The Olympic Games are always mesmerising. Competition among the world's best athletes is exciting and, for 16 days in Beijing, we were able to watch great performances. Olympic opening and closing ceremonies are good to observe, not least for what they tell us about the host nation. In general, we need less politics and chauvinism, but there is something exhilarating about watching the best of the best.
We will remember the most outstanding performances and also the greatest disappointments. American swimmer Michael Phelps sweeping up eight gold medals, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt's stupendous victories, and Chinese diver Guo Jingjing's multiple medals were all exceptional moments. It will also be hard to forget the failure of the US men's and women's sprint relay teams, as well as the Jamaican women, as they fumbled their baton passes. There were many other palpable moments.
We expected the major countries to field impressive teams. For example, we always knew Chinese, American and Russian athletes would do well and would rival each other in many events. While their sports are very differently organised, each has strong training facilities. The Americans took the most medals - 110 in total, but the Chinese swept up the largest number of golds - 51, with a total of 100 medals, while the Russians won 72 medals in all.
Arithmetic is important but, over the course of time, it will become harder to remember the exact number of medals that a particular country won. Talent, hard work, winning and losing are the stuff of enduring stories of the human condition. This is why the Olympic Games also provoke alternative medal counting. Simon Forsyth, a researcher in Brisbane, has produced a set of interesting tables.
If population size is factored in to the number of gold medals or the total number of medals won by a country, then Jamaica wins hands down on both counts. This small nation, with only 2.8 million people, dominated the sprinting events, winning 11 medals including 6 golds, and broke three world records. Using total gold medals by population size, Bahrain came second; it has only 720,000 people and took gold in the men's 1,500 metres.
When counting gold medals won against total population, China ranked 47th, the US 33rd and Russia 25th. New Zealand, with a population of only 4.2 million, took nine medals, including three golds, putting it in fourth place. Denmark, a country with about 5.5 million people, won seven medals, including two golds, giving it 14th place. Australia and Britain did well using this alternative counting method, coming fifth and 15th respectively, with 14 and 19 golds.