Big guys do cry

A completely unscientific survey has tried to figure out what kind of athlete among gold medal winners cries on the podium.

The Wall Street Journal studied 129 gold medal winners at the London Games.

The results: About 16 per cent of them cried. A quarter of the women cried and eight per cent of the men, although the WSJ pointed out that the men who did cry were sobbing uncontrollably like South African Chad le Clos after he beat Michael Phelps in the 200-metre butterfly.

In a comparison of China, the United States and Great Britain, the medal leaders, the British cried the most: 37.5 per cent of them. The Chinese wept the least, at 7 per cent, and the Americans were in the middle, at more than 17 per cent, the WSJ said.

On the other hand, the Chinese almost always sang along with their national anthem, while 61 per cent of the British did and 44 per cent of the Americans.

The survey didn't factor in the rigours of whatever sport they were competing in or how long after the event the medal ceremony came.

AFP Getty Images/ South African swimmer Chad le Clos on the podium for his 200-metre butterfly gold medal on July 31, 2012