by Gwynn Guilford
Lamenting Israel's big whiff in London, Liel Leibovitz reveals some startling numbers from Spain and the UK:
Israel’s state budget for 2011 was $61 billion. Its investment in sport for the same year was approximately $21 million, or 0.03 percent of the budget, one of the lowest rates
in the Western world. Even after agreeing to reduce its national spending to 122 billion euros this year, for example, Spain is still investing around 150 million euros in sport, or, relatively speaking, three times as much as Israel does. Spain has Rafael Nadal, a handful of gold medals, and every soccer championship imaginable to show for it. And Britain, after a disappointing performance in the 1996 Atlanta games—one gold medal, 15 in total—increased its investment from 60 million pounds to 264 million pounds; as of this writing, they are fourth in the overall tally of medals in London, with 22 gold, 13 silver, and 13 bronze.
Israel's minister of culture and sport is on it, though – she's setting up an official investigative committee to learn why Israeli athletes come up so consistently empty. Leibovitz applauds the move:
Most of the world has already realized that sports are more than just a pleasant pastime; they’re an indication of a civic society’s health.
According to a report by the global consulting firm Substance, investing in sports tends to empower underprivileged youth, bring about a reduction in crime, and contribute to overall economic growth. It’s sad that 65 other nations have ridden these insights all the way to the Olympic podium while the start-up nation did not.
While Israel wrings its empty hands, concern about the wisdom of lavish sports spending is growing in a country seldom associated with patriotic restraint: China. Elizabeth Economy reports on the Chinese people's growing discontent with excessive Olympics spending:
Some Chinese are concerned that the cost of an Olympic gold is too great, both literally and figuratively. People have reportedly calculated the financial cost of swimmer Sun Yang’s two years of gold medal-worthy training at approximately $1.57 million. Not a small sum in a country where per capita income still tops out at roughly $7,500.
Previous Dish coverage here, here and here. Image from MedalCount.com.
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