One factor that has not been noted by others is that a common route for mid-tier athletes who actually reside in some of the bigger countries to get to the Olym

One factor that has not been noted by others is that a common route for mid-tier athletes who actually reside in some of the bigger countries to get to the Olympics is to have parents from a small country. As long as you make the qualification limit for the sport and can find a hook to compete for some other country then you get in. You will most likely perform at the same mid-tier level you did before the Olympics, but you get to hang out in the village and have a fun week or two. When you see some athlete competing for a country that you might have a hard time finding on a map just do a quick check to see which US or European university that athlete attends and competes at -- performance that is good enough to make a university squad is often sufficient to get past the qualification bar at the Olympics.