Italy is having a very good Winter Olympics. The hosts gained four medals on Sunday to reach 22, surpassing their previous record of 20, with seven days remaining in the competition.
Federica Brignone winning slalom gold after a horrific injury last year was perhaps the highlight. Host countries tend to overperform, and there are various theories why — home-field advantage, referee bias, automatic qualification for athletes — but “it’s probably just money,” the data blogger Dynomight argued in 2024. As funding increases, athletes’ performance generally improves in the Games before and after the one they host.
The UK funnelled money into its Olympic team ahead of London 2012, and immediately started winning; its medal count plateaued as soon as the money did.