the medal count

this year i've actually paid some attention to the beijing olympics. maybe this happens every year, but when did the medal count become such a story? every time i open yahoo or watch any news coverage of the olympics, i see (and i'm just making these numbers up) USA: 101 medals, CHINA: 89 medals, RUSSIA: 45 medals. when did the olympics become a competition between countries to get medals? is it really important how many medals we have compared to the rest of the world? lets say for instance, USA has 200 athletes who totaled 100 medals. that is about 50%, right? what if china had 400 athletes who totaled 100 medals. that is about 25%, right? what if russa had 80 athletes and they totaled 60 medals. that is about 75%, right? what if tanzania had 1 athlete and he got a gold medal. that is 100%, right? and also, maybe figured into those scores should be the total population divided by the number of atheletes... like, if haiti has 500,000 citizens, 40 athletes, and 6 medals... compared to USA of 1.2 billion, 200 athletes, and 100 medals... and china with 6 billion, 400 athletes, and 60 metals - who would come out on top? i don't even know how to make a formula for that one. (but i bet i know someone who could make a flow chart figuring it out!) now i don't claim to know how many folks are participating per country, and i don't know how many medals they've won (or not won). but if the above scenario was accurate, who REALLY should be topping the medal chart?