How to Select an Olympic Team

The Amateur and I have had a number of set-tos on the philosophy of how to pick a team for the Olympics. Has this Olympics done anything to help resolve our differences?
Iti s not clear to me. The biggest contrast was to be between the Great Britain teams, chosen and assembled by a committee of administrators, and the Canadian teams, chosen by straight competition in a deep pool, with the athletes determining the team membership.
For both men's and women's competition, the Canadian teams have done better. This proves little, as we have a much deeper talent pool. And against one of my key arguments, that selection by a tournament at a given date helps select a team that knows how to be ready and fit on a given date, the Canadian women's team gave ample proof that they were able to be undermined by illness and unplanned disaster.
Of course I really don't know how the women's Gold and Silver teams were assembled, nor how the US teams were (the US women did very poorly, the US men are in the bronze medal match against Great Britain).
My survey at the moment gives me no real evidence on one side or the other.