Norway’s hardness as a winter sports country has been amazed and envied in Finland for many years. For example, at the 2018 Winter Olympics, Vuonomaa won a record 39 medals.
This winter, Norway’s superiority has taken new forms. In the recently concluded World Championships in Nordic skiing, biathlon and alpine skiing, the country’s athletes won a total of 49 medals, 19 of which were gold.
In the World Championships of Nordic skiing, Norway was the sovereign number one. In the Biathlon World Championships, Sweden slightly overtook Norway’s first place. In alpine skiing, Switzerland managed to defeat Norway with its three gold medals.
The attached table reflects Norway’s superiority in relation to other countries.
In the World Cup, Norway’s attack looks even stronger. In the sports just mentioned, the country has grabbed 222 podium places this season.
Norway’s dominance has not been limited to winter sports in recent years. For example, in last week’s athletics EC indoor games, Norway won the medal table with its four championships and five medals.
Janne Salmi has been the manager of the Norwegian national orienteering team for more than two years. The elite sports training center Olympiatoppen is a very familiar place to him.
Salmi says that Olympiatoppen itself is not the secret of success. It mainly acts as an enabler.
– It doesn’t manage sports much like the Finnish Olympic Committee. Work done in the national team is a prerequisite. Its operation has to be at its last in order for Olympiatoppen to go with it.
When talking about Norway, the country’s sports culture is often mentioned. In Salme’s opinion, this is the most important factor behind Norwegian sporting success.
– Practicing exercise related to a good mind appears to be much broader. If we talk about adults, there are a lot of joggers, cyclists and skiers.
– The numbers at the children’s ski school are unfathomable. In the Oslo region championships alone, the competitions start at eight in the morning and end at six in the evening.
Competitiveness gone as a child
In Finland, people sometimes talk about the need to exercise for health and well-being. In Norway, the word must is not really known.
– It starts with joy and fun. There is less forced exercise, Salmi states.
Salmi says that in Norway results are not published and goals are counted up to a certain age. As a child, the racing aspect is missing.
– In children’s and youth sports, there is no talk at all about the sports success of adults. It is a badass in the sense that it is the most successful sports country in the world relative to its population. Investing in elite sports starts at the age of 15–16.
We want to keep children and young people involved in top sports for as long as possible. Salme, who previously worked as the development director of the Turku Region Sports Academy, has a different example from Finland.
– My own children have played a good ten sports. Most of them are those who have a raw mood at a very young age. Easily removed if not good enough. There are also so many exercises that suddenly you can do only one sport. There is either a lot of training or the sport costs a lot.
– There are almost no such things in Norway. It’s practically free in almost all sports. Of course, different sports are practiced in Norway. Swimming, gymnastics, figure skating and ice hockey are on the margins.
Fierce internal competition
Although Norway has also become top in global sports such as football and tennis in recent years, the country still has a limited selection of top sports. The spearhead is cross-country skiing, followed by other endurance sports.
Also, athletics was not in a big position before. Salmi says that in 2005, for example, there was only one athletics hall in the country. In recent years, the width has started to come Karsten Warholm and Ingebrigtsenen also from the brothers’ background, which is due to the improvement of circumstances.
One of the most important enablers of success is also internal competition. For example, in cross-country skiing and biathlon, the competition is very tough. At the moment, there are several Norwegians who reach the top three in the men’s slalom.
– In the majority of sports, it’s everything. Otherwise, it’s too easy to get there and you won’t get kicked out.
Norway’s challenge
In the case of Norway, however, the development ends with satisfaction. Men are mainly responsible for top sports success. On the women’s side by Marit Björgen, Therese Johaugin such exceptional individuals are rare.
Salmi says that in their background there are many female athletes who have injuries and, for example, burnout. According to Salmi, Norway is very concerned about this and a lot of research has been done on the topic.
– According to my analysis, in Norway, men are the ones who have created the training culture. There are mainly male coaches, but finding female coaches is difficult. For example, Sweden has a soft coaching line.
According to Salmi, in Norway, we go with the conditions of training for male athletes. Few women can handle the same amount of training.
– There is also a social side. More education is expected from women. Let’s question the fact that in your twenties you throw yourself into elite sports, while men are encouraged to do so. Through that comes mental and physical challenges. No code has been found for how women are trained, especially when they are 18–24 years old.