Winter Olympics History 101

To be honest, I hadn't given the Winter Olympics very much thought before they started. Perhaps being "snowed in" gave me more time to both watch and ponder. I thought the opening ceremonies were lame. But then, how on earth will any nation ever compare to China's?

Then I watched the men's normal ski jump and with each successive athlete I found myself glued to the red line and willing each young man a jump that would take him closer and closer to it. When I watched the Women's Moguls and found myself entranced by the beauty of the athleticism in the face of the condition of the venue--an Us versus Mother Nature sort of thing.

And today, while watching the Men's 15 K Cross-Country skiing, I became fascinated by something else. NBC's commentators' obsession with Norway-bashing: i.e. delighting in the lack of prowess displayed by the men from Norway in this event. In particular, one particularly obnoxious young man, Petter Northug. To hear them carry on, you'd swear that this guy was the freaking Viking who had raided their village, raped their daughters, and then bragged about it all on Oprah Winfrey!

So, I decided to actually look into the history of the Winter Olympics and which nations have dominated the event since it's inception in 1924. (I know, winter sports were part of the general olympics before then, but 1924 was the first year that they were celebrated as a unique and separate event.)

My graph depicts every team that won 10 or medals in a particular olympics from 1924 to 2006. The order of nations is chronological based on the first time and in descending order that a nation secured 10 or more medals. Finally the length of the band who's color coresponds to a particular year, also represents the number of medals by its length.

Ergo, Norway is the kid to beat. Norway dominated the first two Olympics and seven in total (a record only matched by the now defunct Soviet Union). Norway holds the most medals over all throughout the winter olympics. By comparison, the United States has only held medal top honors twice, in 1932 (the 3rd occurrence of the games held in Lake Placid, New York); and in 2002 (games held in Salt Lake City, Utah) when it shared this feat with Germany (both nations achieving a winter Olympic record of 34 medals).

Other insights: 1) The momentum seems to clearly favor far east Asia. I would look for Korea and China in particular to enter more sports and win. 2) The assertion of athletes from Canada, Italy, Austria, France, and the United States beginning in 1992 demonstrates that the movement is fluid and not Scandanavia-centric. 3) Untapped potential? Other nations have the environments, if they can produce a national will, they ought to expand the competition: Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, India, and Nepal are on the top of my list. 4) Why is Shani Davis the only Black athlete from the United States? Honestly, the inclusion of athletes of color could only serve to boost our chances. Black, Hispanic, Native, Pacific Islander, and Asian American's have much to offer and bringing them into the competitive fold by offering a wider variety of opportunities can only make the experience of the Winter Olympics richer for everyone.