If it feels like the same countries are winning most of the Olympic medals every two years, that’s because it’s largely true.
Even though more than 150 countries and territories have claimed a medal since the modern Games began in 1896, the list of winners is top-heavy.
Entering the Paris Summer Games, the United States has the most, by far, with 2,975 medals, according to the International Olympic Committee’s research wing.
Nearly 70 countries and territories, though — roughly a third of the parade of nations — cannot boast an Olympic medalist in any discipline, summer or winter.
“It’s frustrating, definitely,” said Marco Luque, a member of the Bolivian Olympic Committee’s board and the president of his country’s track and field federation.
Persons:
”, Marco Luque
Organizations:
Games, Summer, Olympic, Soviet Union, Bolivian Olympic Committee’s
Locations:
United States, Germany, Great Britain, France, South Sudan, Monaco