Kavinda Munasinghe’s Blog

China is becoming, if not already,
the world superpower. It has been boasting of many feats during the
recent past along with some impressive numbers.

* China is set to become the world’s largest producer of manufactured goods next year. Four years earlier than expected! - Financial Times
* China ousts US as top Japanese market - Financial Times
* China boasts highest number of internet users - CIA World Factbook

This time they’ve done it with sports. China became the leading nation in sports at the recently concluded 2008 Summer Olympics. So congratulations to China!

China’s raise to supremacy in the Olympic Games 

1996 Olympic Medal Count

Rank  Nation         Gold  Silver  Bronze   Total1     United States    44      32      25     1012     Russia           26      21      16      633     Germany          20      18      27      654     China            16      22      12      50

2000 Olympic Medal Count

Rank  Nation         Gold  Silver  Bronze   Total1     United States    36      24      31      912     Russia           32      28      28      883     China            28      16      15      594     Australia        16      25      17      58

2004 Olympic Medal Count

Rank  Nation         Gold  Silver  Bronze   Total1     United States    36      39      27     1022     China            32      17      14      633     Russia           27      27      38      924     Australia        17      16      16      49

2008 Olympic Medal Count

Rank  Nation         Gold  Silver  Bronze   Total1     China            51      21      28     1002     United States    36      38      36     1103     Russia           23      21      28      724     Great Britain    19      13      15      47

The
hosting country of the next summer Olympics (2012) Great Britain is
another country to keep an eye on. It has risen from the 36th place in
1996 to the 4th in 2008 by continuously improving on its medal count. This could mean that Russia’s standing in the top 3 nations may come to an end.