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Training Your Competition! Why the United States Trains Olympians from Other Nations

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Studies have shown that a nation’s Olympic success is related to its income and population. Given this research, it should be expected that the United States has the resources to support and train a collection of dominant Olympic athletes. What may be surprising is that universities in the United States devote resources to support and train Olympic athletes for other nations. In a study of women’s gymnasts at American universities, we seek to explain this behaviour. Along the way, we will also show that even though women’s college gymnastics is often referred to as a “non-revenue” sport, there are many gymnasts that we found to be exploited in the past by the universities that employ their talent.

Source: International Journal of Empirical Economics

DOI: 10.1142/s2810943026500083

Authors: David Berri, Stacey Brook, Courtney Paulson, Rachel Smith

Institutions: Southern Utah University, University of Central Florida, University of New Hampshire

Language: English

Topic: Physical Education and Sports Studies

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: diamond

OpenAlex ID: W7155161108

FWCI:

Cites: 29

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