Norway dominates the total number of medals at the Beijing Winter Olympics. Why is it so good? : NPR
Therese Johaug of Norway gestures as she won the women’s 2×7.5 km figure skating event during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games on February 5, 2022.
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Therese Johaug of Norway gestures as she won the women’s 2×7.5 km figure skating event during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games on February 5, 2022.
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BEIJING – When Tore Ovrebo, head of the national athlete development program hailed as Norway’s Olympia toppen, arrived in Beijing, he correctly predicted the number of medals his country would win. .
“The medal target is 32 – three, two,” Ovrebo told a news conference, making the number clear to anyone who didn’t listen closely.
It’s an amazingly high bar, like a Major League Baseball manager promising his pitcher will miss the target.
Ovrebo continued to map out his game plan, predicting Norway would win consecutive medals in three main sports: alpine skiing, triathlons and cross-country skiing.
Gold medalists Hallgeir Engebraaten, Peder Kongshaug and Sverre Lunde Pedersen of Team Norway pose during the Men’s Team Chase medal ceremony at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics on February 15, 2022 .
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Gold medalists Hallgeir Engebraaten, Peder Kongshaug and Sverre Lunde Pedersen of Team Norway pose during the Men’s Team Chase medal ceremony at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics on February 15, 2022 .
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With the Winter Olympics entering its final days of competition, his country’s athletes have indeed gone far ahead of schedule. America with a larger population, less than half a dozen medals.
Norway’s athletes are outpacing the United States despite their team being less than half the size, with 99 Norwegians competing in Beijing compared to 223 Americans.
So what does a country with too few people do? Norwegians have been asked this a lot in Beijing.
“That’s a good question,” said Birk Ruud, a member of Norway’s freestyle skiing team who won a gold medal in the Olympics’ major aerial competition. “We are a country with a lot of good genes and we work hard.”
He and teammate Ferdinand Dahl told reporters that winter sports are an important part of life in their northern country. It’s something everyone has done since they were kids.
“We have this term, that we are born with skateboards on our feet,” said Dahl. “Fun is the basic motivator. I think a lot of hard work and a lot of fun and dedication – and skiing.”
That national sports culture has created a system of ski superstars that, until now, other countries can only aspire to match.
Maiken Caspersen Falla of Team Norway competes in the semifinals of the Women’s Cross Country Classic Sprint at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics on February 16, 2022.
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Maiken Caspersen Falla of Team Norway competes in the semifinals of the Women’s Cross Country Classic Sprint at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics on February 16, 2022.
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Young people compete with each other, growing stronger before they reach the international level.
Sometimes the Norwegian athletes prevailed, outperforming the competition, other nations built their strategies around the race for silver and bronze medals.
“Therese is the queen of cross-country skiing and now I feel like a little princess,” said Finnish skier Kerttu Niskanen after finishing second behind star Norwegian cross-country racer Therese Johaug. .
During that press conference, it was Johaug – who won a pair of gold medals – confidently predicting he could make it to the podium two more times.
“Today I took Monday [gold medal] and it’s great but the Olympics aren’t over yet,” she said.
There are a number of practical things, aside from a love of winter and snow, that have elevated Norway’s Olympic games. Many of these sports are quite poor in the US in terms of audience appeal.
But in the Nordic countries, cross-country skiing and biathlon are the mainstays of television. With that popularity, Norwegian athletes have become famous, with more sponsorships, more money.
Norway also funds its Olympic athlete development programs with a national lottery.
Billy Demong is a former U.S. Olympic athlete in Northern Europe combined, a sport that combines ski jumping with cross-country skiing. He won a breakthrough gold medal in Vancouver 12 years ago.
Robert Johansson of Norway soars through heavy snowfall during the official practice session of the Men’s Ski Jump on the Big Hill on February 13, 2022 during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
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Robert Johansson of Norway soars through heavy snowfall during the official practice session of the Men’s Ski Jump on the Big Hill on February 13, 2022 during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
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But he noted that his success was not followed by a host of other American athletes taking to the podium.
“There was a group [of U.S. athletes] behind me? “Demon said.” Absolutely yes. Are they all basically retiring or retiring early? Sure.”
Demong currently heads a team called USA Nordic that develops Olympic-sized ski jumpers and Nordic mixed athletes. He says the problem isn’t a lack of talent, though he thinks the US needs a broader base for grassroots winter sports programs.
There is not enough money, he said, to keep Americans playing these sports at an elite level until they can mature and become really good the way the Norwegians can.
“Nobody makes money from sponsors in these Winter Olympics niche sports,” said Demong. “We certainly don’t have the income to be able to pay our athletes.”
Demong said if the United States wants to compete for medals in more winter sports, Congress needs to work with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and other sports programs to reform funding programs.
“We have to be more creative than this,” said Demong. He suggested expanding the US military’s athlete program and considering a small tax on sports betting to support the development of Olympic talent.
But that kind of transition, even if it happens, won’t produce Norwegian success for many years. It takes a long time to nurture, train and polish athletes of this caliber.
Meanwhile the Norwegian Olympic machine is now firing on all pylons, with its athletes still looking forward to many of their best matches over the final weekend of the Beijing Olympics.
Aim for 32 medals there? It starts off like a low estimate.
Gold medalists Tarjei Boe, Sturla Holm Laegreid, Johannes Thingnes Boe and Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen of Team Norway celebrate with the team and their staff during the Men’s 4×7.5 km Biathlon Relay flower ceremony on Jan. February 15, 2022 at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
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Gold medalists Tarjei Boe, Sturla Holm Laegreid, Johannes Thingnes Boe and Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen of Team Norway celebrate with the team and their staff during the Men’s 4×7.5 km Biathlon Relay flower ceremony on Jan. February 15, 2022 at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
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