The best nations at sport in March 2012
The Global Cup ranking of nations at the end of March 2012 has Canada leading the table, the first time ever for the North Americans.
But who are the other top nations in GSN’s many categories, each giving a different angle on international sporting performance?
The Per Capita ranking (points relative to inhabitants) is dominated by European countries, mainly on the strength of winter sporting success: Austria, Norway, Finland and Switzerland in ranking order, ahead of the Netherlands, whose 5th place matches the remarkable fifth in the Global Cup overall.
The Czech Republic, Germany and Italy feature in 8th, 9th and 10th place, making it 8 European countries in the top ten, the two non-europeans being South Korea (thanks to their speed skaters) and Canada.
Still talking Europe: the continental Global Cup ranking sees Austria first (up 15 positions from February!), Germany 2nd and the Netherlands 3rd just ahead of Russia in 4th place. This is rather a surprise, as the Russians were leading the European table at the end of February. Notable also are the absences from the top ten of Great Britain (11th) and Spain (16th).
It’s worth underlining that Austria is top in two categories, the Per Capita Cup and the European Global Cup, a fantastic achievement.
What about gender? For the Men it’s Canada 1st, well ahead of Football African Cup of Nations’ winner Zambia, then the USA, the Ivory Coast and Austria.
In the Women it’s the USA just ahead of China. The US ladies are tops thanks mainly to victories in the Ski Jumping, overall Freestyle Skiing and overall Alpine Skiing World Cups. China hold their own in Short Track, Speed Skating Sprint and Single Distance World Championships and scoop an astonishing 4 golds and 2 silvers in the six Diving World Cup events.
The outlook is interesting for the next sporting month!
