Winter Olympics 2026

[IrishInOntario]

Looking at he medal count, why is Norway so much more dominant than Finland? My ignorant American brain just assumes they’re basically the same place (they do have about the same population).

A lot of it has to do with the number of events that exist in the Olympics in certain sports. Individual and team skiing events dominate the winter Olympics in terms of medals awarded. Those sports, especially cross country variants, are sports that Norway absolutely focuses on, therefore, they rack up the medal counts. Finland, by comparison, is hockey obsessed. They're the defending Olympic Champion in men's hockey, which is impressive at the size of the country. The problem is that there are 6 total medals awarded in hockey at the Olympics (3 on the men's side and 3 on the women's side) and no country can win more than 2 of those medals. By comparison, there are 50+ medals awarded in various skiing events (when factoring in both men's and women's sports), meaning that a single country can win 15-20 medals in that one area.

For a comparison that hits close to home, Track-and-field and swimming have huge volumes of medals awarded during the summer Olympics. A country like the United States racks up volumes of medals in those sports in which specializes, giving them much higher upside in total medal count than a country that specializes in a specific sport that gives out less medals.

Also, as it relates to Norway specifically, it's one of the wealthiest per capita countries in the world, where their best athletes get paid handsome sums of money through state sponsorship, to compete in their chosen Olympic sports, rather than commercial sports (i.e. football, soccer, baseball, hockey, basketball, etc). Therefore, many of Norway's best athletes are willing to master a niche sport, because they can make a viable sport career out of it, where as many of our North American Olympians, for example, get paid very little if they don't compete in a commericalized sport. Norway has a sovereign wealth fund built on the carefully invested profits of oil, valued at $2.15 TRILLION usd. It's roughly $370,000 per Norwegian, and growing. They literally take profits from that fund and invest it into their individual Olympians. We're talking really good money and the citizens of their country back the idea because the money isn't coming from their tax base.

Imagine having a wealth fund that grows at a rate of $100+ Billion usd per year (after funds are taken out to bolster the state budget), for a population of 5.65 million people. That's an insane funding mechanism outside of their tax base.

 

[laughingirish92]

i only follow curling during the Olympics so does anybody know how you cheat in the sport as the Canadian men and womens teams are being accused of it from what i'm reading on multiple headlines

 

[Irishdawg]

i only follow curling during the Olympics so does anybody know how you cheat in the sport as the Canadian men and womens teams are being accused of it from what i'm reading on multiple headlines

In the most simple terms… double touching the stone. Adjusting the stones speed or direction after its release.
Irishnd31 tee’d it up for you😉

 

[IrishInOntario]

i only follow curling during the Olympics so does anybody know how you cheat in the sport as the Canadian men and womens teams are being accused of it from what i'm reading on multiple headlines

They're being accused of "double touching". There are two rules you must adhere to.

1). You cannot touch any part of the rock, including the handle, when the rock is past the "hog line". The Canadian men are being accused of using their index finger to slightly touch the rock after release, with the intent of adding extra "curl" or controlling the line of the rock.

2). You cannot touch any part of the rock, other than the handle, before the "hog line". The Canadian women are being accused of using the same index finger strategy to achieve a double touch, well behind the line.

 

[tirishman505]

Considering the number of cameras on these matches I find it hard to believe anyone would attempt such a thing and not get caught.

 

[burmafrd1944]

A lot of it has to do with the number of events that exist in the Olympics in certain sports. Individual and team skiing events dominate the winter Olympics in terms of medals awarded. Those sports, especially cross country variants, are sports that Norway absolutely focuses on, therefore, they rack up the medal counts. Finland, by comparison, is hockey obsessed. They're the defending Olympic Champion in men's hockey, which is impressive at the size of the country. The problem is that there are 6 total medals awarded in hockey at the Olympics (3 on the men's side and 3 on the women's side) and no country can win more than 2 of those medals. By comparison, there are 50+ medals awarded in various skiing events (when factoring in both men's and women's sports), meaning that a single country can win 15-20 medals in that one area.

For a comparison that hits close to home, Track-and-field and swimming have huge volumes of medals awarded during the summer Olympics. A country like the United States racks up volumes of medals in those sports in which specializes, giving them much higher upside in total medal count than a country that specializes in a specific sport that gives out less medals.

Also, as it relates to Norway specifically, it's one of the wealthiest per capita countries in the world, where their best athletes get paid handsome sums of money through state sponsorship, to compete in their chosen Olympic sports, rather than commercial sports (i.e. football, soccer, baseball, hockey, basketball, etc). Therefore, many of Norway's best athletes are willing to master a niche sport, because they can make a viable sport career out of it, where as many of our North American Olympians, for example, get paid very little if they don't compete in a commericalized sport. Norway has a sovereign wealth fund built on the carefully invested profits of oil, valued at $2.15 TRILLION usd. It's roughly $370,000 per Norwegian, and growing. They literally take profits from that fund and invest it into their individual Olympians. We're talking really good money and the citizens of their country back the idea because the money isn't coming from their tax base.

Imagine having a wealth fund that grows at a rate of $100+ Billion usd per year (after funds are taken out to bolster the state budget), for a population of 5.65 million people. That's an insane funding mechanism outside of their tax base.

This is fascinating. You hear very little about Norway here. Did not know Norway had any oil to be blunt; but they sure seem to have done the smart thing with it.

 

[IrishInOntario]

This is fascinating. You hear very little about Norway here. Did not know Norway had any oil to be blunt; but they sure seem to have done the smart thing with it.

They have huge off shore reserves that they sell throughout Europe. They produce about 2% of the World's oil on a daily basis, despite proven reserves of only about 7 billion barrels and expected reserves of a further 4-5 billion barrels. They started the sovereign wealth fund back in 1990. They've now added other funding streams to build it as well. Pension funds are heavily involved now, for example.

They always knew their oil reserves would run out someday (they only have about 0.50%-1% of the world's oil) so they focused on building an investment vehicle so large that it would eventually snowball and generate it's own income in perpetuity. As a result, they have probably the highest standard of living in the world, and their debt to GDP stands at an extremely reasonable and affordable 55%.

As a result, Norway sits among Ukraine'a largest per capita donors, for obvious geographical and security reasons. They're set to give Ukraine more than $7 Billion usd worth of military aid in 2026 alone, while contributing further billions in macro financial aid. That's a huge sum of money for a country that has a small $500 Billion usd GDP. Compare that to Germany for example, Europe's largest GDP at $5 Trillion usd. The Germans are set to give Ukraine $13.6 Billion usd in military aid in 2026, the largest nominal contribution. Sure, that's twice as much as Norway, but their GDP is 10x bigger than Norway's... Norway has some serious cash.

 

[IrishInOntario]

For those paying attention, Canada and USA are in contention for 1st place overall in the round robin, which matters when it comes to seeding and matchups for the playoff round. Assuming both teams win today and finish 3-0 in the round robin, the tie breaker is goal differential.

Canada is playing right now and is winning 4-1 vs France. USA plays later today against Germany. Canada currently has a +5 goal differential over the Americans, therefore, the Canadians are hoping to run it up over France and make it hard for the Americans later today.

#2 is likely to face Sweden as their quarter final matchup, an insanely tougher matchup than who #1 will face.

 

[IrishInOntario]

Canada vs France finished 10-2. The goal differential is now at +9 for Canada, as USA gets ready to play Germany. The Americans need an enormous performance in order to avoid finishing #2, leading to a quarterfinal game vs Sweden.

That bum McDavid got 3 more points today and leads the Olympics with 9 points through 3 games.

 

[calvegas04]

Canada is the Michigan of the olympics

 

[tirishman505]

Apparently the Brits too: As Olympic curling surveillance grows, Britain faces infraction

 

[calvegas04]

Apparently the Brits too: As Olympic curling surveillance grows, Britain faces infraction

Makes sense, Britain trained Canada in life

 

[calvegas04]

 

[NDRock]

Ever since Ben Johnson, I knew Canadians were cheats and couldn’t be trusted.

 

[NorthDakota]

Looking at he medal count, why is Norway so much more dominant than Finland? My ignorant American brain just assumes they’re basically the same place (they do have about the same population).

Oslo to Helsinki is 500 miles. Finns and Norwegians arent even the same "ethnic" group.
Seems a bit like comparing French people with Poles.

On a more serious note, I think Norway has some concentration on skiing events that lends itself to collecting medals.

 

[ACamp1900]

So if I’m reading the bracket correctly USA Canada will meet in the semis if they both win out as it’s set 1/2 and 3/4 on either side

 

[calvegas04]

The US needs to support athletes in lesser revenue sports so they don't need a full time job along with training

 

[ACamp1900]

So if I’m reading the bracket correctly USA Canada will meet in the semis if they both win out as it’s set 1/2 and 3/4 on either side

Never mind they updated the bracket to what you would expect

 

[IrishInOntario]

Never mind they updated the bracket to what you would expect

The path is set for a class in finals! Sweden is a "no joke" quarter final matchup for you guys though and the Czechs will play Canada tough too!

 

[calvegas04]

US has had a tough schedule so far, Canada hasn't had to put in too much effort. US is battle tested

 

[TorontoGold]

US has had a tough schedule so far, Canada hasn't had to put in too much effort. US is battle tested

Who’s the tough team they played?

 

[IrishInOntario]

US has had a tough schedule so far, Canada hasn't had to put in too much effort. US is battle tested

Lol...Canada has played the Swiss and Czechs. USA played Denmark, Latvia and Germany, arguably the softest schedule in the entire tournament. The U.S. schedule has been an absolute joke. Of the 12 teams in the tournament USA has played #6, #9 and #10. Canada has played #5, #7 and #11.

Neither team has played a difficult schedule, but to suggest that the U.S. schedule has been actually more difficult than the Canadian schedule is not grounded in reality.

 

[tirishman505]

Oslo to Helsinki is 500 miles. Finns and Norwegians arent even the same "ethnic" group.
Seems a bit like comparing French people with Poles.

On a more serious note, I think Norway has some concentration on skiing events that lends itself to collecting medals.

Norway is a powerhouse in the cross country and ski jumping related events. It currently accounts for 21 of their 26 medals. Like was said before, it’s like the US in swimming. If you’re dominant in the right sport you’ll be atop the medal table.

 

[NorthDakota]

Who’s the tough team they played?

Germany's uniforms are tough at least lol

 

[NDRock]

Norway is a powerhouse in the cross country and ski jumping related events. It currently accounts for 21 of their 26 medals. Like was said before, it’s like the US in swimming. If you’re dominant in the right sport you’ll be atop the medal table.

I’m just more surprised at how poor Finland does. 3 bronze medals total right now.

 

[Punky]

After a tough first period, USA womens hockey putting it to Sweden in the second period. Up 5-0. Bring on Canada!

 

[calvegas04]

USA hockey is it

 

[NorthDakota]

It would be very fun to take down the Canadians. They seem a bit like the University of North Dakota. Will put up with getting shit on by big brother in everything so long as hockey is doing well. But if they got overtaken in that too we are talking about a true loss of identity and mental health hotlines being overwhelmed. Possibly even low-temp terrorism ala Harvey Updyke poisoning the trees in Auburn.

 

[IrishInOntario]

I don't think there is any doubt that the Americans are going to win on the women's side. They're the best team in the world and have been for several years. They're the heavy favourite and Canada would need an monumental effort to beat them.

The men's side is where losing would be a genuine disappointment. The American team has improved tremendously over the last 5'ish years and that should be a fantastic game! That said, neither team can afford to "coast" on the way the way to the final. The U.S. are going to have a tough matchup with a talented Sweden squad in the quarters and although Canada beat Czechia soundly in the opening game of the tournament, the Czechs have some genuine firepower and will be motivated for the upset.

 

[ACamp1900]

I don't think there is any doubt that the Americans are going to win on the women's side. They're the best team in the world and have been for several years. They're the heavy favourite and Canada would need an monumental effort to beat them.

The men's side is where losing would be a genuine disappointment. The American team has improved tremendously over the last 5'ish years and that should be a fantastic game! That said, neither team can afford to "coast" on the way the way to the final. The U.S. are going to have a tough matchup with a talented Sweden squad in the quarters and although Canada beat Czechia soundly in the opening game of the tournament, the Czechs have some genuine firepower and will be motivated for the upset.

It seems so set that the men will meet in the gold medal match that I’m almost expecting an upset for one or the other.


I would rather my boys not lose to some third world, poverty nation but Canada is the favorites so that reality is on the table,……. Maybe at the game we can negotiate Alberta for Minnesota straight up. 😂😆