Nope, I am not trolling anyone. I just gave you a certain comparison. Paltrinieri is/was a medal contestant in probably 2 events. And he is one of the biggest stars of Italian swimming these days. So I understand that his withdrawal is a big loss for the Italian Olympic Team.
I will give you another example. If Lasha Talakhadze in weightlifting withdrew from Olympics, should the Georgian fans make happier to tell them that they have medal.contestants in other categories or sports? Well, in my opinion, no. Of course, there can always be a surprising unexpected medal from any athlete. But you have an Olympic Gold medal contestant getting ready for several years for this special event and mononucleosis cuts his efforts .... One sport disaster for him and the Italian Olympic Team. Of course, some other athletes will shine cause of winning the medal. But he may have shined as well..... As for another example, I may say high jumper Tamberi ... Before Rio, he was a medal contestant, highest bid for gold, but ACL ruined everything. These days, ppl barely know him, mostly because of his "beard cuts" .... If he won the Olympics, his life and career would have been elsewhere.....