For those of you who have been watching the Rio Olympics since the very beginning, it has been an Olympics to remember. From all of the good moments (Usain Bolt Winning Three Straight Olympic Gold Medals in style and Michael Phelps and Katelyn Ledecky combining for ten U.S. Olympic Gold Medals to name a few), the bad moments (Frecnh Gymnast Samilr Alt Said breaking his leg on the vault) and the ugly moments (Ryan Lochte police report and short detaining of U.S. Athletes, you’ve been able to remain glued to your television screen and stayed tuned to watching your favorite athletes/ teams compete.

Unfortunately, as you already know, The Rio 2016 Olympic Games Closing Ceremony is already over and all of the competing athletes are back in their home country. Before you put away your memories in that massive complexity of emotions, intelligence and lack of intelligence that is your brain, please take a second to think about this. If you were paying any attention to the team scores (team medal count), you might have found the statistics to be a little bit bloated. For those of you who haven’t looked the only thing that you really need to know is that Team USA dominated and I mean DOMINATED the medal count.

In the two weeks that made up the Rio Olympics, the United States amassed over a hundred Olympic medals. The closest two countries to United States in the medal count are Great Britain and China, and they still are behind by at least twenty medals. Team USA was successful in this year’s past performance in events ranging from trap shooting to women’s gymnastics, and is home to many of the world’s greatest athletes.

While a lot of people, including myself, are astounded by this athletic juggernaut that is Team USA, there are probably many of you who aren’t surprised at all. The culture surrounding the United States when it comes to sports is undeniably widespread, and the United States has the most influence of any country when it comes to the world of sports. Whether it’s with rowing, gymnastics, soccer (non-American football), or basketball, it is fair to say that the United States is in a league of its own. Here are some of the many reasons why the United States continues to dominate at the Olympic level.

1. Athletic Talent Runs Rampant in the United States

As indicated by the picture below, the United States definitely has the advantage of numbers going. During the 2016 RIO Olympic Games, the United States was able to feild 702 athletes during the entire course of the event(NBC.Com). This is by far the largest total of athletes that any team in Rio was able to field for the entire Olympics. Even China, who's population size is much larger the United State's, was only able o field 402 athletes at the Rio Olympic games.

The ability of the United States to flied such a large team is a testament to the athletic ability of the United States. Many of the athletes who have competed for the Olympic national team have been involved in sports since they were younger kids and have spent countless years working on learning their sport or strategy. The United States has an enormous amount of folklore, tradition and finance involved in athletics.

2. U.S. Olympic Trials Roots Out The Best Of The Best

One of the big reasons why The United States succeed at the Olympic games is the rigorous Olympic qualifying procedure that is undergone in the United States through the Olympic Trials. While the Olympic Trials in the United States are normal held only a couple months before the Olympic opening ceremony, it is one of the most competitive processes that exist in sports. In the Olympic Trials, there are thousands of highly talented athletes who train and compete for only a handful of sports in their respective sport. Given that the average lifespan of a professional athlete in their prime is incredibly short(depending on the sport), many athletes normally get one shot at trying to fulfill their dream of competing at the Olympics.

The Olympic Trials also is one of the greatest equalizer in U.S. sports, as nobody is guaranteed a spot on any team. This means that athletes who won medals at the past Olympics will go through the same process like anyone else who wishes to have a shot at representing the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. While this process can be very disappointing for fans who find that their favorite athlete had a bad week and could not quality for the Olympic team, it allows for who anyone who is capable of performing in the Olympics to have the best opportunity for their Olympic Dreams to come true.

While all countries generally have some sort of trial process for all of their athletes who wish to compete, the United States has one of the largest and most talented pools of athletes to select from. This definitely gives the United States an advantage over other countries in the Olympics, as it allows them to put out athletes who are in the best position to medal at the Olympics.

3. National Pride Provides A Great Motivator For Many

For many people, winning an Olympic medal means more to them than just being one of the top three competitors in the world for their event. To them, its the opportunity to represent their country with pride and to bring home a medal like thousands of other Americans have done before them. Many of the Olympic athletes who competed for Team USA at the Olympics have seen the Olympic from a fan's perspective when they were younger, and envisioned to be like the great athletes who represented Team USA and won before them.

It is also the only opportunity, for many of them, to leave their mark in the history of United States athletics and to establish prosperity for themselves. Successful Olympic athletes tend to land endorsements that are worth millions of dollars, and there are plenty of stories of Olympic athletes who have gone from rags to riches. While all Olympic athletes have a strong sort of national pride for representing their countries, the United States is know for having a rich and storied tradition of having athletic success. Trying to live up to that tradition, is often times a main motivation factor for athletes who compete in the Olympics for the Untied States.

Jesse Owens on the podium at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games.