Author

Chris Dunlop

Introduction

You might have seen the Per Capita Olympic Medal Count table.

As great as per capita medal counts are, they aren't how countries fund their high performance programs.

Countries invest in certain sports and so it makes more sense to compare the medals won to the funding invested.

This analysis examines the Olympic performances of Great Britain and New Zealand, focusing on medal counts, funding, and efficiency metrics.

Overall Performance and Funding

Efficiency Metrics

New Zealand demonstrates higher efficiency in terms of both overall medals and gold medals.

Sport-Specific Analysis

Canoe

New Zealand's canoe team achieved remarkable efficiency, securing 4 gold medals with significantly less funding than Great Britain.

Cycling

New Zealand's cycling team demonstrated higher efficiency, matching Great Britain's gold medal count with about a quarter of the funding.

Rowing

Both countries showed similar efficiency in rowing, with Great Britain securing more total and gold medals.

Swimming

Great Britain's investment in swimming yielded medals, while New Zealand did not secure any medals in this sport.

Less Efficient Sports for Great Britain

Taekwondo

Taekwondo showed lower efficiency for Great Britain, with high funding resulting in only one medal.

Boxing

Boxing also demonstrated lower efficiency for Great Britain, with substantial funding yielding only one medal.

Less Efficient Sports for New Zealand

Equestrian

New Zealand's investment in equestrian did not result in any medals, while Great Britain secured multiple medals.

Gymnastics

New Zealand's limited investment in gymnastics did not yield medals, while Great Britain secured multiple medals with higher funding.

Key Observations

1. New Zealand demonstrates higher overall medal efficiency, particularly in sports like canoe and cycling.
2. Great Britain's larger investments allow for medals across a wider range of sports, but with varying efficiency.
3. Both countries have sports where their investments did not result in medals, highlighting the challenges in predicting Olympic success.

Note

The funding data is difficult as it doesn't provide full breakdowns and is just a line item in a spreadsheet for both countries. As a result, the analysis is limited to the information available on the UK Sport and High Performance Sport New Zealand websites.