Medals are just tip of Beijing successes

BEIJING - China might be running away with the gold medal count at these Olympics, but officials of the U.S. Olympic Committee are happy with more than just their haul of hardware as the Summer Games reach their conclusion today.

Through Saturday, the United States led the overall medal count with 107. China was second with 96, but the Chinese had racked up 49 golds -- the most they ever have earned -- to 34 golds for the Americans. U.S. athletes had won 37 silver medals and 36 bronze, with swimming, track and field and gymnastics carrying the load.

More important, officials said, American athletes have conducted themselves in an honorable way. No competitors have failed drug tests, and the antics that marred past Games -- trashed hotel rooms, showboating, fights between teammates -- have been absent this time around. With the men's basketball and volleyball teams playing for gold today, the United States is assured of winning at least 109 medals, its highest overall count since the 108 won at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

"We consider this one of our most successful Olympic Games ever,'' U.S. Olympic Committee President Jim Scherr said. "The team will surpass the total medal count in Athens [102], but that doesn't tell the whole story.

"This team has represented the nation in exemplary fashion and brought honor to the United States. Our performance in team sports may be the best in the history of U.S. participation in the Games. We earned medals and high finishes in sports and disciplines we did not think we could do a few short years ago. All in all, I think it's been an exceptional performance.''

Medal totals tell two stories

Michael Phelps' eight gold medals, a record for most won in a single Olympic Games, paced the swimmers to a 31-medal performance and a dozen golds. The gymnastics teams won two golds and 10 total medals, while track and field has earned seven golds among its 23 medals.

While swimming was seen as a huge success, track and field has not been, despite the medal count. Some of the biggest American stars faltered in Beijing. Sprinter Tyson Gay did not make the finals in the 100-meter dash, batons were dropped in two relays, and high-profile athletes such as shot putter Reese Hoffa failed to bring medals home.

Former Olympian turned TV analyst Ato Boldon said the U.S. track team underperformed as much as it ever had at an Olympics. Doug Logan, the new CEO of USA Track and Field, said in a blog that the organization will analyze the performance to find out what went wrong and take steps to ensure a better showing in the future.

Scherr and Peter Ueberroth, the chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee, were particularly pleased with the United States' strength in team sports. The women's soccer and basketball teams won gold medals, and women's water polo, volleyball and softball took silver. The men's volleyball and basketball teams will bring home either gold or silver.

Scherr said the USOC will continue to invest significantly in its team sports, rather than divert that money to individual sports that can yield more medals. He and Ueberroth cited the ability of teams to provide opportunities for more people.

"What's good for us as a country is overall participation," Ueberroth said. "We're fascinated, like any country, with gold medals. But what's more important is for team sports to do well, because that's what gets kids out of chairs and playing.

"Our women's soccer team played very well. They won gold, but more important in a way for our country, their actions will bring thousands more kids in to play that sport. That's good for the health of the country."

Politics aside ...

There had been much discussion before the Olympics about whether U.S. athletes would be free to make political statements during these Games. Human-rights activists had pressured China on many issues, including its crackdown in Tibet and its support for Sudan, and the U.S. Olympic Committee said athletes would be allowed to speak their minds so long as they abided by International Olympic Committee rules. That meant no talk of politics inside Olympic venues.

No one in the U.S. delegation took China to task while in Beijing. The closest they got to making any kind of political statement came in their choice of flagbearers. In a vote of U.S. team captains, runner Lopez Lomong -- a Sudanese refugee -- was chosen to lead the athletes into the Opening Ceremony. Archer Khatuna Lorig, who will carry the flag in tonight's Closing Ceremony, is a native of Georgia who has worried about family members in that country since Russia invaded it two weeks ago.

Scherr noted that these Olympics were significantly more competitive than past Games, because many countries -- China in particular -- have put more money and effort into improving their Olympic performances. The medals race is likely to continue heating up, and Scherr said the USOC will continue assessing how it targets its limited funding while trying to raise more money.

Some, Ueberroth said, will go toward multiple-medal sports such as cycling where the U.S. has not done well. Some will go toward continuing improvement in sports including fencing and sailing, where the Americans are getting better.

And some will be spent just to keep up. "The Chinese team is fantastic," Ueberroth said. "The Russian team will be very, very strong before [the 2012 Summer Games in] London. We have to watch the people coming up behind us. We understand that we're going to have to redouble our efforts in future Games."