Who Was z-Best Olympian in 2008 and 2012?

Authors

  • Ian Douglas MacKay Middlebury College
  • John Woodward Markusen Middlebury College
  • Paul M. Sommers Middlebury College

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47611/jsr.v3i1.156

Keywords:

Olympics, z-scores

Abstract

The authors use z-scores (i.e., the number of standard deviations above the mean) to gauge the dominance of gold medalists in individual swimming, track, and gymnastic events at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympic Games.  Since a last place finisher’s time or score could dramatically skew the results, the ninety-six z-scores (forty-eight for each Olympics) are recalculated for the women’s and men’s other seven finalists in each of twenty-six individual swimming events, twelve track events, and four (six) gymnastic events for women (men).  Surprisingly, using these standardized scores (and recalculated z-scores), the most dominant Olympic champion was neither swimmer Michael Phelps nor sprinter Usain Bolt.

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Author Biographies

Ian Douglas MacKay, Middlebury College

Student

John Woodward Markusen, Middlebury College

Student

Paul M. Sommers, Middlebury College

Paige-Wright Professor of Economics

Published

04-09-2014

How to Cite

MacKay, I. D., Markusen, J. W., & Sommers, P. M. (2014). Who Was z-Best Olympian in 2008 and 2012?. Journal of Student Research, 3(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.47611/jsr.v3i1.156

Issue

Section

Research Articles