Make no mistake about it: the American system, which allows for wider participation and gives chance to late-blooming talents, is vastly superior. The Eastern European/Chinese systems are medal factories, but an Al Oerter or a Dick Fosbury could only appear in the US.
https://twitter.com/latimes/status/1402029076785897477
Ultimately, if the Germany, Russia and China churn out more medals by ruthlessly culling their young talents to a small elite core of super-athletes, while America keeps its high school/college sports, which let more kids play, have fun and dream, we in America should be happy.
Eventually, America needs to come to terms with the fact that Olympic gold is neither an indicator nor a substitute for national greatness. Let dictatorial regimes throw their kids' lives into a gold medal meat grinder. This is the only way they can self-validate, anyway.
If US realizes that using sports as foreign policy or a tool of cultural imperialism is a fool's errant, and having a system that epitomizes freedom, opportunity and humanity is more important, seeing The People's Glorious Republic of Barbed Wire win all the pentathlon won't hurt
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