Britain set to model China's success come 2012

Michael Ventre

The balance of power in the world often hinges on oil or military stockpiles or land, but every four years it shifts to precious metals, or more precisely, medals. And during a period beginning after World War II and ending around the time the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, there was no more bitter struggle for gold, silver and bronze than the one between the former Soviet Union and the United States.

In those days, before the Soviet Union, East Germany and their ilk disintegrated, the Olympic Games weren’t a friendly competition celebrating the joy of sport (and frankly, maybe they have only ever been so in concept) but rather a fanatical race for supremacy as well as a tussle for bragging rights to the better way of life. As the Cold War raged, with missiles pointed at each other, the Soviets and the Americans applied a war-like zeal to Olympic competition.

Speaking of faded empires, there was once a time when England ruled the world, when the phrase “the sun never sets on the British Empire” was testimony to its vast reach and dominance. Meanwhile, China – once considered a sleeping giant – is now wide awake, on the global economic scene and elsewhere.

What do these four countries have to do with each other aside from their rich and colorful histories?

Soon the torch will fade in Beijing, and attention will revert to London and the next Summer Games in 2012. That will happen just as the United States, China, Russia and Great Britain occupy the top four spots in the medal standings. If history is any indication, Great Britain as the host country will do in 2012 what China did in 2008 – assert itself on the world stage and in the medals race.

The “way of life” angle is still valid, but less prominent. China has embraced capitalism, which creates at least the impression that it has a progressive streak. Residents of Tibet as well as thousands of dissidents and critics clearly would dispute that on human rights grounds. But China’s bustling economy and its staggering production of these ’08 Games has ingratiated it into a respected place among the world’s nations, whether others eye it warily or not.

When it comes to medals, though, China used the opportunity in much the same way that the United States did in ’84, and in the way the then-Soviet Union tried to do in ’80 if not for the boycott. Those host nations took the opportunity to seize the public-relations stage through its athletes. In ’84, the United States destroyed the competition with 174 medals overall, including 83 gold. In ’80, the Soviet Union powered to No. 1 with 195 medals overall, 80 of them gold.

Of course, the propaganda efforts by both were muted somewhat by the facts that the United States boycotted the Soviets’ bash in 1980, while the Soviet bloc nations returned the favor in ’84.

There were no such significant actions taken in 2008, and although there is no guarantee some major powers might not stiff London in 2012, there isn’t much appetite for boycotts anymore after the ugliness, emptiness and futility of the aforementioned two.

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