Why did Norway, with a population of only 5 million, dominate the Winter Olympics? First happy exercise, then scientific training

Reporter | Liu Zixiang

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The Nordic country of Norway has an absolute supremacy in winter sports.

Since the start of the first Winter Olympics in 1924, the country, which currently has a population of only 5.4 million, has won 368 medals, including 132 gold medals, ranking first in the history of the Winter Olympics. In Pyeongchang, South Korea, in 2018, Norway won medals in 8 of the 15 major events, winning a record 39 medals, of which 14 were gold medals, ranking first in the medal table.

According to sports data firm Gracenote, Norway is expected to win the first place in the medal table this year's Beijing Winter Olympics, winning 44 medals, including 21 gold medals. Cross-country skiing is Norway's most competitive sport, expecting to win a third of the project's 36 medals and nine of the 33 in biathlon. The total number of these two medals alone will exceed 20, surpassing other winter sports powers such as Germany, the United States and Canada. Norway is also highly competitive in ski jumping, Nordic biathlon and alpine skiing.

Anne Merklinger, chief executive of The Podium, a Canadian nonprofit, said it takes at least two or more events for top winter sports countries to be called a true hegemon.

The unique natural geographical environment is undoubtedly a prerequisite for winter sports. The country is a narrow country in northern Europe, scandinavia with mountains running through the country, many mountain fields, and there are long winters and a lot of snowfall, and every october to February, Norway is covered with snow, and the whole country is like a large ski resort.

But for the "money-burning" project of ice and snow sports, the geographical conditions are obviously not enough to ensure its success. Norway has a well-developed economy and has accumulated a lot of wealth by relying on oil and gas. Norway is one of the world's most important exporters of oil and gas, second only to Saudi Arabia and Russia in terms of oil exports. The strong comprehensive national strength ensures that it has strong financial resources to develop the ice and snow industry.

But these are not enough to explain Norway's success in snow sports.

A way of life

Winter sports have a high national popularity in Norway, and in Norwegian folk proverbs, they are the country of "born with skis".

From kindergarten onwards, Norwegian children are encouraged to play outdoor sports. Devon Kershaw, a Canadian cross-country skiing champion who lives in Norway all year round, said in an interview with Canada's National Post that if the temperature does not drop below minus 15 degrees Celsius, children spend 80 percent of the day outside. Growing up in this environment, it feels "strange to stay in the house".

Children join community sports clubs early on, where they fully enjoy the fun of sports rather than competing. According to the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail, Norwegian clubs are not allowed to retain league rankings for children under the age of 13, or even record scores, and there are no individual rankings or national championships in this age group.

Clubs are the backbone of Norwegian sport. Tang Kona, minister counsellor of the Norwegian Embassy in China, said in an interview with the official website of the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee that Norway's winter program is successful because norway has nearly 12,000 local sports clubs.

"In every small village, there are volunteers and sports clubs organised by sponsors, all under the leadership of the Norwegian Sports Association, and 93% of Norwegian children and young people attend at least one local club and are regularly involved in snow and ice projects."

Teenagers who show talent in clubs can be selected to focus on a particular sport and receive a high level of coaching. But even children who are talented in one sport will often participate in other sports.

The 26-year-old Norwegian hurdles Olympic champion Karsten Warholm broke the world record in the 400-meter hurdles at last year's Tokyo Olympics, but he didn't focus on hurdles until he was 20 years old, competing in the decathlon for several years. Norwegian national cross-country ski instructor Tor-Arne Hetland won a gold medal in cross-country skiing at the 2002 Winter Olympics and tried almost every sport as a child, sprinting, discus, javelin and football. "We play football in the summer and ski in the winter," he said. That was normal and still is. ”

Not as an intrinsic driver of the means of enrichment

Norway has only one national sports organization, the Norwegian Sports Federation. It oversees 55 sports federations across the country, as well as the Norwegian Olympic Committee, paralympic games and Special Olympics. National lottery company Norsk Tipping spends 64 percent of lottery revenue (about $400 million a year) funding federations. In addition, bettors can donate 7% of their stake to selected clubs.

At the national level, Norway has also set up an elite sports center called Olympiatopen, which focuses mainly on the training of high-level athletes. The centre brings together expertise in coaching, training, sports science and technology, physiology and nutrition and shares it daily with all national sports organizations.

In addition to public funds, corporate assistance from the community is also an important driving force for the development of sports in Norway. At the same time, Norwegian companies have a high degree of understanding and attention to amateur sports.

Norwegian billionaire Kjell Rokke, CEO of the investment firm Aker, has invested millions of crowns in sponsoring the national cross-country team on the condition that athletes participate in fitness promotions. According to the requirements, employees of the Aker company are eligible to win a trip if they exercise 10 hours a month. On this three-day camp trip, they will play sports with national team athletes. The aim is to reduce sick leave for the company's employees, who save enough money to sponsor the national team.

Tore Ovrebo, head of the Olympiatopen Elite Sports Center, said that in Norway, it is not common to use sport as a means of making a living or a means of getting rich, without this drive, many athletes can achieve real self-motivation: "This is related to the overall way we organize society, people are highly equal to each other, the level of welfare is high, so a large number of children may choose sports as the direction of personal development, which is not very different, nor is it very expensive." ”

According to the Statistics of the World Bank, Norway's per capita GDP reached 67,300 US dollars in 2020, ranking fourth in the world, the first among the five Nordic countries, and the overall economic volume is the second largest in northern Europe. In the 2021 World Happiness Index report released by the United Nations, Norway ranked first and is the "happiest country" in the world.

A system of shared expertise

In O'Breeb's view, the Norwegian sports system is special in having a system of expertise that can be shared: "We have systematized the most important elements of the development of high-level sports, and the sports also learn from each other, which is a system of cooperation." ”

Retired Canadian speed skater Jeremy Wotherspoon, who is now the coach of the Norwegian national team, said he often interacts with hurdles players and coaches to transfer and share knowledge between different sports.

According to Canada's National Post, despite the investment of time, money and expertise, Norwegian officials prefer to downplay the results and importance of these investments. Speaking about the goals of the Beijing Winter Olympics, Ofrebb said that although they have high hopes for winning medals, medals are not the focus, the key is to have a good performance, "have fun, become friends, if we do this, naturally it will bring a lot of medals." ”

O'Freb says there's no contradiction between enjoying happiness, respect and training hard every day: "We're trying to develop a good talent pool to make sure there's a healthy and happy pool of talent, and then we do professional hard training." ”

O'Fréb's own Olympic career was also typical of the Norwegian model. He competed in rowing at the 1988 Olympics, but he grew up playing football and handball. At the age of 13, he and his friends went to a rowing club full of Olympians, who became his coaches. The coach warned him that if he neglected his studies, he would be kicked out of the club. "In Norway, we are developing citizens, not just athletes."