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 When it comes to cross-country skiing, there is no nation like Norway. They won eight cross-country skiing-related gold medals in South Korea (one being the biathlon which includes shooting). Led by 40-year-old Marit Bjorgen, who took home five medals in Pyeongchang, they will once again look to dominate on both the men’s and women’s side. But Bjorgen’s age has become a factor, according to pundits, and most definitely is beating back Father Time. Everything you need to know about Beijing 2022 Given the abundance of cross-country skiing events – there are 23 in total if you include the biathlon events – it will be tough to beat Norway, but a few nations were nipping at their heels in 2018. Germany When it comes to ice track events, such as the luge, skeleton and bobsleigh, Germany are heavy hitters. They pulled in 11 medals in those events alone, six of them gold. Expect Germany to do much of the same this time around and possibly improve on that performance. They are also a formidable force in biathlon events, but Laura Dahlmeier, who won three medals in South Korea, has retired, leaving a big hole to fill. Germany won three gold medals in both the luge and bobsleigh events, and if they can repeat that feat, they can give Norway a run for their money for the overall medal count. Canada The Canadians have long been known for their prowess on the ice and they will surely be favoured to take both the men’s and women’s ice hockey gold medals. They are premier crowns for the Canucks, but don’t necessarily bolster their medal counts significantly. Canada may have the most diverse array of talent as they took home gold medals in a number of sports in South Korea, including figure skating, curling, freestyle skiing, short-track speedskating and snowboarding. Freestyle skiing is where they usually dominate as they amassed seven medals last time, and have a number of up-and-coming athletes in that discipline primed for more hardware, including Cassie Sharpe, who is the reigning champion in the women’s skiing half-pipe competition. United States It’s always tough to count out the US given the country’s impetus on sporting endeavours and their Summer Olympics dominance in years past. They have yet to duplicate that same prowess in the winter edition, but most definitely could jump up the medal standings. Their dominance lies in one sport in particular: snowboarding. They collected four golds and two silvers, and were led by 30-year-old Jamie Anderson, who won gold and silver in 2018. Look for the US to win more snowboarding medals and they could also challenge in a number of other sports, including figure skating and speed skating. And, of course, they could beat Canada in both the men’s and women’s ice hockey competition.