Competitive balance and medal distributions at the Summer Olympic Games 1992–2016: overall and gender-specific analyses

ABSTRACT

This article examines competitive balance at the Summer Olympic Games between 1992 and 2016 by measuring the distribution of gold medals, medals and medal points amongst nations, for overall and male and female competitions. The key findings are overall; there has been no improvement in competitive balance since the 1992 Olympics. There is some evidence that competitive balance has improved in male competitions, as shown by decreased HHIN, CV and CR4 values. The analysis of female competitions suggests that competitive balance has remained largely unchanged. However, the CV Gold indicator provides evidence of a significant decline in competitive balance. The findings facilitate a more evidence-based evaluation of existing policy measures and strategies, and their refinement where appropriate. Policy suggestions are proffered for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and various International Federations (IFs), and non-major nations to promote a more balanced development and competition particularly for women.

KEYWORDS:

• Summer Olympic Games
• competitive balance
• (gold) medal distribution
• male competitions
• female competitions

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Jinming Zheng http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5766-7779