Norway Tops the Medal Table for the 24th Winter Olympics
The Scandinavian country comfortably won the largest haul of Gold Medals at this year’s edition of the Winter Olympics, beating stiff competition from Germany and the ROC. Following 16 days of exhilarating sporting action across the many disciplines on exhibition at the Winter Olympics, it is Norway, with 16 golds, that have managed to prove themselves the most formidable and consistent across all competitions.
Curling remains one of the most popular sports at the Winter Olympics. This year’s men’s event was won by Sweden. Great Britain and Canada finished second and third respectively. ©PhotoMIX-Company/Pixabay
The Winter Olympics was a splendid edition this year, with the world’s best winter athletes smashing a bunch of world records. But the backdrop and context of this year’s tournament was one of negativity and controversy. The US had chosen to boycott the games this year due to China’s domestic policies, and then there was the doping scandal involving a 15-year-old Russian figure skater. More broadly, the current tensions along the Russia and Ukrainian border were acknowledged in the closing ceremony as the Winter Olympics organizers made a call for world leaders to pursue the path of peace.
But the organizers still have plenty of positivity to celebrate as the games ended this week. The huge organizational effort that went into delivering a safe tournament for athletes, spectators and officials cannot be understated. The COVID-19 secure bubbles that enveloped all the venues and kept the risk of a major outbreak at this year’s games at the lowest probability possible. The COVID-19 pandemic has already derailed countless sporting events over the past few years, and there was a substantial fear that the same may happen again to the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Western allies have been particularly dismissive of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, whilst the UK, Australia and Canada did send their athletes to the games, they jointly refused to participate in the opening ceremony. This was the limit of their protests though, as China had made it abundantly clear that it would not tolerate any criticism from foreign athletes during the events themselves.
China Uses Sport to Grow it’s Geo-Political Power
China’s position within the international community has probably become more precarious following the conclusion of the Olympics this year. This is not in complete fairness the fault of China’s organization of this tournament, it has been mostly due to the swiftly changing geopolitical landscape that the world is operating within, and the increased tensions at several international flashpoints around the world.
Xi Jinping entered the birdnest stadium to mark the end of this year’s games, and unlike previous editions of the Olympics, particularly the one held in 2008, there were very few international dignitaries present. Perhaps this is due to the changing face of the Winter Olympics, an event that hasn’t seemed to raise the same level of interest as previous years have managed to achieve. The message from the International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach was clear – the powers that want to divide us are nowhere near as strong as the powers of unity and solidarity exemplified by the athletes.
Standout performers for the host nation were Eileen Gu, a superstar freestyle skier that has captured the hearts of Chinese citizens for her incredible talent and down-to-earth attitude. Her performances really captured the attention of the nation and positioned her as the “Snow Princess” within China’s political commentary.
Off the slopes and back into the stadium and it was business as a primary priority for China as they welcome Vladimir Putin to the opening ceremony. Xi and Vlad spoke together about their mutual interests which include China’s annexation of Taiwan and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The alliance growing between the superpowers is a major snub to the West and threatens the USA security model which is coined as triangle-diplomacy – the emphasis of the US maintaining closer and better relationships with Russia and China than they have with each other.
The motto for the Winter Olympics 2022 was an optimistic “Together for a shared future”, a phrase that alludes to the future that China has outlined for itself. This vision certainly doesn’t include China falling into line with a western-led world order, and they will seek the path that is ultimately the most lucrative and beneficial towards their own objectives.
