What countsat Olympics

Re “Weighing Olympic gold,” Opinion, Aug. 22

Awarding points for medal type is well and good, but why stop there:

Number of team members in event: +1 per member

Medal winner actually from the country he/she is competing for: +1

Medal winner not living in the country he/she is competing for: -1

Drug- or rule-disqualified medal winner: -2

Age-disqualified medal winner: actual age minus minimum age (a negative score)

Medals for events in the original Greek Olympics: +1

Greeks winning medals: +1 (come on, they deserve extra credit)

Medals for sports involving horses: -5 (let the horses hold their own Olympics)

Maybe the idea of winner and loser countries doesn’t make sense to begin with, as individuals and teams compete, not countries.

Andy Safir

La Mesa