What’s the value of Allyson Felix’s 11 medals compared to Carl Lewis’ 10? At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, we’ve developed a system known as Medal Premium Calculations, or MPC. MPC allocates points based on the color of the medal – 5 for gold, 3 for silver, 2 for bronze.
Posted August 7,2021 1:10 p.m. EDT By Dr. C.A. Tuggle, WRAL Sports contributor Track star Allyson Felix cemented her legacy of Olympics excellence in the Tokyo Games, winning a bronze in the 400 meters and a gold in the 4×400 relay. To add to the impressiveness of that accomplishment, she earned those two medals less than three years after giving birth. That brought her overall medal count to 11 in the span of five Olympics, allowing her to take the title of “most decorated” U.S. track athlete away from Carl Lewis, who had 10 in his stellar career. So, where’s the controversy? She’s the best, right? It depends how you define the term “most decorated.” Before we get to the particulars of the medals the two athletes won, let’s look at it this way: Let’s say that I put two stacks of cash in front of you, offering you whichever one you prefer. One stack contains 11 bills, the other has 10. Which one would you choose? Any rational person would ask for more information, such as “What’s the mix of denominations in those two stacks?” That rational person would then accept the stack with the highest overall value.
