So which country has had the most dominant Olympic performance ever?  Was it the United States in 1984 where the games were boycotted by heavy weights East Germany and the USSR?  Or was it the 1980 Moscow Olympics where the USSR and East Germany won the lion's share of the medals thanks in part to the absence of Team USA?   Arguably, the most dominant nation ever was Great Britain, way back in the London Olympics of 1908.

Unlike the 1980 and '84 Olympic games, the contest in 1908 wasn't boycotted.  The British managed to secure over half of all Gold Medals awarded and just under 50% of the total Silver Medal count.  British athletes won 45.2% of all medals conferred in the games.  Contrast this performance with the success of the Soviet Union in 1980.  While the Soviet performance was impressive, they garnered only 39% of the Gold Medals and 33.8% of the total Silver Medal count.  The USSR won 30.9% of all medals awarded.  At the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, Team USA captured 36.7% of Gold Medals, 27.8% of Silver and 25.2% of the total medal count.

The British have participated at all games in the modern Olympics, but haven't come close to approaching their performance in the Fourth Olympiad held in London in 1908.  London will again host the Olympics in 2012, 104 years after the British essentially monopolized the Olympic medal count in their capital ciy, a performance that has yet to be surpassed by any other nation.