Russia’s Olympic team has been predicted to finish fourth in the medal tables at the Rio 2016 Games despite its growing list of banned athletes, a report by Goldman Sachs revealed Monday.
The banking and investment company predicted that Russia will win 58 medals overall, including 14 golds. While the figure does not measure up to the 82-medal haul achieved at the London Olympics four years ago, but the Russian team is expected to excel in boxing,
rhythmic gymnastics, synchronized swimming and wrestling.
The United States is expected to retain its top spot on the medal table. The U.S. team collected 104 medals, including 46 golds, in London.
Researchers use thousands of sources to compile the predictions, from a country’s previous Olympic performances to its economic growth figures.
Russia has had a turbulent run up to the games, with 117 of the 387 athletes originally named in the country's Olympic squad banned from competing. Their exclusion follows a damning report by the World Anti-Doping Agency on the “state-sponsored” doping program within the country.
Russian President Vladimir Putin last week claimed that the absence of so many Russian athletes would lower the standard of competition, saying that victories “would not taste the same.”
