I would agree with your last two statements except for the fact that this is the Olympics we are talking about, which literally is the highest competition for sport in the world. Picking out the best is the point of it. Of course likely no one structure can be the best, but choosing a
better structure seems wise for a competition which purports to do just that.
I don't really care to attack the structure too, but if the structure is so important that it should be kept, then there still is a good argument that really, arguments about statistics is really not relevant (which is half of what people are arguing with me about). However, a flat structure of just games is specifically the right place to make statistical arguments and judgements because it is naturally ergodic.
