FOR decades, the question at the Summer Olympics hasn’t been whether the United States will top the medals table, but by how much.

If anyone on US soil has a problem with that — and given the headlines of the last few years, plenty of people do — well, imagine the alternative.

Item No 4 under the heading “Purposes” in the 1978 law that created the US Olympic Committee (Usoc) is the mandate for the federation to construct “the most competent … representation possible in each event of the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games and Pan-American Games.”

That’s a long-winded way of saying “win lots of medals,” and since the break-up of the Soviet Union, nobody has come close to winning as many as the US.

But after being criticised by abuse victims, athletes’ representatives, lawmakers and a couple of blue-ribbon panels for adhering too closely to a “money-for-medals” prototype that served the US well on the playing field, new leaders at the Usoc are trying to reshape their mission.

They want the new Usoc to focus more fully on the overall welfare of athletes instead of simply what they can contribute to the win column.

It’s a work in progress, and how well that overhaul melds with the Usoc’s core mission of winning medals will come into sharp focus starting a year from yesterday, when the first champions are crowned at the Tokyo Olympics.

Gracenote Sports projects the United States to win 126 medals — a number that would beat second-place China by 45 and outpace the total from 2016 by five — there are more medals at stake next year because of added sports.

If the ultimate number falls short of that target — or whatever internal targets the Usoc has set for itself — expect some second-guessing about the wisdom of its newly reconstituted vision.

If the number swells too large — well, expect some second-guessing in that case, too.

Regardless, the bottom line remains unchanged from what it has been for years: fourth-place finishers and inspirational stories are nice, but NBC and US sponsors also want to see some winners for all those billions they fork over.

“People are buying the Olympics before they know the results, but historically, Team USA has been extraordinarily competitive,” said Dan Lovinger, NBC’s executive vice-president of advertising sales. “We expect them to be again.”

A no-win situation for the Usoc?

It might seem that way if you pay attention to what’s been happening in the boardrooms in the wake of Larry Nassar and a number of abuse cases that have led to a near-complete turnover of the Usoc’s top staff — an overhaul many critics say hasn’t gone far enough.

Once the torch is lit, however, the public pays attention to the scoreboard, not the meetings.

Though Michael Phelps is gone, the US swimming team, led by Katie Ledecky, looks like a good bet to dominate as it always does.

With Jamaica’s Usain Bolt out of the mix, there are few roadblocks in the way of Team USA grabbing 30 medals in track and field.

And through all the trouble and turmoil in gymnastics, Simone Biles is expected to be back and there aren’t any countries narrowing the gap with the United States.