Pakistani javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem shattered a world record to win a gold medal at the Paris Olympics 2024. Nadeem is now inspiring a new generation of Pakistani sportsmen and women to excel in athletics. Thousands of fans, including government ministers, came to Lahore Airport to greet Arshad Nadeem when he returned to the country.
Aeshad Nadeem's gold medal in the Paris Olympics came 32 years after Pakistan won a bronze medal in field hockey at Barcelona, Spain. It's also the first Olympic gold medal won by Pakistanis in 40 years. Pakistan has won a total of 11 medals since it started participating in the Olympic Games in 1948. India has won 41 medals since it began its participation in the Olympics in 1900. Five of India's 41 medals were won prior to 1948. This year, Pakistan has won just one medal, a gold in Javelin throw, while India has won 6 medals, including a silver in Javelin throw and 5 bronzes in other sports.
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| Gold Medal Winner Arshad Nadeem at Paris Olympics. Source: Olympics.com |
Of the 11 olympics medals won by Pakistan since 1948, only three, including that of Paris 2024 champion Arshad Nadeem are individual medals. Two other individual medals are bronze in men's boxing and wrestling. The rest are team medals awarded to the Pakistan field hockey teams.
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| 2024 Paris Olympics Table. Source: Google |
South Asian nations, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan, rank low on this year's medals tables. Pakistan ranks 62 and India 69. The top of the table is dominated by rich nations from East Asia, North America and Western Europe. Over 50 countries and territories have never won an Olympic medal, either in the Summer or Winter Games, according to a report in Newsweek.
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| Olympic Medals Winners Map. Source: Newsweek |
Bangladesh is among the nations that have never won any olympic medals. Others include Angola, Bhutan, Bolivia, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Honduras, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen.
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| Total Olympic Medals Won By Most Populous Countries 1896-2024 |
Here's how The Economist magazine summarized the results of the 2024 Paris Olympics:
"This year around 45% of participating countries won at least one medal. In 1992, the equivalent figure was 38%. Albania, Cape Verde, Dominica and St Lucia won their first-ever medals in Paris; Botswana and Guatemala secured their first golds. The improvement reflects the greater number of medals on offer, as more events are added, as well as sport’s globalisation, which has allowed techniques and knowledge to spread further and faster. Ultimately, however, serious Olympic success is determined by the wealth and population of a country. Rich, big countries have more resources to invest and deeper pools of talent. The share of countries with more than 20 medals has remained largely unchanged since 1992. That makes a minnow’s success all the more special".
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| Share of Olympic Medals Won By Countries. Source: The Economist |
Olympics are not just a huge international sporting spectacle; these games are highly lucrative for the organizers who rake in billions of dollars in sponsorships and media rights. NBC alone paid $7.75 billion for broadcasting rights for the United States.
Rich industrialized nations have well-funded athletics development programs which can be credited with their Olympic success. The National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) is an example of one such program. It earned $1.28 billion in revenue in 2022-2023, with about $1 billion coming from March Madness alone.
This summer in Paris 2024, 75% of Team USA's Olympic athletes will have a collegiate background as part of their journey to Team USA, according to a report. This includes NCAA programs, junior colleges, NAIA and clubs. Of those, 65% (385 of 592) have competed in NCAA collegiate sports across all three divisions. In total, 151 NCAA schools from 45 conferences will have one or more Team USA Olympic athletes competing in Paris.
The medals won by athletes from poor nations like India and Pakistan are primarily due to the individual's own initiative, hard work and determination. Arshad Nadeem, for example, had so little help from the Pakistani government or private sector that he had trouble finding the money to buy a javelin. He ended up doing crowd-funding to buy it for the Paris Olympics 2024. Even after winning a Commonwealth Games gold and World Championship silver in 2022 and 2023, Arshad had to plead for a new javelin before the Paris Olympics as his old one had worn out after years of use, according to a news report.
It is heartening to see that Arshad Nadeem is now being showered with effusive praise and money from both the government and private sector to continue his passion. Hopefully, he will use his celebrity and money to help fund an athletics academy for aspiring young men and women in Pakistan.
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