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How Olympic Medal Counts Reflect Politics, Wars And Rising Power

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A close-up of the Olympic gold medal for the 2016 Summer Games in Rio. (Alexandre Loureiro/Getty Images)
A close-up of the Olympic gold medal for the 2016 Summer Games in Rio. (Alexandre Loureiro/Getty Images)

The United States has won 19 medals at the Rio Olympics, more than any other country so far this year. China is in second place with 13, and Japan has won 10.

As NPR's Greg Myre tells Here & Now's Robin Young, Olympic medal counts can reveal quite a bit about international politics through the years.

Guest

Greg Myre, international editor for NPR.org. He tweets @gregmyre1.

This segment aired on August 9, 2016.

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