Once upon a time, there weren't by-country medal tallies blared about every day in a competitive fashion in the media. It was all about the individuals, regardless of what country they were from.
One of my favorite competitors of all time ??? The Jamaican Bobsled Team back in the 1980's...they didn't get in the top 10, but hey, a bobsled team from Jamaica in the Winter Olympics ???...AWESOME...and they were a bunch of enthusiastic, loveable guys to boot.
My all-time favorite Olympic performance...the US Hockey Team in the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York USA. A bunch of young amateur college kids (average age of about 21) taking on the behemoth Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, etc. and taking the gold from Warsaw Pact teams who at the time were basically pros who were fully sponsored and paid for by their respective communist governments. If you've never seen the movie "Miracle" I suggest you check it out...it tells the true story quite well.
And at present day, cheers to Simone Biles from the USA, who chose to respect her well-being over breaking her body into several parts.