ExplainerBeijing 2022: who are the powerhouse nations? Norway, Germany, Canada and US certain to dominate again

Norway’s cross-country skiing dominance makes them favourites once again given the plethora of events

Look for the United States to potentially move up as they continue to develop winter sports athletes

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Expect Norway’s cross-country skiing domination to make them favourites again for the overall medal count at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:00am, 6 Feb 2021Updated: 11:25am, 7 Feb 2021

With less than a year to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, it’s time to brush up on your favourite snow-related pastimes.

Four nations pulled in a significant number of medals at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, and look to dominate again. Norway led the medal haul with 39, followed by Germany (31), Canada (29) and the United States (23).

Breaking down each country shows where certain nations excel, and others could use some improvement. One can expect the US to improve on their medal haul as a winter sports nation on the rise, but it is still tough to count out Norway as leading the pack once again.

China has to be mentioned as the host nation. They won nine medals to finish 16th in the standings in South Korea, and you can bet they will improve dramatically on that medal haul in front of their home fans. China has been building infrastructure and grooming athletes for years to compete on the grandest of stages.

Norway