This paper studies the effect of recreational and sporting services public expenditures on the medal shares of countries at the Summer Olympic Games. Using data on Olympic medals from 1996 to 2012 and a dynamic fixed effects Tobit model, this paper shows that the effect of public sporting expenditures on medal share is positive and significant for sports that generate lower revenues throughout the calendar year, and particularly for male athletes from lower income countries. Additionally, either currently hosting the Summer Olympic Games, or a country knowing it will host them four years later, positively impacts the medal share of female and male athletes of lower revenue generating sports.