Knocking five-hundredths of a second off a world-record race time, adding five inches to a world-record height, or lifting five more kilograms beyond a world record are minor accomplishments in every sense except two: the amount of time and effort required of the winning and losing athletes, and the amount of money wasted in building new facilities for each new Olympic Games, most of which aren’t used much afterward.
It still could be worthwhile if Olympians went on to new excellence after their last time on the podium. But that is rare, unless we count those who become coaches for the next generation of academic dropouts.