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Ahead of the Games

Rio Olympics 2016: Record medal haul for Team GB but table looks different when you take population and drug cheats into account

THE Rio Olympic medals table looks very different when you take population size and drug cheats into account.

In fact, a country that did not even win a single gold medal - Caribbean island nation Grenada - tops the medals table because of its tiny number of citizens.

 Kirani James was Grenada's only Olympic medallist
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Kirani James was Grenada's only Olympic medallistCredit: Reuters
 Bahamas' Shaunae Miller took 400 metres gold by DIVING across the finish line
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Bahamas' Shaunae Miller took 400 metres gold by DIVING across the finish lineCredit: Getty Images
 Usain Bolt won three gold medals for Jamaica to make it an incredible NINE track and field golds in his career
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Usain Bolt won three gold medals for Jamaica to make it an incredible NINE track and field golds in his careerCredit: Reuters
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Britain, despite a record-breaking haul in Rio, would not even make the top 10.

The country's star athlete, Kirani James, who won 400 metres gold at London 2012, finished in second behind world record-breaking Wayde van Niekerk in the one-lap sprint.

With just 106,825 people and one medal that gives Grenada the most medals for the smallest number of people.

Another way of looking at it would be to say they have 9.4 medals per million people.

A close second is the Bahamas - population 388,013 - who did win a gold, thanks to Shaunae Miller's dive for the line in the women's 400m and bronze in the 4x400m relay.

Usain Bolt's three stunning golds and Jamaica's 11 medals overall for a population of 2,725,941 in third.

Team GB, with 65,138,232 people and 67 medals gives the UK one medal per 972,212 people.

SunSport's real medals table

THROUGHOUT the Games - we have been compiling a daily medals table that excludes any drug cheats that have been caught at the Olympics.

That includes the entire Russian team, including cycling time trial silver medallist Olga Zabelinskaya.

It also takes out Justin Gatlin, who took silver behind Usain Bolt in the 100m and Shelley-Ann Fraser Pryce, who took bronze in the women's 100m.

 Russian cyclist Olga Zabelinskaya was one of few to win a medal at the Games - but we have discounted all of their athletes
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Russian cyclist Olga Zabelinskaya was one of few to win a medal at the Games - but we have discounted all of their athletesCredit: Getty Images
 Justin Gatlin does not get counted in the medals count after failing two drug tests
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Justin Gatlin does not get counted in the medals count after failing two drug testsCredit: AP:Associated Press
 The drug cheats medals table has been adjusted to reflect medals won by those who have failed tests
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The drug cheats medals table has been adjusted to reflect medals won by those who have failed tests

Interestingly, the United States do even BETTER on gold count in SunSport's adjusted medals table - despite having a number of convicted drug cheats themselves.

Other nations who would have benefited are France, who would leap from seventh to fifth with three extra medals.

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