Norway's Marcus Kleveland gets some air during the men's snowboard slopestyle semifinal at the FIS Snowboard World Cup 2022 in Laax, Switzerland on Jan. 14, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhang Cheng)
COPENHAGEN, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Norway trawled a record total of 39 Winter Olympic medals, including 14 golds, at PyeongChang 2018, and experts believe it will be even greater at Beijing 2022.
If leading sport metadata analysts Nielsen's Gracenote medal table is correct, Norway will win a whopping 44 medals, 22 of which should be gold.
However, Norway's official expectations are much lower, with a "humble" goal of 32 medals in Beijing.
Norway is endowed with strength across many winter sports disciplines, and it is only a matter of time before this Nordic winter sports superpower delivers on its promise of setting another Olympic medal record.
Norway's medal tally is typically built on consistent performances in Alpine skiing and ski jumping.
Alpine gold medals are expected in the women's grand slalom and the men's Super-G, as well as a slew of medals in the women's Super-G, men's grand slalom, men's slalom, and men's downhill.
Similarly, ski jumping is usually a foregone conclusion for Norway, which was the best nation on the ski jump in PyeongChang and will bring athletes to repeat the feat in Beijing.
If traditional success in Alpine and ski jumping can secure the medal base, then success in freestyle skiing, ice skating, combined, snowboard, and curling can provide medal momentum.
Norway has six freestyle skiers, each of whom has a chance at gold.
Since the inclusion of 500 meters as the first skating branch in the Olympic program in 1924, when it won both silver and bronze, Norway has won a total of 84 ice skating medals from every Winter Olympics, except three Games in 1988, 2006 and 2014.
Haavard Lorentzen is a potential ice skating medalist in the men's 1,000m.
Ragne Wiklund, the reigning 1,500m world champion, is a medal contender in the women's 1,500m, 3,000m, and 5,000m, while Allan Dahl Johansson is likely to be there or thereabouts in the men's 1,500m.
The men's Team Tempo is defending its PyeongChang gold medal and is back in contention, while the women's Team Tempo faces skaters from favorites Japan, the Netherlands and Canada, but is still considered contenders.
The combined event is expected to be a veritable Norwegian gold rush.
Jarl Magnus Riiber is considered a strong gold candidate in the normal hill, 15 kilometers, and 10 kilometers large hill, and Norway also looks strong in the team competition.
Kleveland in action during the men's snowboard Big Air Qualification Heat 1 at the 2018 FIS Big Air World Cup in Beijing on Nov. 23, 2018. (Xinhua/Wang Dongzhen)
Marcus Kleveland, in the men's slopestyle, and Kleveland and Mons Riisland, in the men's big air, are both favorites.
In the curling discipline, married couple Magnus Nedregrotten and Kristin Moen Skarslien are considered favorites for gold in the curling mixed doubles, while the men's curling team may have a chance if they can get past favorites Britain, Canada, and Sweden.
However, if Norway is to break their own medal record, the crucial disciplines to watch are cross-country skiing and biathlon.
Norway also has a strong presence in the men's discipline, led by Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, who enters the Winter Games as the world's best cross-country men's skier and is considered a strong gold medal contender in the sprint freestyle, 15 kilometers classic, Team sprint classic, 4x10 kilometers, and 50 kilometers freestyle.
In the hunting start, both the men's and women's teams are heavy favorites to win gold. In the men's joint start, Sturla Holm Laegreid and Tarjei Boe are candidates to watch, while Tiril Eckhoff and Marte Olsbu Riiseland have a chance in the women's joint start.
