Winter Olympics: Have the Bookmakers Under-Estimated the ROC?
There are less than 80 days until the 2022 Winter Olympics. Unlike its summer counterpart, Beijing 2022 has not been delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic. In total, 109 gold medals will be awarded amongst seven winter sports and 15 disciplines.
Skeleton racer Lizzy Yarnold won consecutive Winter Olympic gold medals in 2014 and 2018. ©GettyImages
Will Great Britain be amongst the medal winners? Of the 948 Olympic medals the country has historically won, just 39 have come at the Winter Olympics. Nevertheless, the now-retired Lizzy Yarnold did provide Great Britain with a gold medal in 2014 and 2018.
At the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics Great Britain claimed a total of five medals. It equaled their tally from 2014 and was a huge improvement on the single medal Great Britain collected at Vancouver’s 2010 Games. In fact, Great Britain has never won more than five medals at a Winter Olympics.
A Record Medal Haul for Team GB?
Bookmakers will have a full feast of betting opportunities on offer prior to the Games February 4 opening. Then, William Hill is sure to serve up its popular line-bets on the number of medals individual countries will win. If Team GB’s line is set at 4.5 or even 5.5, the prudent bet would be to ‘buy’.
Way back in the summer of 2018 UK Sport announced a preliminary target of 5-12 podium finishes for Team GB athletes at the 2022 Winter Games. Over four years later, a squad expected to be 57-strong can deliver those medals.
Speaking to BBC Sport as the Olympic Games countdown clock breached 100 days, Georgie Harland, Chef de Mission Team GB Beijing 2022, said: “We’ve got a great group of athletes. We may not be a natural alpine nation, but we do tend to punch above our weight so it’s an exciting team.”
“What we’re getting is a strength in depth of athletes. The pool is getting bigger, and we’re entering more disciplines than we have ever done before.”
The upbeat Harland did not make any predictions, but it is noteworthy GB Snowsport, the body that oversees ski and snowboard disciplines, has set a medal target between three and seven for their two sports.
The More the Merrier…
GB Snowsport presumably counts former US athlete Gus Kenworthy, Katie Ormerod, Kirsty Muir, Izzy Atkin, Dave Ryding and Charlotte Bankes amongst their genuine medal prospects.
Unquestionably Curling World Championship silver medalist Bruce Mouat has the potential to win two medals. Elise Christie has the ability to do the same, albeit she can be frustrating and has squandered chances in the past.
Ultimately, this should be a record-breaking Winter Olympics for Team GB. But which country will top the medal table when the Olympic flame goes out on February 20?
Can Norway Justify Odds-On Favoritism?
Thankfully there is already a perfectly acceptable betting buffet laid out by Unibet – the betting company that now boasts 16 million customers – and Bwin. These firms have opened markets on the country that will win the most gold medals and the most medals of all colors.
Norway heads the betting. Only 2/5 at Unibet, 11/20 is available about the Scandinavian country at Bwin. Germany, best priced 7/2 at Unibet, follows in the list.
At the 2018 Olympics, both nations came away with 14 golds. However, Norway with a super-strong Cross Country Skiing team claimed an additional 25 silver and bronze medals. Germany’s medal total was 31.
But we do not believe this will be a two-runner race and consider the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) a massive contender.
ROC Is Massively Underrated – And Overpriced!
The ROC organization only claimed 17 medals in 2018 (two gold) but it is easy to forget many star athletes did not compete and those that did – 168 in total – had to be individually cleared by the International Olympic Committee.
ROC athlete Alexander Bolshunov (left) took four medals at the 2018 Winter Olympics. The cross-country skier may better that tally in Beijing. ©GettyImages
This time around, with a squad expected to be more than double its 2018 size, the ROC’s haul may be nearer 40. That should be enough to top the table.
Two big contributors could be cross country skier Alexander Bolshunov and speed skater Natalya Voronina. They are capable of collecting four medals apiece. Bolshunov achieved this feat in 2018 and he looks to have improved since!
Woman’s figure skating is another ROC stronghold and could be another proverbial goldmine for the organization.
All factors considered, the ROC should never be 9/1 in the ‘most medals’ market and it is a price that is unlikely to last as the Olympic countdown clock continues to unwind.
