Map of the Week: Olympic Medal Count
There have been a number of maps created to demonstrate the medal count earned by each country, but not all of them display data equally. The Telegraph has a nice map that created a bubble of the country based on how many medals were earned. One of my favorites was a storymap from ESRI that kept the geographic integrity of the world map with a bubble for how many medals were earned which can be switched between gold, silver, and bronze.
By far the most notable medal count map is the one generated by Huffington Post that shows the relative inequality of medal counts in countries based on their population size and GDP. I would even like to see where individual Olympic athletes fall in the ranges of wealth and income. Many news stories covered how many Olympians dedicate themselves to their sport, but are overworked at their jobs or have no means to travel to competitions without the help of bake sales and community fundraisers.
One of the Team USA Olympians who won gold comes from the #1 “most dangerous city” in America. Why is the South African team made up of so many athletes from the white minority? How many other Olympians from around the world come from difficult situations or limited resources?
