24 Feb 2026

Why were athletes from Norway so successful at the Winter Olympics?

From Nights, 9:25 pm on 24 February 2026

Norway has once again come out top at the Winter Olympics with a record 18 golds and 41 medals in total.

It's a small nation that definitely punches above its weight, surpassing huge countries like the US and China.

So what is it about Norway that makes its athletes so successful?

Geir Jordet is a Professor of Sport Psychology in Oslo and is the author of Pressure: Lessons from the Psychology of the Penalty Shoot Out. 

He joins Emile Donovan 

Johannes Hoesflot KLAEBO of Norway celebrates after winnin the cross-country skiing men's 50km mass start classic at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 at the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium in Tesero, Italy, on February 21, 2026. Norwegian KLAEBO won the event to claim the gold medal. ( The Yomiuri Shimbun ) (Photo by Kentaro Tominaga / The Yomiuri Shimbun via AFP)

Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo of Norway celebrates after winnin the cross-country skiing men's 50km mass start classic at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 Photo: KENTARO TOMINAGA