The Real Olympic Champs: Norway, Austria...and Slovenia

Posted by: Andy Reinhardt on March 04, 2010

If China had won as many medals per capita in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics as tiny Norway did, it would have walked home with 6,700 golds, silvers, and bronzes. And the U.S.—the top overall medal winner, with 37—would have earned 1,530. An absurdity, of course: There were only 258 medals to be had. But that’s the conclusion of an interesting and hilarious analysis from World Affairs Daily, an online newsletter from the Washington-based World Affairs Institute.

To be sure, countries with snowy climates and big mountains tend to do better in the winter Olympics. Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and Austria have long been dominant in everything from ski jumping and cross country to downhill racing. But the outsized performance by Norway this year continues to astonish observers: The Scandinavian country of just 4.66 million people won an amazing 23 medals, or one for every 203,000 of its citizens, outpacing Sweden’s 1:824,000 ratio or Switzerland’s 1:844,000. By comparison, the U.S.—ranked 20th in this particular analysis—won just one medal for every 8.3 million people, and rising economic power China (which has its share of snow and mountains), ranked last at 26th, winning one medal for every 121.7 million of its citizens.

So who did the best in collecting gongs for their countrymen back home? After Norway, the second most prolific medal earner was Austria (population 8.2 million), with 16 medals, or one for every 513,000 citizens, followed by Slovenia (population 2 million), with three medals, or one for every 666,700. Host nation Canada’s 26 medals (one for every 1.29 million citizens) earned it a respectable 8th place. And though Finland, Latvia, Estonia, and Croatia may have been disappointed by their overall medal haul, they all earned enough to put them into the top 10 worldwide on a per capita basis.

Bigger countries with strong traditions of winter sports, such as Germany (ranked 14th, with one medal per 2.7 million citizens) and France (18th, with one per 5.8 million), couldn't keep up against the little guys. (France was admittedly weak this year.) And many other big countries were left in the dust...or powder. Italy's shockingly low haul of five medals (don't forget, it has major Alps and hosted the 2006 winter games in Torino) meant its team delivered only one medal for every 11.6 million citizens, while the five medals earned by Japan—host of the 1972 Sapporo and 1998 Nagano Winter Games—equated to just one for every 25.4 million.

The biggest "loser," if such can be said, was Russia, which bagged 15 medals, or one for every 9.33 million citizens, putting it in 21st place on the World Affairs ranking. The fallout from Russia's relatively paltry performance—about half the number it was aiming for—already has taken its toll, as President Dmitry Medvedev demanded and received the resignation of Leonid Tyagachev, head of the country's Olympic Committee. Russia has a lot at stake, given that it is hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, near the Black Sea. But winning medals is hardly Russia's only problem, as it faces daunting logistical challenges getting venues and processes ready in time for the big event.

Of course, this analysis misses the real point of the Olympics, which are about athletics and personal achievement in sports. There's already too much emphasis anyway on competition among nations—and I'm only contributing to that by publicizing the World Affairs numbers. But I couldn't help sharing these figures because they highlight how much smaller countries lacking the massive financial resources of a China, U.S., or Russia can achieve on the field of play. Congratulations to Norway for continuing its glorious tradition of triumph in winter sports...and to the rest, onward to Sochi!