In addition to the choice for exclusion, "America's national passtime," the rising influence of the bear market is perceptible in the decision to reduce the total number of sports for the first time since 1936. The participation of Iraq and Afghanistan in the 2004 Athens games pushed the number of participating countries to a record high of 202, but, in a piece titled "The Olympic Movement Shifts Into Reverse" (July 2004), The Elliott Wave Financial Forecast noted a "telling divergence" in a decline in the number of athletes competing. The shrinkage is consistent with EWI’s long standing forecast calling for an Olympic retrenchment over the course of the bear market. |
