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5 to 16 to 51 in just 20 years????
Also the soviet union was many countries not just russia so you cant credit all to them , plus still many russian athletes are chechen , kazakh etc
Jamaicans wag gwaan
Did you see Turkey 1500 m womens we got GOLD AND SILVER ALTHOUGH OVERALL WAS A DISASTER FOR US WITH 114 ATHLETES , we got less medals than beijin with half athletes . Jamaica we catching up to you haha just joking
I don't think any reasonable person would expect China win these medal counts against USA this year, as China still has a few obstacles to overcome in sports.
However as you mention, in 2004 China only had 32 Gold and total of 63 medals. I am neglecting 2008 since China has the home advantange, and this year they are improved well over past olympics.
I guess the secret recipiet will be a well funded comprehensive national sports program. This requests a well managed implantation and execution at the very local level, because that is where you can dig up the grassroot talents for each sports and develop their skills through a well established training facilities and through many regional and national level competitions.