Olympics 2012: are Team GB in serious competition with Team USA?

Is Team GB doing so well that it seriously compares to Team USA? Even the most diehard fan might have thought this was unlikely before the games: Team USA is traditionally the one to beat in the Olympics - the US has the most medals of all time (followed only by the former Soviet Union) , plus it has been vying for the lead with China since the Games began. It also has nearly as many athletes in the Games as host nation Team GB and a record of winning gold after gold. Here's what we know so far: {"dataSourceUrl":"//docs.google.com/spreadsheet/tq?key=0AonYZs4MzlZbdDlDSTdxdTh1MjJpd2JOVlFNdm01ZEE&transpose=0&headers=1&range=B40%3AE42&gid=1&pub=1","options":{"titleTextStyle":{"bold":true,"color":"#000","fontSize":"20"},"vAxes":{"0":{"useFormatFromData":true},"1":{"useFormatFromData":true}},"series":{"0":{"color":"#ff9900"},"1":{"color":"#d9d9d9"},"2":{"color":"#dc3912"}},"title":"Total medals so far","booleanRole":"certainty","animation":{"duration":0},"legend":"bottom","hAxis":{"useFormatFromData":true,"viewWindowMode":"pretty","viewWindow":{}},"isStacked":true,"width":460,"height":276},"state":{},"chartType":"BarChart","chartName":"Chart4"} And if you go here you can see how each team's performance compares to Beijing 2008 - with Team GB ahead of where they were four years ago and the US slightly behind. It's also unlikely that Team GB will win as many medals by the weekend - although theoretically possible. So how do they compare by this stage of the games? These charts are dynamic and reflect the latest results - thanks BBC Olympics - which also means that as the results change they will too. Firstly the numbers of sports medals have been won in: this is what it looks like right now - pretty evenly matched. {"dataSourceUrl":"//docs.google.com/spreadsheet/tq?key=0AonYZs4MzlZbdDlDSTdxdTh1MjJpd2JOVlFNdm01ZEE&transpose=0&headers=1&range=L1%3AM3&gid=1&pub=1","options":{"vAxes":[{"useFormatFromData":true,"minValue":0,"viewWindowMode":"pretty","viewWindow":{"min":0}},{"useFormatFromData":true,"viewWindowMode":"pretty","viewWindow":{}}],"titleTextStyle":{"bold":true,"color":"#000","fontSize":"20"},"series":{"0":{"color":"#cc0000"}},"booleanRole":"certainty","title":"Sports medals won in","animation":{"duration":0},"legend":"none","theme":"maximized","hAxis":{"useFormatFromData":true,"viewWindowMode":"pretty","viewWindow":{}},"isStacked":false,"width":460,"height":276},"state":{},"chartType":"ColumnChart","chartName":"Chart3"} But the interesting split comes when you look at individual sports. Team USA's medal breakdown looks like this: {"dataSourceUrl":"//docs.google.com/spreadsheet/tq?key=0AonYZs4MzlZbdDlDSTdxdTh1MjJpd2JOVlFNdm01ZEE&transpose=0&headers=1&range=H1%3AK19&gid=0&pub=1","options":{"titleTextStyle":{"bold":true,"color":"#000","fontSize":"20"},"vAxes":{"0":{"useFormatFromData":true},"1":{"useFormatFromData":true}},"series":{"0":{"color":"#ff9900"},"1":{"color":"#d9d9d9"},"2":{"color":"#dc3912"}},"title":"Team USA medals","booleanRole":"certainty","height":276,"animation":{"duration":0},"legend":"bottom","width":460,"hAxis":{"title":"Medals","useFormatFromData":true,"viewWindowMode":"pretty","viewWindow":{}},"isStacked":true},"state":{},"chartType":"BarChart","chartName":"Chart1"} Swimming dominates the US medal table - with a total of 30 medals in all, including 16 golds as we write with one more event to come (with Michael Phelps contributing three of them). That is followed by in athletics and fewer medals in other sports. In contrast, this is how Team GB looks - bearing in mind that the scale on this chart, with fewer medals, is different. {"dataSourceUrl":"//docs.google.com/spreadsheet/tq?key=0AonYZs4MzlZbdDlDSTdxdTh1MjJpd2JOVlFNdm01ZEE&transpose=0&headers=1&range=H1%3AK16&gid=1&pub=1","options":{"vAxes":{"0":{"useFormatFromData":true},"1":{"useFormatFromData":true}},"titleTextStyle":{"bold":true,"color":"#000","fontSize":"20"},"series":{"0":{"color":"#ff9900"},"1":{"color":"#d9d9d9"},"2":{"color":"#dc3912"}},"booleanRole":"certainty","title":"Team GB medals by sport","animation":{"duration":0},"legend":"bottom","hAxis":{"useFormatFromData":true,"title":"Medals","viewWindowMode":"pretty","viewWindow":{}},"isStacked":true,"width":460,"height":276},"state":{},"chartType":"BarChart","chartName":"Chart2"} Team GB's giant success has been in cycling - with 7 golds in track plus another in road, this is followed by rowing with 9 medals now, including four golds. But its the spread of medals that is most interesting - while the US is dominated by two sports, Team GB has achieved equal proportions of its medals in a number, including sports such as equestrian, gymnastics, sailing and swimming. How will this change - and what does it tell us about the two teams? Certainly if you weight performance by GDP and population, the UK is substantially punching above its weight. The full data is below - and is automatically updated. What can you do with it? Download the data • DATA: download the full spreadsheet NEW! 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