Russian supporters are proud of the Russian national Olympic team. The Russian team performance far exceeded any expectations according to half of TV viewers.
MOSCOW, September 1, 2016. Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM) presents the data of the survey describing how many Russians watched the 2016 Summer Olympics; what feelings they had about it; and how they assess the performance of the Russian team.
The Rio Olympics that came to an end attracted the attention of two-thirds of Russians (64%); they are those who kept track of the Olympics to a varying degree. However, over the recent years more Russians were interested in watching the Olympic Games, compared to the shares of those who watched the Sochi Olympics (81-82%) or the London Olympics (76%). Only 17% of Russians watched the Olympic broadcasts regularly; 38% chose only those sport competitions they were interested in; a further 9% - those where Russian athletes had chances to win medals.
An overwhelming majority of Russians were not indifferent to the Games. Russians who watched the competitions felt pride (65%), admiration (34%), respect (31%). Many expressed compassion (31%). The share of negative emotions is extremely small.
Pride and admiration were expressed by those who watched the performance of the Russian synchronized swimming athletes (36%), gymnasts (30%) and wrestlers (22%), et cet. Russians can hardly name athletes who did not meet the expectations (73% named no one; 9% said such athletes do not exist). Those who mentioned disappointment pointed out volleyball team (8%).
According to the Medialogia Company analysis, a total number of 120 thousand publications were found in the Russian media during the Olympic Games. The most cited Russian athletes are Yulia Efimova (10 530 of publications), Aliya Mustafina (5 726 of publications), Yana Egoryan (5 583 of publications), Sofiya Velikaya (5 069 of publications) and Beslan Mudranov (4 819 of publications).
Russians think that the outcome of the Rio Olympic Games is satisfactory: 36% of TV viewers think that the Russian team performance was perfect; 59% - successful; these assessments are higher than that of the Sochi Olympics. Every second respondent (45%) who watched the sport competitions recognizes that the Russian team performance exceeded expectations; only 7% say that Russian athletes did not come up to their expectations.
According to respondents, in order to improve the team’s results at the next Olympics, one should make changes to the athlete preparation program and make the training more intense, and the doping issues and unfair disqualification should be tackled.
The VCIOM survey was carried out on August 27-28, 2016, using stratified dual-frame random sampling of landline and mobile phone numbers and involved 1600 respondents. The sample was based on the list of telephone numbers operating in Russia. The data is weighted according to the selection probability and social and demographic parameters. The margin of error with 95% confidence interval does not exceed 2.5%. Apart from the margin of error, minor changes in question wording and different circumstances arising during the field work should be taken into account.
Russian media monitoring and analysis were carried out by the Medialogia Company using approximately 31900 sources such as television, radio, newspapers, magazines, information agencies, online media. The study took place on August 5-22, 2016.
Did you keep track of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro?* (closed-ended question, one answer, %) | ||||||
| Beijing Olympics, 2008 | Vancouver Olympics, 2010 | London Olympics, 2012 | Sochi Olympics, February 22-23, 2014 | Sochi Olympics, March 1-2, 2014 | Rio Olympics, August 27-28, 2016 |
Yes, I watched all Olympic sport events regularly | 32 | 25 | 27 | 28 | 33 | 17 |
Yes, I watched only those Olympic sport events where Russian team had chances to win medals | 15 | 17 | 16 | 19 | 17 | 9 |
Yes, I watched only those Olympic sport events I am interested in | 30 | 33 | 33 | 34 | 32 | 38 |
No , I did not watch sport Olympics | 22 | 23 | 24 | 18 | 18 | 32 |
Don’t know | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
* In 2008-2014 there were household surveys
Name Russian athletes who you are proud of, who you are admire. (open-ended question not more than three answers, % of those who kept track of the Olympics) | |
| Total respondents |
Female synchronized swimming athletes | 36 |
Gymnasts (artistic and rhythmic gymnastics) | 24 |
Wrestler | 22 |
Handball athletes | 11 |
Fencers | 10 |
Swimmers, divers into water | 5 |
Boxers | 4 |
M. Mamun | 3 |
Yu. Efimova | 3 |
Volleyball athletes | 3 |
A. Mustafina | 3 |
S. Velikaya | 2 |
Track and field athletes | 2 |
I.Isinbayeva | 1 |
Penthatlonist | 1 |
S. Romashina | 1 |
Archer | 1 |
Water polo players | 1 |
Ya. Egoryan | 1 |
Others | 11 |
Everyone | 3 |
Don’t know | 31 |
Name Russian athletes whose performances were disappointing to you. (open-ended question not more than three answers, % of those who kept track of the Olympics; answers given by 1% of respondents) | |
| Total respondents |
Volleyball players (indoor, beach) | 8 |
Long jumpers | 2 |
Wrestlers | 2 |
Boxers | 2 |
Watersports athletes | 2 |
D. Klishina | 1 |
Rowers | 1 |
Weightlifter | 1 |
Lebedev | 1 |
Others | 5 |
No one | 9 |
Don’t know | 73 |
What feelings do you have when watching the performances of the Russian athletes at the Rio Olympics?* (closed-ended question, not more than three answers, % of those who kept track of the Olympics) | |||
| Sochi, February 22-23, 2014 | Rio de Janeiro, August 13-14, 2016 | Rio de Janeiro, August 27-28, 2016 |
Pride | 52 | 53 | 65 |
Admiration | 35 | 26 | 34 |
Respect | 26 | 33 | 31 |
Compassion, empathy | 15 | 22 | 31 |
Hope | 31 | 37 | 19 |
Liking | 18 | 22 | 17 |
No strong emotions | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Disappointment | 20 | 6 | 7 |
Indignation | 4 | 3 | 3 |
Shame | 3 | 3 | 1 |
Skepsis | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Dislike | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Hatred | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Other (interviewer, write down) | 0 | 3 | 8 |
Don’t know | 1 | 1 | 1 |
* In February 2014 and mid-August 2016 there were household surveys
How do you generally assess the performance of the Russian team at the Summer 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro?* (closed-ended question, one answer, % of those who kept track of the Olympics) | |||||
| Turin, 2006 | Vancouver, 2010 | London, 2012 | Sochi, 2014 | Rio de Janeiro, 2016 |
Perfect | 28 | 1 | 7 | 29 | 36 |
Rather successful | 55 | 9 | 51 | 53 | 59 |
Rather unsuccessful | 10 | 38 | 26 | 14 | 4 |
Failure | 1 | 39 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
Don’t know | 6 | 13 | 12 | 2 | 0 |
* In 2006-2014 there were household surveys
To what extent do the results of the Russian team performance meet your expectations?* (closed-ended question, one answer, % of those who kept track of the Olympics) | |||||
| Turin, 2006 | Vancouver, 2010 | London, 2012 | Sochi, 2014 | Rio, 2016 |
Their performance was better than I expected | 26 | 1 | 13 | 33 | 45 |
Their performance was the same as expected | 47 | 14 | 44 | 38 | 43 |
Their performance was worse than I expected | 16 | 70 | 29 | 21 | 7 |
Don’t know | 11 | 15 | 14 | 8 | 5 |
* In 2006-2014 there were household surveys
In your opinion, what should be done to make Russian team perform better at the next Olympics?* (open-ended question not more than three answers, % of those who kept track of the Olympics) | |||
| Vancouver, 2010 | London, 2012 | Rio, 2016 |
Train hard, change the athlete preparation program | 20 | 34 | 25 |
Fight against the athlete disqualification/ defend the rights of athletes | 0 | 0 | 16 |
Tackle the doping issue | 0 | 0 | 14 |
Conduct right policies toward other countries | 0 | 0 | 11 |
Change the leaders of sports federations, Olympic Committee, coaching staff | 8 | 4 | 10 |
Develop free sports opportunities for children | 5 | 7 | 6 |
Pay more attention to the athletes’ search and selection/ create reserve | 5 | 9 | 6 |
Create favorable conditions for athletic training | 7 | 7 | 4 |
Create favorable psychological climate |
|
| 4 |
Increase sports founding | 8 | 10 | 3 |
Motivation / support for athletes |
|
| 3 |
Find more qualified trainers, pay more attention to the sports staff recruitment | 5 | 7 | 3 |
Foster the spirit of patriotism among athletes (especially the young ones) | 2 | 5 | 2 |
Pay more attention to sport |
|
| 1 |
Strictly control the process of athletic training, budget expenditures, fight against corruption in the country | 3 | 3 | 1 |
Develop mass sports | 4 | 5 | 1 |
Bring back to Russia those players and trainers who work abroad | 1 | 0 | 1 |
More luck | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Nothing | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Other | 4 | 1 | 1 |
Don’t know | 41 | 23 | 17 |
* In 2010, 2012 there were household surveys
Note: Using materials from the site www.wciom.ru or wciom.com, as well as distributed by VCIOM, the reference to the source (or hyperlink for the electronic media) is obligatory! Full or partial reproduction of the Medialogia Company materials in other media must contain a reference to the Medialogia Company.