> A final factor is that countries that are willing to spend money will influence what sports become Olympic sports. I don't think it is accidental that there a

> A final factor is that countries that are willing to spend money will influence what sports become Olympic sports. I don't think it is accidental that there are so many events in athletics and swimming, two sports that the US excels at. Advertising money buys events. I don't doubt that advertising plays a role in which events exist, but athletics and swimming have had lots of events since the dawn of the Olympics, probably because they're easy to set up and they don't take a long time to run. If you were trying to get the US more medals, you might have 3-on-3 basketball, 1-on-1 basketball, 12 minute basketball, H.O.R.S.E., a dunk contest, etc.