Sir, - The interesting debates on gold medal statistics have discussed whether one should calculate on the basis of gold medals per head of population, per head of population in each sex, etc., etc., and whether this puts Ireland at the top of the list of gold medal winners. Additional debates have worried about whether one should include silvers and bronze medals in the calculations.
Somehow. it seems a lot easier than that. Michelle Smith won three gold medals; the rest of the people of Ireland didn't win any.
Somehow, it doesn't seem meaningful to calculate that won one millionth of a gold medal as an Irish person, but actually none at all as an Irish male. As far as I'm aware, I wasn't at the Olympics in the first place, and I certainly can't claim any credit for even the millionth of a medal which people seem to he telling me I won.
Whom do I pass my millionth of a gold medal back to, or should I simply give it back to Michelle Smith? Wasn't she the person who won it? - Mise le meas,
Stevinstraat 97L,
2587EC Den Haag.