Norway's dominance at Winter Games based on tradition, depth and development

TESERO, Italy (AP) — Outside the Olympic cross-country stadium in this Dolomite mountain town, Norwegian flags have been draped over the railings like bunting on a national holiday.

Fans from the Scandinavian country have set up camp nearby and kept a live tally of medals won by their athletes at the Milan Cortina Games. After every victory, a gold sticker is pressed onto the board.

There have been plenty to add: Norway is now unequaled when it comes to winter gold.

A day after Johannes Dale-Skjevdal won the 15-kilometer mass start race to set a new mark, Norway was back at it Saturday, sweeping the podium in the men's 50-kilometer mass start race to extend its Winter Games record with its 18th gold medal. Norway has 40 medals overall, also a Winter Olympics record.

Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, a 29-year-old cross-country skier, was at the front of the 50-kilometer race and now has won six gold medals in Italy to take his career tally to a Winter Games record of 11 in just three Olympics.

It has also helped Norway lead the medal table for days and it should finish atop the standings when the Games wrap up Sunday.

The dominance has raised a familiar question: What makes Norway, a nation of 5.6 million people, such a superpower on the snow at the world’s biggest winter sports event?

Many believe it is a system that has few equals in winter sports.

Katerina Neumannova, a retired Czech Olympic champion, points to Norway’s structure as the foundation of its success. Cross-country skiing is among the country’s most popular sports, with hundreds of clubs and large numbers of kids starting young.

“When you have so many children, so many trainers and so many clubs all around Norway, it’s much easier to find special talent,” Neumannova told The Associated Press.

Norway, she said, has benefited from the absence of the banned Russian team as well as having a concentration of talented team officials supporting athletes, and even the lack of snow in lower latitudes affecting mainland Europe.

And its depth of public participation, she argued, provides a steady supply of elite competitors.

“Other countries usually have some gaps between generations, but the Norwegian team is very stable,” Neumannova said. “When one athlete ends, younger ones are already coming up.”

Klaebo’s race partner on Wednesday was Einar Hedegart, a 24-year-old Olympic rookie who shared gold in an earlier relay event and won bronze in the 10-kilometer interval start.

A lot Norway’s supremacy stems from tradition as the cradle of Nordic skiing. Most medals came from cross-country and biathlon whiles ski jumper Anna Odine Stroem swept both the normal and large hills, and added a silver in the mixed team event. Jens Luraas Oftebro took both Nordic combined titles.

The medals don’t stop there: Norway won in freestyle skiing, Alpine skiing and completed the speedskating set with a gold, two silvers and a bronze.

Finn Dahl, a superfan who did marketing for the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics at home in Norway, attributed his country's success to a way of life that revolves around snow.

Children, he said, often take trips with their families to the mountains, where skiing is just the normal way of getting around.

“It’s a natural way of sort of moving from one cabin to another,” Dahl said. “It’s a spirit, it is inside you.”

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Sturla Holm Laegreid, of Norway, left, and Johan-Olav Botn, of Norway, lead a group during the men's 15-kilometer mass start biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, of Norway, approaches the finish line to win the gold medal in the cross country skiing men's 50km mass start Classic at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Tesero, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Johannes Dale-Skjevdal, of Norway, poses with the gold medal for the men's 15-kilometer mass start biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Silver medalist Martin Loewstroem Nyenget, gold medalist Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo and bronze medalist Emil Iversen, all three of Norway, pose on the podium of the cross country skiing men's 50km mass start Classic at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Tesero, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — The women's Olympic freeski halfpipe final at the Milan Cortina Games was postponed Saturday because of heavy snow in the Italian Alps.

The International Ski and Snowboard Federation said the snow that has accumulated on the halfpipe made it impossible “to ensure a safe and fair competition for all athletes.”

The federation said officials are working to reschedule the event. The Olympics conclude on Sunday.

The final had been scheduled for 7:30 p.m. local time on Saturday. Officials then pushed that back to 9:00 p.m. before saying it was off.

Snowstorms this week have caused delays and events to be reshuffled twice already in Livigno, where the Olympic freeski and snowboarding events are being held.

The women’s halfpipe final is the final event of the action sports events at the 2026 Games.

The final will feature defending champion Eileen Gu going for her third medal of these Games and her sixth in as many career Olympic events.

The 22-year-old Gu, who was born in the United States and competes for China, has won two silvers in Italy, finishing second in both slopestyle and big air.

Four years ago, Gu became the first freestyle skier to win three medals in a single Olympics after she won gold in halfpipe and big air and silver in slopestyle at the 2022 Beijing Games.

Trying to stop her from repeating as the halfpipe champion will be Amy Fraser of Canada, the only skier to beat Gu in a major contest since she won Olympic gold four years ago. Zoe Atkin, an American-born skier who competes for Britain, is also eyeing the podium after she finished first in Thursday’s qualifying.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Heavy snow falls on shovels during a weather delay before the women's freestyle skiing halfpipe final at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Workers blow snow off the course during the men's ski cross final at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

A worker clears snow from the course before the women's freestyle skiing halfpipe final at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)