All athletes in international elite sports catch up by the birth certificate, even Ole Einar

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1 All athletes in international elite sports catch up by the birth certificate, even Ole Einar The upcoming Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang can be a big medal festival for Norway, even without the biathlon legend Ole Einar Bjørndalen, who was not selected to the Norwegian Olympic team for the first time in more than 20 years. Also, Sweden and Finland are strong winter sports nations who will fight for medals in many of the 15 sports over the next 16 days. The Winter Games program in South Korea includes a number of new disciplines, bringing the total number of disciplines to the highest number at the OWG. Among the new disciplines are, Big Air in snowboarding, speed skating with mass start, mix double in curling and a team competition in alpine skiing. Norway - Favorite to win the competition of the nations Norway, together with Germany, Canada, United States and Russia, is among the world's best winter sports nations and compared to a modest population of 5.1 million Norway is by far the world's best winter sports nation. The magnificent Norwegian nature with lots of mountains, valleys and inlets and, not least, an ideal climate with long, cold winters gives Norway some comparative advantages over many other nations, both inside and outside Europe. Norway's strong traditions and proud history as a winter sports nation have been confirmed many times at the last 23 OWG held to date. The 1994 OWG in Lillehammer still stands for many Norwegians as the biggest and best Norwegian sports event ever. Norway has always been represented in many sports and the Norwegian athletes and teams have achieved many medals at the OWG. The 2014 OWG in Sochi were no exception, as Norway won a total of 29 medals (11 gold medals, 7 silver medals and 11 bronze medals), which meant Norway, like in 1994, ended as winner of the competition of the nations. Only the United States with 30 won more medals than Norway at the 2014 OWG, but "only" 9 of the United States medals were of the finest metal. Most Norwegian medals were won in cross-country skiing by Marit Bjørgen with three gold medals and one bronze medal and in biathlon by Ole Einar Bjørndalen with two gold medals, bringing his total number of Olympic medals to 12, of which 8 are gold medals. Bjørndalen, who has now been 43 years old and married to the Belarussian world-class biathlon Darya Domracheva, also passed another Norwegian ski legend Bjørn Dæhlie as the most winning athlete at the OWG. 1

2 After the 2014 OWG, Norway has maintained a very high international level at the World Cups and World Championships, especially in 2016 with an impressive number of top 8 ranking points (449). Moreover, in 2017, the Norwegian winter sports athletes and teams achieved a large number of top 8 ranking points (304), a little less than in 2013 (343). Based on the last three years results, there is reason for Olympic optimism in Norway, especially in cross country skiing, biathlon, ski jumping, Nordic combined and alpine skiing. Among the cross-country skiers, expectations will be especially related to Marit Bjørgen - soon 38 years and 6 times Olympic champion - Heidi Weng, Ingvild Østberg and Ragnhild Haga in the women s competitions as well as Martin Sundby, Johannes Klæbo, Simen Hegstad Krueger and Hans Christer Holund in the men s competitions. Among the biathlon skiers, the brothers Johannes and Tarjei Thingnes Bø, Lars Helge Birkeland and Emil Hegle Svendsen will definitely fight for the medals at the various distances, both individually and as teams. On the other hand, the female Norwegian biathlon skiers have had a lot of difficulty finding the optimal performance, but maybe Marte Olsbu or Tiril Eckhoff, who won the Olympic Gold medal (mixed) and two bronze medals at the 2014 OWG, get a nice comeback. Also, in alpine skiing, Norway has medal candidates: Henrik Kristoffersen, Kjertil Jansrud and not least the legend Aksel Lund Svindal, who won both Olympic gold and silver in Vancouver And Ragnhild Mowinckel may be surprised at the women's alpine skiing. The Norwegian daredevils" Daniel Tronde, Anders Fannemel, Johan Andre Fortung and Robert Johansson - all of the top 10 in the world - in ski jumping as well as Jan Schmid, Jørgen Graabak and Espen Andersen in Nordic combined (ski jumping and cross-country skiing) are also among the Norwegian medal candidates. It becomes difficult for Norway to challenge strong nations like Canada, South Korea and the Netherlands in speed skating. Finally, the Norwegian men's team in curling with the characteristic check patterned trousers is also among the medal candidates, where Norway only has a minimal chance to qualify at the quarterfinals in the Olympic Ice Hockey tournament. Sweden - Realistic hope of at least 10 medals Sweden also has a proud history and strong traditions in winter sports, because of the nation's climate and nature. Normally Sweden wins more medals at the Olympics Summer Games than at the OWG, where the typical medal number has been between 8 and 10. In Sweden, like in Norway and Finland, there is a big media interest in winter sports, especially in relation to the nation's pride: The male ice hockey team - "Three Crowns". Sweden has participated in all the OWG since the first winter games in Chamonix in 1924, most often in many disciplines and with a large team. That is also the situation at the OWG 2018, where Sweden is represented in 10 out of 15 sports with a total number of 104 athletes. Sweden won a total of 15 medals (2 gold medals, 7 silver medals and 6 bronze medals) at the 2014 OWG, which meant that Sweden ended as number 15 in the competition of the nations. Of the 15 medals, the vast majority of 11, won in crosscountry skiing with Charlotte Kalla as the most winning athlete with one gold medal and two silver medals. In addition, "Three Crowns" won silver medals in ice hockey and the curling teams also won medals, silver medals for the women s and bronze medals for the men s. The last medal was won by Anna Holmlund in skiing cross. The Swedish winter sports athletes and teams have been quite unstable over the last three years. Especially 2016 was a very bad year for Sweden, which, however, has improved considerably over the last 12 months. Sweden has achieved 134 top 8 ranking points, which is a little less than the 137 top 8 ranking points that Swedish winter sports athletes and teams achieved in There is reason to expect at least 10 medals to Sweden at the OWG However, cross-country skiers Marcus Hellner, Calle Halfvarsson and Daniel 2

3 Rickardsson in the men s competitions and the legend Charlotte Kalla, Stina Nilsson, Ida Ingemarsdottir and Anna Haag in the women s competitions carry the highest expectations. Sweden is always strong in relay races where the teams have good chances of medal for both women and men in cross country skiing and biathlon, where Sweden has been amazed at several World Cups in the months leading up to the OWG. Sweden's biggest medal favorite is probably Sandra Naeslund, who has achieved impressive results in ski-cross throughout the season. Also, Frida Hansdotter and Arne Myhrer in alpine skiing have achieved good results at the World Cup and World Cups in recent years. The Swedish national teams, both for men and women, in curling are among medal favorites. Finally, it becomes very exciting to follow "Tre Kronor", who became Olympic champions in 2006 and last won silver medals at the OWG 2014 after a final defeat to Canada. Finland - Great uncertainty about medal potential Finland, like its neighbors - Sweden and Norway - has the best conditions for winter sports and, not least, excellent facilities. Finland received the Olympic debut at the 1924 OWG in Charmonix and has since attended all 23 Winter Olympics. Finland has also tradition for a large Olympic team with athletes and teams in many winter sports. This will also be the case in OWG 2018, where Finland participates in 11 sports out of 15 sports with a total number of 106 athletes. Finland won a total of 5 medals (one gold medal, 3 silver medals and one bronze medal) at the OWG 2014, the same number as at the 2010 OWG (one silver medal and 4 bronze medals). The last two winter OWG have thus been disappointing for Finland with "only" five medals - not least in comparison to the 151 medals Finland has won in total since Three of the medals at the 2014 OWG won in cross-country skiing by Sami Jauhojjärvi and Ilvo Niskanen as surprising Olympic champions in team sprint and silver medals in both team sprint and 4 x 5 km relay for women. In addition, Enni Rukajärvi won silver medal in snowboard, while the men s ice hockey team won bronze medals. Finland has not managed to maintain a high international level, neither in summer nor in winter sports, over the last decades. The last three years have not been impressive for Finnish athletes and teams in 3

4 Olympic winter sports disciplines. In particular, 2015 was bad year with only 57 top 8 ranking points, although a positive improvement appeared in 2016 and Finland has achieved 101 top 8 ranking points in the past 12 months, which is slightly more than the 84 top 8-ranking points, which Finland achieved in It is very difficult to assess Finland's medal potential at the coming OWG. The biggest medalist candidate must be Kaisa Makarainen, who leads the world rankings in biathlon for women. The cross-country skiers - Ilvo Niskanen, Ristomatti Hakola and Matti Heikkinen and not least Krista Parmakoski and Kerttu Niskanen - are also realistic candidates for medals, while Finland apparently has no medal chances in either alpine skiing, speed skating or Nordic combined (ski jumping and cross-country skiing). Finally, Finland has qualified for curling tournaments both women, men and mixed teams. Off course the Finnish national team's medal chance in ice hockey must never be underestimated. At the 2014 OWG, Finland delivered one of the biggest surprises in the games by defeating home - and gold favorites from Russia in the quarterfinals. It is always difficult to assess the quality of the Olympic ice hockey tournament, as the largest ice hockey nations like Canada and the United States are unlikely to field their biggest NHL stars, which will probably use the "Olympic break" as a refund before the Stanley Cup finals and World Championship 2018 in Denmark. However, Russia will, as a consequence of a strangely, political decision, participate in a team of Russian ice hockey players, as "Olympic athletes" despite the collective punishment of the IOC to Russia for the use of systematic doping. Denmark Only" two curling teams and single speed skaters with potential for results Denmark is not and will never be a winter sports nation. Despite the fact, Denmark has participated in 13 OWG since the debut in St. Moritz mostly in few sports and with the modest team of athletes. By this OWG, the number has reached 17 in 5 different sports. However, Denmark cannot allow 4

5 excessive sporting expectations according to the recent years' results of the athletes and the teams. The two curling teams qualified as the last team to the OWG and all over top 6-rankings will be a positive surprise. In addition, there should be greater expectations for Elana Møller Rigas in speed skating with mass start. The 21 years old athlete is qualified for the OWG through a 5 th place on the world rankings, so maybe it is not unrealistic with the second Danish medal at the OWG. The first was a silver medal for the female curling team exactly two decades ago, 1998 in Nagano. Michael Andersen, manager Scandinavian Network for Elite Sports - 5