Norway lead Global Cup for first time ever
For the first time in GSN history, Norway are top of the Global Cup table, the ranking of the world’s greatest sporting nations. And another first, the Global Cup leaders are also top in the Per Capita Cup, the ranking of the world’s sportiest nations, measuring how many citizens a country needs to score one GSN point.
Norway are also leading the Men’s Global Cup, and are in fifth place in the Women’s ranking.
Their sensational exploit comes on the back of victory in the GSN ranking for March, after scooping up an amazing 730 points, all of them from Winter sports.
The plucky Scandinavians were dominant in Cross Country Skiing, earning themselves 426 points by winning the World Cup and the World Championships, and scored points across all disciplines, from Alpine Skiing to Freestyle, Snowboarding, Biathlon and Ski Jumping.
As a result, they are also firmly in the lead in the Winter Sports ranking for 2017 (see table below), ahead of Germany and the USA.
|
WINTER SPORTS 2017 - MARCH
|
|||
|
Place
|
Country
|
Points
|
Points %
|
|
1
|
Norway
|
952
|
10.0%
|
|
2
|
Germany
|
807
|
8.5%
|
|
3
|
United States
|
783
|
8.2%
|
|
4
|
Austria
|
781
|
8.2%
|
|
5
|
France
|
703
|
7.4%
|
|
6
|
Switzerland
|
621
|
6.5%
|
|
7
|
Canada
|
605
|
6.3%
|
|
8
|
Italy
|
563
|
5.9%
|
|
9
|
Russia
|
561
|
5.9%
|
|
10
|
Sweden
|
387
|
4.1%
|
|
11
|
Netherlands
|
372
|
3.9%
|
|
12
|
South Korea
|
306
|
3.2%
|
|
13
|
Finland
|
284
|
3.0%
|
|
14
|
Czech Republic
|
232
|
2.4%
|
|
15
|
Japan
|
216
|
2.3%
|
|
16
|
China
|
214
|
2.2%
|
|
17
|
Slovenia
|
146
|
1.5%
|
|
18
|
Great Britain
|
135
|
1.4%
|
|
19
|
Spain
|
126
|
1.3%
|
|
20
|
Australia
|
125
|
1.3%
|
|
21
|
Hungary
|
92
|
1.0%
|
|
22
|
Poland
|
74
|
0.8%
|
|
23
|
Ukraine
|
66
|
0.7%
|
|
24
|
Slovakia
|
58
|
0.6%
|
|
25
|
Kazakhstan
|
55
|
0.6%
|
|
26
|
New Zealand
|
52
|
0.5%
|
|
27
|
Belgium
|
51
|
0.5%
|
|
28
|
Belarus
|
49
|
0.5%
|
|
29
|
Liechtenstein
|
48
|
0.5%
|
|
30
|
Bulgaria
|
47
|
0.5%
|
|
31
|
Latvia
|
30
|
0.3%
|
|
32
|
Andorra
|
4
|
0.0%
|
|
33
|
Chile
|
1
|
0.0%
|
|
34
|
Denmark
|
1
|
0.0%
|
|
Total
|
9,543
|
100.0%
|
|
In the last four years, Norway has been the only country other than the USA, Canada and Russia to snatch a podium finish in Winter Sports - they were second in 2013 and always fourth since then.
Could this be the year in which they actually take the snow & ice mantle?
As always, the race will be very tight and the last few tournaments will be crucial. Besides the Curling and Figure Skating World Championships, worth 311 points altogether, the Men’s and Women’s Ice Hockey World Championships in May will be decisive. Victory in either is worth respectively 180 and 140 points but, with Norway’s current cushion at 169 points, only reaching the very top will be enough for the USA to upstage the current Winter Sports leaders, while both Canada and Russia are out of the reckoning and Germany, whose best-ever finish in the Ice Hockey Global Cup was 7th (in 2016), also seem no threat.
The Winter Sports race is going to the wire once again, and you can follow it on GSN!
