As usual, the medal tally at the Olympic games was lopsided

AFTER A FORTNIGHT featuring 329 competitions, the battle for Olympic supremacy came down to the last event on the final day of the Paris games. When America’s women’s basketball team beat France’s in the final on August 11th, they also helped their country equal China’s tally of 40 golds at these games. As a result, America retained its position at the summit of the official medal table—which ranks countries based on the number of golds they win—thanks to a greater haul of silvers (44 compared with China’s 27). But the official table may overstate the threat to America’s crown. By another measure, which weights the value of all medals, team USA won by a substantial margin (see chart).