I haven't been able to watch the Olympics--no TV and no time--but I try to keep abreast in the major events of the Olympics. I would do more in-depth coverage of ECE nations if I didn't have a day job and public transit didn't eat up additional hours of my day. I would love to simply watch athletics for hours on end, but being an adult has completely eroded whatever time and enthusiasm I have left at the end of the day.
I wasn't aware that Slovakia had a company that made competition canoes. Were you? Luckily, my RSS feeds (see my page for the ones I follow!) brought this to my attention. I see that Eastern Europe is doing pretty well in the medal count, all things considered. The full list of medal counts are here on ESPN, but here is the individual list linked for your quick reference (these only include counties that have medals):
Belarus
Croatia
Czech Republic
Germany
Hungary
Lithuania
Moldova
Poland
Romania
Russia
Serbia
Slovakia (notice the number of canoeing medals!)
Slovenia
Ukraine
The medal count per capita in these countries must be higher than the USA, which has a ridiculous number of medals. It seriously resembles the 1% getting the larger part of the spoil. It is worthy to note that Hungary has more medals than Brazil (where my mother-in-law is from) or India, which is embarrassing for those BRIC countries. You'd think that a "backwater" Eastern European nation with a despotically inclined PM would not get more medals than two of the fastest growing economies with large populations. Funny, ain't it?
Contemporary Discussion of Eastern Europe In All Its Glory
