Secrets of Norwegian success at Winter Olympics 

After Johannes Thingnes Bo won his fourth medal in Beijing 2022 in the men's biathlon 15km mass start, Norway has set a new mark for the most gold medals with 15 wins in a single winter game.

This may come as a surprise to some after taking into consideration that Norway only has a little more than five million residents. With such a small population, Norway is not even among the 100 most populated countries. 

So, how are they doing it? 

Weather

One could easily argue that the Norwegian weather could be a contributing factor to their impressive wins. 

According to the World Bank Data for average temperature ranking, Noway falls in the bottom five of that list, with an average of 2 degrees Celsius (36 Fahrenheit) during the year. An article from The Economist shows a direct correlation between the wins and the weather. 

Wealth 

Norway is a fairly solvent country with its GDP among the top 35 in the world and per capita income among the top 10. 

Expensive sports gear and proper infrastructure to support athletes are two factors a country needs for being able to provide adequate training. 

Although, GDP is not the only form of wealth calculated. Variable such as education, inequality, and life expectancy also plays a significant role in the outcome.  

So, where does Norway rank on the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index? Number one.

For example, Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen, who won gold in the men's 4x7.5km biathlon relay and bronze in 15km mass start, outlined some of the -- expensive -- technology and techniques he and his teammates used to cope with the testing conditions in China.

"For the biathlon team, it's been an unbelievable journey this Olympics in Beijing. We were a little bit afraid that maybe here with the wind and the cold it would be some surprises and a little bit of coincidences. So the last two, three years we tried to eliminate as much of these coincidences as we possibly could like training a lot in the altitude, training a lot in the wind.

"When we didn't have real wind, we trained with this wind machine and put it behind us to have some wind from the left because we knew here from the data that it would be a lot of wind from the left. It's very good to see that we get value for the work we have done the last two and a half years."

Norway is a country where knowledge can be transferred efficiently and the country has enough funds to splurge on a broader array of athletes; an observation made in the book Soccernomics by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski.

Mental well-being

Tore Ovrebo, the director of Norway's vaunted national athlete development programme known as Olympia Toppen explained, "We want to leave the kids alone."

"We want them to play. We want them to develop, and be focused on social skills. They learn a lot from sports. They learn a lot from playing. They learn a lot from not being anxious. They learn a lot from not being counted. They learn a lot from not being judged. And they feel better. And they tend to stay on for longer," said Ovrebo. 

He also has previously mentioned that, in Norway, trainers do not tell athletes how much they weigh. 

"It's very dangerous," Ovrebo told Time. "They can develop eating disorders. We think prize money turns people into something they shouldn't be."

Upbringing

When asked about the secret to their success on multiple different occasions during their stay in Beijing, Birk Ruud, a member of Norway's freestyle ski team, replied, "It's a good question. We're a country with a lot of good genes and we work hard."

Ferdinand Dahl, his teammate, further explained that winter sports are a big part of life in their country.

"We have this term, that we're born with skis on our feet. Fun is the fundamental drive. A lot of hard work, I think and a lot of fun and dedication — and skiing," Dahl said.

Taking variables such as wealth, environment, mental well-being, upbringing and similar factors into consideration, it comes as no surprise that Norway has and will continue to dominate the Winter Olympics.