Canada has edge over USA and China, Austria a close 4th
Not surprisingly, the ranking in GSN’s Global Cup at the end of March 2012 is heavily influenced by the results in Winter Sports.
More of a surprise, for the first time in GSN history Canada finds itself leading the Global Cup table, up 8 positions from February and with a comfortable margin over the USA and China.
It’s been a spectacular month for Canadians, and the Men in particular, as they lined up an impressive array of wins in a plethora of sports: firsts in the 1500m Men and Women and the 1000m Women at the Speed Skating Single Distance World Championships (where they finished second overall behind the Netherlands); first in the Snowboardcross World Cup (Women); 3 golds in the Short Track World Championships; one in the Bobsleigh Worlds and an avalanche of 4 golds in the Freestyle Skiing World Cup, including Mikael Kingsbury’s overall title.
The USA could only limit damages and were up 5 positions from February thanks to Lindsay Vonn’s points in the Alpine Skiing World Cup and solid placements in most other sports.

China’s third place is exceptional as it’s not built on Winter Sports alone. The Dragon Throne athletes finished a respectable third in the Short Track World Championships, behind South Korea and Canada, picked up useful points in Snowboard and Freestyle Skiing but also triumphed in the Diving World Cup, with three times as many points as second-placed Canada (again).
Four other countries from the top ten are worth a mention: mighty midgets Austria, currently fourth overall on the strength of 49 placements in Winter Sports alone; Netherlands with an all-time high 5th place thanks to victory in the Single Distance Speed Skating World Championships (more than double the points of second-placed Canada); Germany and Russia on the other hand are notable for their lacklustre performances in March, which brought them down to 6th and 7th place respectively in the Global Cup ranking.
The year is still unfolding, and Olympia looms, so all the top sporting countries can still make their mark, including two notable absentees from the top fifteen, France (17th) and Great Britain (19th).