It is not uncommon for an American athlete to win another world or Olympic title in a race. Eventually, it became news from the Helsinki World Championships, in which Americans stood out from the rest in each athletics category. They have won more titles than any other nation taken together. Of course, this is not always the case, but the benefits for American athletes due to their height are obvious. While foreign athletes come to the elite of sports and travel, the American people remain indoors. Moreover, it is impossible to imagine an elite sprint without Americans. They have run short-distance races now. They have been at the forefront of all modern athletic history since the first Olympic Games in Athens in 1896.
To prove this point I offer the so-called average of all international Olympic athletes who have won awards at the modern Olympic Games. The nation gets 3 points for each gold medal, 2 silver points, and one bronze point. For example, at the 2004 Olympics, the Americans won all the medals in the men's 200m relay race. In the women's 200-meter dash the Jamaican athlete won gold, the American in silver won and the Bahamian athlete won bronze. So Americans get 8 points, Jamaicans - 2 points, Bahamians - 1 point. To summarize the points for each year we get the following statistics:
100 meters:
USA - 120
Germany - 22
Great Britain - 20
Canada - 14
Australia - 13
Other countries - 69
200 meters:
USA - 117
Germany - 18
Jamaica - 16
Australia - 14
Great Britain - 12
Other countries - 63
400 meters:
USA - 97
Germany - 22
Great Britain 20
Jamaica - 13
Australia - 12
Other countries - 52
In all cases, the American people are far ahead of the rest. However, even if we consider such a huge advantage, it would be a mistake to conclude that foreign athletes are highly trained. During the twentieth century, there were stars among British, Canadian, Caribbean, and other athletes whose achievements were part of the history of the sport. Many of them are Olympic and world champions. There are also world record holders among them. Now we talk about Asafa Powell, Veronica Campbell, and Tonique Williams-Darling. We also remember Linford Christie, Donovan Bailey, Marita Koch, and the older Marie-Jose Perec.
The point, however, is that they are the only representatives of their nations. They go into sports, they do well and they come out followed by none of us who fit their level. But only USA athletes always show high performance. It is very difficult to find reasons why the level of training is so high in many other countries. It is not the training program itself that separates the provinces from other countries. Rather it is a sports organization that selects, encourages, and motivates athletes.
A common practice in athletics
There are two types of sports system organizations in the world.
The first is the international government funding program. The National Department of Sport directs the Sports Associations to provide athletes with the best possible training conditions, medical care, fitness opportunities, and more. The State cares for athletes from the start of their careers and they feel comfortable in such situations.
Many of them go to athletics and train as a hobby, considering the concept of running: “I have the opportunity to train. First I will train for fun and I will see if I am good at running. If I am good, I will pay more attention to training. If I don't, I will just enjoy the level that has been achieved. My country will take care of me and allow me to receive such “exciting” training. For some of them running is a hobby. Some of them get good results at the local level during a performance of 10.4-10.2 seconds on a 100-meter dash, and they think it is good enough. Those who are motivated go further and sometimes take prizes at the international level. But most such athletes do not even reach the 10th mark, let alone the 9.8-9.7 second required for the major tournaments.
So there is no good system to choose from and there is no high level of competition in such a system.
National Collegiate Athletic Association
Another example is when businesses that interfere with sports and the government do not participate in the program by providing athletes with conditions. Such a model is being developed in the USA. In addition to paid sports, there is a unique university sports program that spawns a host of world-renowned athletics. The games of the National Collegiate Athletic Association are incredibly popular and are widely available on television and in newspapers. Even world-famous bookmakers offer betting lines in NCAA leagues. No country in the world can boast of such a thing. College teams earn a lot of money from their team sponsors and are determined to achieve high results that attract well-trained athletes. It means that talented athletes receive scholarships that cover the cost of studying and living. For many of them, such a way is the only way to enter university. So athletes competing with the university team are highly motivated to achieve good results. Not only do they train, but they also protect the stability of their lives. Usually, at NCAA competitions, college athletes get higher results than professional athletes from other countries.
There is another good feature of the USA model. Many sports events are very popular in the United States. These are football, basketball, baseball, hockey, track and field, and more. Almost all universities have their teams participating in these games. If an athlete first selects a particular event, and after a while, it turns out to be the best for another event, he or she may change the event within the same university. There are many such examples
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