RUSSIA, CHINA, AUSTRALIA & JAPAN: Cold medallists

Some countries excel at summer sports while slipping up on snow

THE Russian home team won the most medals at the Sochi winter Olympics, which closed on February 23rd. America was the runner-up in terms of its total medal haul (it came fourth if one counts only the golds, as the official ranking does). Both countries also did well at the latest summer games, in 2012. But as our chart shows, some countries excel at summer sports while slipping up on snow, and vice-versa. China, always near the top of the summer rankings, won only 3% of the medals at Sochi. Norway, a country of 5m people, managed to come third in the Sochi medal table (or second if one counts only golds), but won only a handful of medals in the latest summer games. Not surprisingly, the countries that did well at Sochi tended to be those that have a decent supply of snow at home. But some countries buck the trend: the Netherlands, distinctly short on ski resorts, did well because of a national passion for ice skating. And although Australia and Japan both have some decent slopes, they are weak on winter sports.

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