Norway at the Olympics
| Norway at the Olympics | |
|---|---|
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| IOC code | NOR |
| NOC | Norwegian Olympic Committee and Confederation of Sports |
| Website | www |
| Medals Ranked 8th |
|
| Summer appearances | |
| Winter appearances | |
| Other related appearances | |
| 1906 Intercalated Games | |
Norway first participated at the Summer Olympic Games in 1900, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Games since then, except for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow when they participated in the American-led boycott and, as previously thought, the 1904 Games in St. Louis, United States. However, at the beginning of the 21st century, it was discovered that wrestlers Charles Ericksen and Bernhoff Hansen, who were Norwegian expatriates in America whose medals at the 1904 Summer Olympics were previously attributed to United States, still held Norwegian citizenship at the time of the games. They won the gold medals in the wrestling welterweight and heavyweight events respectively.[1][2]
Norwegian athletes have won a total of 169 medals at the Summer Olympics, with sailing and shooting as the top medal-producing sports. At the Winter Olympic Games, Norway has won 447 total medals including 166 gold medals, both considerably more than any other nation in Winter Olympic history. More than half of these medals have come from cross-country skiing and speed skating (it used to be half the disciplines). Norway is one of only three nations (along with Austria and Liechtenstein) to have won more medals at the Winter Games than at the Summer Games.
The National Olympic Committee for Norway was created and recognized in 1900.
Disputed medals at the 1904 Summer Olympics
The International Olympic Committee originally considered Norwegian-American wrestlers Charles Ericksen and Bernhoff Hansen to have competed for the United States (both were Norwegian immigrants to the US); each won a gold medal. In 2012, Norwegian historians however found documentation showing that Ericksen did not receive American citizenship until March 22, 1905, and that Hansen, who was registered as an "alien" (foreigner) as late as 1925, probably never received American citizenship. The historians have therefore petitioned to have the athletes registered as Norwegians.[3][4] In May 2013, it was reported that the Norwegian Olympic Committee had filed a formal application for changing the nationality of the wrestlers in IOC's medal database.[5] In July 2021, the IOC modified data in the official database, recognizing Ericksen and Hansen as having competed for Norway.[6][7]
Since 2024, the IOC has considered the National Olympic Committee (NOC) affiliation of the club or team for which an athlete competed to be the decisive factor for the first three Olympic Games (1896–1904), attributing participation and medals accordingly. In the case of Ericksen and Hansen, both medals are attributed to the United States,[1][2] as both competed for the American club Brooklyn Norwegier Turnverein.[8]
Hosted Games
Norway has hosted the Games on two occasions.
| Games | Host city | Dates | Nations | Participants | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 Winter Olympics | Oslo | 14–25 February | 30 | 694 | 22 |
| 1994 Winter Olympics | Lillehammer | 12–27 February | 67 | 1,737 | 61 |
Medal tables
Medals by Summer Games
| Games | Athletes | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 16 | |
| did not participate | ||||||
| 69 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 8 | |
| 190 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 8 | |
| 194 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 31 | 6 | |
| 62 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 7 | |
| 52 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 19 | |
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 70 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 18 | |
| 81 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 19 | |
| 102 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 10 | |
| 22 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 22 | |
| 40 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 21 | |
| 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 46 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 25 | |
| 112 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 21 | |
| 66 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 21 | |
| boycotted | ||||||
| 103 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 28 | |
| 70 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 21 | |
| 83 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 22 | |
| 98 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 30 | |
| 93 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 19 | |
| 52 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 17 | |
| 85 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 22 | |
| 66 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 35 | |
| 62 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 74 | |
| 85 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 20 | |
| 107 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 18 | |
| future event | ||||||
| Total (27/30) | 2,048 | 63 | 53 | 53 | 169 | 21 |
- Notes
- NAT Norwegian Charles Ericksen and Bernhoff Hansen competed at the 1904 Summer Olympics, winning gold medals in the welterweight and heavyweight wrestling events, respectively. As representatives of an American club, their participation and medals were attributed accordingly.
- ART Art competitions (1912–1948) are not included in the medal table above, as they were non-sports events formerly part of the Olympic Games.[nb 1] Norway won its sole art competition medal, a silver, at the 1920 Summer Olympics.[11]
Medals by Winter Games
Host country
| Games | Athletes | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 17 | 1 | |
| 25 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 1 | |
| 19 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 2 | |
| 31 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 15 | 1 | |
| 49 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 1 | |
| 73 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 16 | 1 | |
| 45 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | |
| 29 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 4 | |
| 58 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 15 | 3 | |
| 65 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 1 | |
| 67 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 7 | |
| 42 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 4 | |
| 64 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 8 | |
| 58 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 6 | |
| 63 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 12 | |
| 80 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 20 | 3 | |
| 88 | 10 | 11 | 5 | 26 | 2 | |
| 76 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 25 | 2 | |
| 77 | 13 | 5 | 7 | 25 | 1 | |
| 69 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 19 | 13 | |
| 99 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 23 | 4 | |
| 134 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 27 | 1 | |
| 109 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 39 | 1 | |
| 84 | 16 | 8 | 13 | 37 | 1 | |
| 80 | 18 | 12 | 11 | 41 | 1 | |
| future event | ||||||
| Total (25/25) | 1,598 | 166 | 146 | 135 | 447 | 1 |
Medals overall
| Games | Total | Rank | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summer Olympics | 63 | 53 | 53 | 169 | 21 |
| Winter Olympics | 166 | 146 | 135 | 447 | 1 |
| Total | 229 | 199 | 188 | 616 | 8 |
Records
- The most gold and total medals in the history of the Winter Olympics (166 and 447)
- The most gold medals won in a single Winter Olympics (18 in 2026)
- The most total medals won in a single Winter Olympics (41 in 2026)
Medals by summer sport
| Sport | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 11 | 5 | 33 | |
| 13 | 8 | 11 | 32 | |
| 10 | 8 | 8 | 26 | |
| 6 | 4 | 4 | 14 | |
| 3 | 7 | 8 | 18 | |
| 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 | |
| 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | |
| 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | |
| 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | |
| 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (19 entries) | 63 | 51 | 52 | 166 |
*This table does not include three medals – two silver and one bronze – awarded in the figure skating events at the 1920 Summer Olympics.
Medals by winter sport
| Sport | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 59 | 45 | 39 | 143 | |
| 29 | 31 | 31 | 91 | |
| 25 | 23 | 17 | 65 | |
| 18 | 12 | 8 | 38 | |
| 14 | 12 | 15 | 41 | |
| 11 | 15 | 16 | 42 | |
| 6 | 2 | 4 | 12 | |
| 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | |
| 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | |
| 0 | 4 | 1 | 5 | |
| Totals (10 entries) | 166 | 148 | 134 | 448 |
*This table includes three medals – two silver and one bronze – awarded in the figure skating events at the 1920 Summer Olympics.[12]
Summary by sport
Athletics
Norway's Olympic debut in 1900 included two track and field athletes; Carl Albert Andersen won a bronze medal in the pole vault.
| Games | Athletes | Events | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 Paris | 2 | 4/23 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 9 | 6 | 8 | 23 |
Sailing
Norway made its sailing debut in 1908.
| Games | No. Sailors | Events | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1896 | Scheduled but event wasn't held | ||||||
| 1900 | 0 | 0/13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1904 | Not Scheduled | ||||||
| 1908 | 5 | 1/4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1912 | 18 | 3/4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 1916 | Games Cancelled | ||||||
| 1920 | 59 | 11/14 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 1 |
| 1924 | 9 | 3/3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 1928 | 10 | 3/3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 1932 | 0 | 0/4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1936 | 14 | 4/4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| 1940 | Games Cancelled | ||||||
| 1944 | Games Cancelled | ||||||
| 1948 | 13 | 4/5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 1952 | 12 | 4/5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| 1956 | 6 | 2/5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1960 | 9 | 4/5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 1964 | 9 | 4/5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1968 | 11 | 5/5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 1972 | 13 | 6/6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1976 | 6 | 3/6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1980 | 0 | 0/6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1984 | 7 | 4/7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1988 | 7 | 4/8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| 1992 | 14 | 8/10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 1996 | 8 | 5/10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 19 |
| 2000 | 9 | 5/11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| 2004 | 8 | 5/11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| 2008 | 9 | 6/11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 6 | 5/10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 6 | 5/10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 8 | 6/10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 |
| Total | 17 | 11 | 4 | 32 | 3 | ||
Shooting
Norway made its shooting debut in 1900. Ole Østmo earned medals in two of the free rifle positions, contributing to an individual three-position bronze and a team silver.
| Games | Shooters | Events | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 Paris | 5 | 5/9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Total | 13 | 8 | 11 | 32 |
Medals in art competitions
In addition to its accomplishments in sport, Norway has also earned recognition in Olympic art competitions—one of the three non-sports events once included in the Olympic Games. The country won its sole art competition medal, a silver, at the 1920 Summer Olympics.[11] These events were part of the official Olympic program in seven Summer Games, from 1912 to 1948. In 1952, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) formally discontinued all non-sport events (including art competitions), as well as awards for feats (such as alpinism and aeronautics). These were subsequently removed from official national medal counts.[13][nb 1]
Medalists
| Medal | Name | Games | Event | Piece |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holger Sinding-Larsen | Architecture | Project for a gymnastics school[14][15] |
See also
Notes
- 1 2 In 1952, art competition medals, as well as the gold medal awards for feats in alpinism and aeronautics, were removed from the official national medal counts.[13] Only since 2021 have they been officially listed again by the IOC in the medal tables and respective NOC profile on its website.[11]
References
- 1 2 "St. Louis 1904 Welterweight, Freestyle (≤158 pounds) Men Results - Olympic Wrestling". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved February 11, 2026.
- 1 2 "St. Louis 1904 Heavyweight, Freestyle (>158 pounds) Men Results - Olympic Wrestling". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved February 11, 2026.
- ↑ "Her er beviset som endrer norsk idrettshistorie". NRK. 14 August 2012.
- ↑ "USA-guld 1904 var Norges". Svenska Dagbladet. 14 August 2012.
- ↑ "Norges OL-historie skrives på nytt". Nettavisen. 3 May 2013. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
- ↑ "St. Louis 1904 Welterweight, Freestyle (≤158 pounds) Men Results - Olympic Wrestling (pre-2024)". International Olympic Committee. October 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2026.
- ↑ "St. Louis 1904 Heavyweight, Freestyle (>158 pounds) Men Results - Olympic Wrestling (pre-2024)". International Olympic Committee. October 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2026.
- ↑ "Olympedia – Brooklyn Norwegier Turnverein, Brooklyn (USA)". Olympedia. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- 1 2 "Olympic Analytics – Norway (NOR)". olympanalyt.com. Olympic Analytics. 2024. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
- 1 2 "Olympedia – Norway (NOR)". Olympedia. Olympedia. 2023. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
- 1 2 3 "Norway - NOC Profile". olympics.com. International Olympic Committee (IOC). 2024. Archived from the original on 6 October 2024. Retrieved 2024-10-06.
- ↑ "Team Norway - Profile | Beijing 2022 Olympics". Archived from the original on 2022-02-12. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
- ↑ McGillivray, Mary (2024-07-31). "ABC TV's The Art Of explores the surprising history of art competitions at the Olympics". ABC News. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
- ↑ "Olympedia – Architecture, Open 1920". Olympedia. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
- ↑ "Peter Andreas Holger Sinding-Larsen". olympics.com. International Olympic Committee (IOC). 2025. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
External links
- "Norway". International Olympic Committee. 16 September 2021.
- "Norway". Olympedia.com.
- "Olympic Analytics/NOR". olympanalyt.com.
