r/OlympicsV2

So, this summer we had the European Championships of track and field and swimming.

Italy and Great Britain absolutely dominated both competitions.

To my great surprise, great countries like Germany, France and Spain add very modest results compared to the top two. Germany still did somewhat ok, but France and Spain have been outperformed by small countries.

How so?

I'm specially curious about the downfall of France and the rise of Italy.

While GB has always been one of the top dogs in Europe, Italy's rise in global sports in recent years is incredible.

Along with its worst era in football, Italy has been constantly improving in most sports. Track & field, tennis, volleyball, F1, motoGP... even in rugby they are having their best results ever and they still have a very solid waterpolo movement and some top athletes in winter sports.

Part of the reason is the number of athletes with at least one foreign-born parent who widened the traditional genetic pool of the country, but it's not enough to justify this level of improvement.

On the flip coin it's hard to understand powerhouses like France and Germany are doing so... meh.

What do you think?

https://www.european-athletics.com/home

https://europeanaquatics.org/paris-2026/schedule-and-results/#/general-medals

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