‘Korea to Win 4 Golds in Vancouver Olympics’

Korea is expected to win four gold medals in the Vancouver Winter Olympics next month, Forbes magazine said yesterday.

On its Internet version, Forbes quoted a study by Daniel K.N. Johnson, an economics professor at Colorado College, as saying Russia will win the most gold medals with eight.

For the past five Olympics, Johnson has made predictions for the number of gold and overall medals that each country is expected to win. He uses factors such as per capita income, population, political system, climate and proximity to Olympic venues.

“It`s just pure economics,” he said, “I know nothing about the athletes. And even if I did, I didn`t include it.”

Korea will win 11 medals including four golds, according to his forecast. The country won 11 medals including six golds in the 2006 Turin Olympics, and is gunning for six golds again in Vancouver.

Johnson said his forecasts have been 94 percent accurate for overall medals and 87 percent for golds from the 2000 Sydney Olympics to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

For the Beijing Games, he predicted the U.S. would win 103 medals, including 33 gold. His forecast was close to the mark, as Team USA secured 110 medals, including 36 golds.

creating@donga.com