ABSTRACT
Chapter 1 introduces the approach of the book in attempting to answer the questions: how “Olympic success” is defined around the globe, why countries aim for success at the Games, and which policy instruments countries utilize to achieve their sporting goals. In addition to focusing on the Summer and Winter Olympics, this book does not examine individual Olympic accomplishment. Instead, I focus on the nation-state level, and examine differences of Olympic success between countries. My analysis helps to better understand why countries invest into Olympic success, and how they operate to win medals at the Games. I attempt to prove that relying only on macro explanations, such as GDP and population size, is insufficient to understand Olympic success, and that it is also necessary to study the policy level. Thus, I introduce and outline the components of my WISE formula (Women empowerment, Institutionalization, Specialization, Early learning) as a simple model that presents general guidelines for governments on how to develop elite sport policies, and a framework for how a country can succeed at the Games.
