics

I propose to see how the holding of the Olympics is reflected in the success of the host country. To do this, I will present graphs of the efficiency and number of gold medals for the countries where the last Olympics were held.

Winter Olympics

The last Winter Olympic Games were held in Japan (1998), USA (2002), Italy (2006) and Canada (2010).

All the host nations of the Olympics showed a significant increase in gold medals and efficiency that year.

The only exception is Italy. I don’t know what are the reasons for such a strong drop in sports success in this country, but the Games in Turin in 2006 only slowed down the gradual deterioration, and the effect of the Olympics was completely leveled after only 4 years.

On the other hand, it is worth noting that hosting the Olympics in the USA or Canada increases the performance both countries. Sustaining success has a lot to do with that. Canada's (and to a lesser extent the United States') tremendous growth in success can be explained by the fact that these countries have hosted the Olympics 4 times over the past 30 years (in 1980, 1988, 2002 and 2010).
We also note that the increase in the number of gold medals for Canada in 2010 clearly does not correspond to the increase in efficiency (ie, and the total number of medals).

Summer Olympic Games

The most recent Summer Olympic Games have taken place in the USA (1996), Australia (2000), Greece (2004) and China (2008).

This is where the influence is seen most clearly. A sharp increase in the number of gold medals for the United States in 1996, for Australia in 2000, for Greece in 2004 and for China in 2008. Remarkably, the increase in the number of gold medals in the United States in 1996 occurred without a change in efficiency. . The peak of medals is clearly manifested against the background of absolute stability in the results for 16 years.

The growth in the number of gold medals in China also does not correspond to the rate of growth in efficiency, and Greece repeated the experience of Italy and Japan, completely losing the positive effect over the past 4 years. Russia in its successes has remained at the level of 1996.

About growth

Many factors influence success at home. This includes the development of sports infrastructure, the growing popularity of sports among the population, increased assistance from the state, the support of fans, the usual time zones, the climate and the indulgence of referees.

Some of these factors together lead to the fact that the growth of sports success in the successor country begins already at the previous Olympics, i.e. already 4 years before the home Games. Against this background, the drop in the results of Russia looks unnatural, but understandable. Today's athletes grew up in difficult times, the country went through a demographic hole, our athletes win medals competing for other countries, and many of our best coaches work abroad or even in Russia, but with foreign athletes. The drop in sports results is not so much the cause of today's actions as a consequence of the problems of 10 and 15 years ago. It can be assumed that if it were not for the upcoming Olympics in Sochi, the drop would have been much more significant.

On the other hand, you can expect that the worst performances in the Winter Games pose is already behind.

Athletes today have every chance in Russia to successfully arrange their lives, many coaches are returning, and the birth rate has gone up a little. Hosting the Olympics in Sochi helps a lot, but it costs a lot for us. The popularization of the home Olympics attracts more children to sports, finally Russia will have all the necessary infrastructure for training, because some of our athletes in unpopular sports in Russia train and live abroad, and play for their native country only because with such low competition it is easier for them to get to the Olympics and championships.

Forecasts

On average, at the last three Winter Olympic Games, our athletes won 5.33 gold medals each. Considering the average increase at home in the amount of 5 gold medals, we can assume that in Sochi our team will win 9-11 awards of the highest standard and will fight for the first place in the overall standings. This pleasure will cost us about 200 billion rubles.

At the next Summer Olympics in 2012, which will be held in London, the place of Russia in the top three will be taken by the host country - Great Britain, and China and the USA will compete for the first place. Before our home Olympics, we will no longer be able to fight for a place in the top three. The situation can change only in 2020, if St. Petersburg receives the right to host it.

OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES, complex winter sports competitions held by the IOC 1 time in 4 years. The decision to hold independent Olympic Winter Games on a regular basis was made in 1925 at the IOC Session in Prague. This was facilitated by the success of world competitions in winter sports - the International Sports Week on the occasion of the VIII Olympiad (1924, Chamonix, France), to which the IOC assigned the name "I Olympic Winter Games"; the term "Olympics" is not accepted in connection with the Olympic Winter Games, but the name "White Olympics" is sometimes used in sports and popular literature. Until 1992, the Olympic Winter Games were held in the year of the Summer Olympic Games, since 1994 - in the middle of the Olympic cycle. In the program of 7 Olympic sports .

In 1924-2014, 22 Olympic Winter Games were held - in the USA (4), France (3), Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Japan, Italy, Canada (2 each), Germany, Yugoslavia, Russia (1 each). Most often, the capitals of the Olympic Winter Games were St. Moritz, Lake Placid and Innsbruck (2 times each). In 1968, the Olympic mascot appeared for the first time at the Olympic Winter Games in Grenoble. The same ceremonies are held at the Olympic Winter Games as at the Summer Games. Olympic Games, lighting the Olympic flame, raising the Olympic flag (with the same emblem), opening and closing parades, awarding Olympic champions and medalists, etc. Olympic records are recorded only in speed skating. The list of statesmen and crowned persons who officially opened them testifies to the high prestige of the competitions: Chamonix, 1924 - Gaston Vidal (Deputy Secretary of State of France); St. Moritz, 1928 - Edmund Schultes (President of Switzerland); Lake Placid, 1932 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Governor of New York, USA); Garmisch-Partenkirchen, 1936 - Adolf Hitler (Reich Chancellor of Germany); St. Moritz, 1948 - Enrico Celio (President of Switzerland); Oslo, 1952 - Princess Ragnhild (Her Royal Highness of Norway); Cortina d "Ampezzo, 1956 - Giovanni Gronchi (President of Italy); Squaw Valley, 1960 - Richard Nixon (Vice President of the United States); Innsbruck, 1964 - Adolf Scherf (Federal President of Austria); Grenoble, 1968 - Charles de Gaulle (President France); Sapporo, 1972 - Hirohito (Emperor of Japan); Innsbruck, 1976 - Rudolf Kirschhagler (Federal President of Austria); Lake Placid, 1980 - Walter Mondale (U.S. Vice President); Sarajevo, 1984 - Mika Shpilyak (President of Yugoslavia) ; Calgary, 1988 - Jeanne Matilde Sauve (Governor General of Canada); Albertville, 1992 - Francois Mitterrand (President of France); Lillehammer, 1994 - Harald V (King of Norway); Nagano, 1998 - Akihito (Emperor of Japan); Salt Lake City, 2002 - George W. Bush (US President), Turin, 2006 - Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (President of Italy), Vancouver, 2010 - Mikael Jean (Governor General of Canada), Sochi, 2014 - Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (President of Russia) In the entire history of the White Olympiads, women have opened them only twice (Oslo, 1952; Calgary, 1988).

The largest number of medals in the history of the Olympic Winter Games (as of January 1, 2018) was won by athletes of the national teams: Russia; Norway (22; 118, 111, 100); USA (22; 96, 102, 83); Germany; Sweden (22; 50, 40, 54); Finland (22; 42, 62, 57).

See table 1 for the dates and main totals of all Olympic Winter Games. See table 2 for the most Olympic medal winning athletes at the Olympic Winter Games. 3.

Table 1. The main results of the Olympic Winter Games (Chamonix, 1924 - Sochi, 2014)

* United German team.

** United team of the countries of the former USSR.

Table 2. Athletes who won the most victories at the Olympic Winter Games (Chamonix, 1924 - Sochi, 2014).

* In 2006 (Turin) he played for the national team of the Republic of Korea.

3 gold Olympic medals won at the Olympic Winter Games St. 50 athletes (as of January 1, 2018), including representatives of Russia (including the USSR): K. S. Boyarskikh, E. V. Vyalbe, N. V. Gavrylyuk, V. S. Davydov, V. G. Kuzkin , A. P. Ragulin , A. A. Reztsova , I. K. Rodnina , V. A. Tretyak , A. V. Firsov , A. V. Khomutov , Yu. A. Chepalova

Table 3. Athletes who have competed at 6 or more Olympic Winter Games (as of 1.1.2018)

* The athlete also competed at the Olympic Games.