Despite small population, Norway continues to dominate as Winter Olympic giant

Veteran sportswriter Richard Deitsch takes an international view of the Olympics.

So how does Norway do it? How does a country of 5.7 million people become a Winter Olympic power? I’m thinking someone needs to check on the ingredients of fårikål and market it to other countries quickly.

The Scandinavian Olympic giant captured its 17th gold medal on Friday — biathlete Johannes Dale-Skjevdal did the honours by winning the 15-kilometre mass start race — to set a new record for the most gold medals won by a nation at a single Winter Olympics. 

Who held the old record?  That would be Norway at the 2022 Beijing Olympics with 16 gold medals.

"We try not to focus on winning too early," Tore Oevreboe, Norway’s head of delegation told Reuters. “We should not create losers. We should create young small winners …The winning part is to be part of the sport and have joy. 

“The point of doing sport in Norway is to lead a good life. So you start young and learn motor skills, social skills, and then you learn how to use your body in a physical setting."

Whether on the ground or in the air, the Norwegians Olympians exude technical prowess, endless enthusiasm and speed. The result is Olympic hardware — 37 medals at the Milano-Cortina Games. Norway has won 11 medals in biathlon, 10 medals in cross-country skiing, five in ski jumping, four in speedskating, three in nordic combined, and two in alpine skiing and freestyle skiing. 

Johannes Dale-Skjevdal wins Norway's 17th gold medal to set a Winter Olympics record

Norway entered these Games with the most golds (148), silvers (134) and bronzes (124) in Winter Olympic history. The United States, with a population of roughly 350 million, was second heading into the competition with 114 gold