Socioeconomic variables and historical performance, the influences in the Olympic success at a sport-specific level: the case of judo

Background. The influence of socioeconomic variables on sporting success has been frequently presented in the literature. How-
ever, most of the studies on this topic have linked all sports rather than the specificities of individual sports.

Problem and Aim. Analyzing the influence of the socioeconomic and historical results of past World Championships and Olym-
pic Games countries’ performance at the Olympic Games, based specifically on judo.

Methods. The sample consists of the results (medals and ‘points’ - dependent variables) of 157 countries that participated in Olym-
pic judo events/competitions between 1992 and 2016. The socioeconomic and data relating to historical past performance at World

Championships and Olympic Games were used as independent variables. A country’s point at the Olympic Games was modeled
for data analysis, employing a random effects model and data as a panel. The software MATLAB® 2010 and the level of significance
of 0.05 were also used.
Results. Variables such as Religion, Pre/Post Host (only for medals), Host, WC1, WC3 and WC4 were positive and significant for
performance in the Olympic judo events between 1992 and 2016.
Conclusion. In contrast to studies that considered the results of sports in general the specificities and characteristics existing in
each sport (such as judo) can inhibit the influence of socioeconomic variables on the performance of countries at the Olympic
Games. Cultural and past results variables can be more influential.