A Data Analytics Approach to Evaluation of Competition in the 2012 Summer Olympics

This paper analyzes the competitive nature of a subset of Summer Olympic sporting events by presenting a new data metric that effectively measures the gap between the athletic performance of Olympians in a variety of data visualizations. This metric can be compared across events and across Olympiads so as to determine an event’s relative competitiveness as well as the history of the event’s competition level. We address our efforts here in identifying several Olympic events that can be classified as less competitive, in an effort to aid countries in selecting events in which to compete that could provide an increased probability for medaling. These less competitive events can be viewed as opportunities for smaller countries to finally achieve an Olympic medal, or as opportunities for historically successful countries to increase their dominance. We further show how analysis of our metrics specific to any one country can provide an ordered list of Olympic events where the country is nearing the Olympic podium. These results may suggest an event priority ranking for a specific country for investment in improved technology and training techniques.