Is US pushing for a change in how Olympic medal standings are ranked?

As usual, the Americans are having their way.

Although the International Olympic Committee convention states that nations must be based on the number of gold medals won by their athletes, and only in cases of a tie are silver medals taken into consideration, the American media have been giving every medal a specific number of points: one point for bronze, two for silver, and three for gold.

The reason is obvious: to avoid highlighting that the US and Chinese Olympic teams have been engaged in a close race in the medal standings at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The American media have been arguing that the current ranking system is unfair and requires change, emphasizing its disregard for the accomplishments of athletes who have won silver or bronze medals. But prior to the Paris Games, the United States had never placed such a strong emphasis on this issue.

What has changed, then? It's ironic that an international sporting event that's supposed to represent harmony, peace and fair play has turned into yet another arena for geopolitical conflict.

China performed admirably at the Olympics this year, winning 40 gold, 27 silver and 91 bronze medals in table tennis, artistic gymnastics, diving, weightlifting, tennis, golf, break dancing and freestyle BMX cycling, as well as in disciplines where China is not known for its success.

But China did not see its sporting achievements as political successes: Its national media have not downplayed other nations' successes, particularly those of the US. The final medal table was updated immediately after the thrilling final between the French and American basketball teams, where Team USA grabbed the last gold medal to "win" the Olympics.

How will the US deal with an even more confident Team China in Los Angeles in four years if they are unable to handle the pressure of Chinese sporting success in Paris 2024? The only solution is to force the rest of the world, including the Olympic Committee, to use their medal counting system.

Will the US succeed? Probably so. China will not object. It would rather utilize the situation sportingly, considering it another challenge to always do better.

However, it's best not to think about what would have happened if China had even recommended minor changes to the Olympic medal count system: Another global alert would have been issued for another hegemonic agenda.

(The author is an independent researcher based in Paris. The views are her own.)