Romania is likely to win nine medals at the Olympic Games in London this year, one more than in 2008, according to an estimation by Goldman Sachs in its most recent report, The Olympics and Economics 2012. Romanian athletes are expected to return home with three gold medals, one less than in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Romania will send a team of 104 athletes to the upcoming Olympics, set to start on July 27.

The US will probably come number one, with an estimated 108 medals, according to Goldman Sachs, whereas Romania will be number 25 in the ranking, with fewer medals than Hungary (11) , Poland (12), Belarus (19), Japan (26) and Ukraine (27).

The ranking, which also mentions the number of inhabitants for each country, for a size comparison, shows Jamaica at number 22, with an expected crop of 10 medals at a population of 3 million people, compared to Romania's 21 million inhabitants.

Great Britain, the hosting nation, is expected to come fourth in the medal rankings, with 65 medals. According to Goldman Sachs, there is a direct connection between hosting the Olympic Games and the number of medals won by the hosting country, as host nations win 54 percent more medals on average, than they do normally.

At the Beijing Games in 2008,  China got the most gold medals - 51, while the US came second, with 36 gold medals. Overall, the most medals - 110 medals, and China came second with 100. None of the participant countries went home without at least one medal, but many failed to strike gold: as many as 32.

The report argues that there is a relationship between Olympic success and the economic variables of a country, but that the relationship varies depending on sport, as some are more expensive to participate in and train for, which limits participation for low income countries. However, success may also vary on account of different traditions, culture and the demographic characteristics of the population or the geographic features of each country, according to the authors of the report.

Goldman Sachs looked at several variables when judging how many medals countries are likely to win: political state, macroeconomic stability, human capital, technology, and business climate.

The Olympic Games will start in London on July 27 and end on August 12. The full Goldman Sachs report is online here.

editor@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Beijing Olympics 2008; in picture, Sandra Izbasa)