...and the world better get used to it. For better or worse, China has commited itself to be the new leader of Olympic competition. Couple an intensive training program in which children are selected for at ages as young as 4 years old with a population of 1.3 billion and you have a formula for Olympic domination. The 2008 Olympics don't just represent a fluke or even a particularly successful run, it is the start of a long term trend. And China's success is astounding considering that they used to be mocked as the "weaklings of Asia", and that as recently as 1988 they only won 5 Gold medals.
The US has enjoyed a long run as the dominant force in Olympic competition, and the new success of China is representative of a fundamentally different value system. In China, the goal of sport is societal, for the benefit of an entire nation's pride where the emphasis is on Gold medal count. Their athletes are selected for and trained by the state, and are essentially the property thereof. The USA's system of athletics is largely private. Athletes enjoy freedom of choice, and it is ultimately for personal capital gain.
So how did the Chinese manage to become so dominant in so short a time? Well, part of the reason is due to a very deliberate method to maximize Gold medal potential. While the Chinese have demonstrated an ability to win in competitive sports such as gymnastics, they have also lent major focus to more obscure sports in which competition is less robust. Also, the Chinese athletics system has valued sports with high medal yields such as diving, weightlifting and shooting.
In a way, the freedom of choice in US athletics is also an impediment to maximizing Gold medal potential. Imagine if the top ten NFL draft picks dedicated themselves to weightlifting or track and field. Or if all the major talents of the US Basketball team were divided into a variety of sports, instead of in a single sport in which the medal yield for all that talent is just one. Don't get me wrong. I don't think we should adopt a centralized sports program. I'm just saying that there are better ways to utilize all the talent of the land if the only goal was to win Golds.
The US should not fret. We are still a force to be reckoned with, particularly in team sports. And we are still a magnet for the world's athletic talent because of our robust sporting leagues. But we do need to realize that the era of US domination is over, and that China has taken the reigns. And honestly, is that such a horrible fate? I think not.