Skip to main content

The Mail Online:
Why silver is worse than bronze: Study shows Olympians who come second are more upset than those just happy to get on the podium

17 July 2016

Olympians who won the silver medal are less happy than their counterparts who achieved bronze according to the results of a new study of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. Researchers behind the study argue that bronze medallist are happy to have secured a spot on the podium while silver medallists are lamenting about how they could have won gold. However, how happy the medallists are is also influenced by how close their results were compared to the other medal winners. The results of the study was published in June this year as part of a paper from the Centre for Economic Performance based at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

This article was published by the Mail Online on July 17, 2016
Link to article here

Related publications
Without My medal on My Mind: Counterfactual Thinking and Other Determinants of Athlete Emotions, Paul Dolan, Chloe Foy, Georgios Kavetsos and Laura Kudrna, Centre for Economic Performance Discussion Paper No.1436, June 2016

Related links
Georgios Kavetsos webpage
Paul Dolan webpage
Wellbeing Programme webpage

Read more... The Mail Online