An Olympic performance the U.S. can be proud of

Regarding Mike Wise’s Aug. 9 Sports column, “Take your swelling national pride and stick a pin in it”:

I disagree with the statistical basis for Mr. Wise’s argument that the United States would not be as proud of its Olympic medal performance if it were viewed on a per capita basis.

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First, if we are going to compare the number of medals per capita, then we should count all the medals won by all of the individuals competing in the Olympics. A team medal should not be counted as a single medal. For example, in 2008 women’s soccer, 18 U.S. women were awarded medals, and in basketball 11 men and 12 women were awarded medals. That would make the U.S. per capita medal count far higher than the 2012 figure Mr. Wise cited of one medal per 5.6 million people.

The depth of athletic talent in the United States and the focus on team sports in this country enable us to be competitive in these team sports in the Olympics. Americans should be proud that we value teamwork more than individual accomplishments.

Another reason that the United States does not win as many medals per capita as some might expect is that the Olympics limits the number of athletes from each country who can compete in certain events. As we saw in the gymnastics all-around this year, even though three Americans were in the top four competitors, only two could compete for the medals. Similarly in swimming, each country is only allowed two competitors. In some of these events, Americans could have earned more medals if three or more were allowed to compete.

So let’s hold our heads high and praise our Olympians.  We have much to be proud of.

Carol Hart, Arlington