Throw me in the camp that is disappointed with this Olympics on one hand, it seems to be a lot of - "well, so-and-so was a medal hopeful, and they finished 5th" rather than "wow, where did so-and-so come from to win that bronze?!" In the swimming it's neat to see the Canadian records falling but is that a symptom of the swimmers improving or just the better equipment?
The idea of rewarding a program for an athlete's performance is interesting, perhaps it could be split because I do think these athletes need to be rewarded for their efforts. What did Australia do to become such a power in swimming and other events? Their population is nearly the same as ours and yet their performance is so far above ours. What gives?
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