Why Some Countries Get More Medals in Latin America: A Closer Look at Sports Success

What is it about?

We discuss why some countries in Latin America tend to win more medals in sports competitions, like the Pan-American Games. We look at how a country's overall strength and power in the world, known as its "national power," can affect its performance in sports. We found that countries with more national power often do better in sports. For example, the United States and Canada, two strong countries, tend to win more medals in the Pan-American Games. On the other hand, smaller and less powerful countries, like those in the Caribbean, usually win fewer medals. The paper also talks about how the end of the Cold War changed things. During the Cold War, the USA, Cuba, and Canada were the big winners because they had more resources. But after the Cold War, more countries started doing well, like Brazil and Mexico. The paper shows that a country's place in the world, its national power, can strongly influence how it performs in sports. So, the stronger a country is on the global stage, the better it does in sports competitions. However, smaller countries often struggle to compete due to limited resources.

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Why is it important?

This work is important because it sheds light on how a country's strength and standing in the world, known as its national power, can significantly impact its performance in sports competitions like the Pan-American Games. By revealing the strong connection between a nation's power and its success in sports, this research provides valuable insights for policymakers, sports organizations, and athletes, helping them understand the broader factors that influence sports performance. Additionally, this work offers a novel framework that extends our understanding of how international power dynamics affect a country's medal achievements in sports competitions, making it relevant for future studies in this field.

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