I suppose what both Swedes and Norwegians should wonder about, is whatever happened to Finland. They used to be right up there with us in the skiing events, and now they have been left in the dust. That must be such a downer for the nation that invented Sisu. 
Hopefully they'll rally in the next Olympics - when I bet Russia will be on top of the medal statistics.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-02-26/who-really-won-the-olympics/#
Who Really Won the Olympics?
by The Daily BeastSure the U.S. leads the medal count. But if you take away our size and money, we're somewhere below Norway. The Daily Beast ranks the countries on pure talent to show who should really be bragging.The United States has been sweeping up at these Olympic Games, with 30-plus medals and counting as of Thursday, leading all nations. The financial investment, at $53 million according to the U.S. Olympic Committee press office, is nearly as staggering. That’s a price tag of about $1.8 million per medal.
Was that a good deal? The Daily Beast decided to try to figure that out, focusing not only on total medals, but medals relative to how each country should have performed.
“There’s a mixture of two significant factors that contribute to countries like Canada and many of the northern European countries doing well in the Olympics,” says Kin Lo, associate professor at the Sauder School of Business of the University of British Columbia. “That's the first thing to note: that a matter of geography as well as economics contribute to the disparity in results.”
We measured each country's medal performance against four factors:
· Population: Five times the people means five times the potential for freakishly talented athletes.
· GDP Per Capita: Rich countries allow those athletes to indulge in sports over, say, farming. As with population, measured by the CIA World Factbook.
· Financial Resources: How much money does each country’s Olympic team receive to reach its potential? A tough number to nail down—especially because different teams within each country have different monetary sources—this was compiled with guidance from Lisa Delpy Neirotti, associate professor of tourism and sports management at George Washington University, as well as national press officials.
· Winter Resources: Measures opportunity for winter sports, including distance from the Equator, skiable mountains, seasonal snow, and general infrastructure; it was compiled with help from David Keeling, geography professor at Western Kentucky University, who has visited nearly every country competing in the Olympics.
We balanced these categories evenly, except population, which received a double weighting. We measured gold, silver, and bronze differently, of course. And while we only measured countries that won at least one medal, even the 50-plus non-winners had some interesting results. Giant Brazil has invested nearly $1 million with no alloy to show off, while its former overlord, tiny Portugal, has invested almost nothing with the same result.
America might be leading the Vancouver Games in the medal count, but in terms of achieving what we’d expect, it only gets bronze. Who’s atop this podium of efficiency?
Click here.Clark Merrefield and Tali Yahalom researched and reported this ranking. 
#1, Germany Image: Thomas Kienzle / AP Photo Total medals: 26 (now 29)
Population: 82,329,758
GDP/Capita: $34,200
Financial Resources: Excellent
Winter Resources: Excellent
Notable Olympians: Maria Riesch, Alpine Skiing (Gold); Magdalena Neuner, Biathlon (Gold; Silver)
Roughly one-fourth the population of the U.S.—and almost as many
medals. Germany spends a lot on its athletes, but it gets a big return
on that investment. 
#2, Norway Image: Jin-man Lee / AP Photo Total medals: 19 (now 22)
Population: 4,660,539
GDP/Capita: $59,300
Financial Resources: Very good
Winter Resources: Excellent
Notable Olympians: Petter Northug, Jr., Cross-Country (Gold; Silver; Bronze); Oeystein Pettersen, Cross-Country (Gold)
Nineteen medals for a country with only slightly more people than the
city of Los Angeles. Norway's performance—for all its wealthy and
winter-friendly advantages—is staggering—it's fashion prowess, not so much. 
#3, United States Image: Jim Young / AP Photo Total medals: 31 (now 36)
Population: 307,212,123
GDP/Capita: $46,400
Financial Resources: Excellent
Winter Resources: Good
Notable Olympians: Bode Miller, Alpine Skiing (Gold; Silver; Bronze); Lindsey Vonn, Alpine Skiing (Gold; Bronze); Shaun White, Snowboarding (Gold)
Lindsey Vonn, the American team's skiing superstar, will face her next
heated match with yet another injury (if she's able to at all). But
perseverance and surprising victories, not to mention exorbitant
numbers of corporate sponsorships, have been the United States'
ticket to gold for about as long as the modern Winter Games have been around. 
#4, Canada Image: NewscomTotal medals: 16 (now 25)
Population: 33,487,208
GDP/Capita: $38,400
Financial Resources: Excellent
Winter Resources: Excellent
Notable Olympians: Christine Nesbitt, Speedskating (Gold); Alexandre Bilodeau, Freestyle Skiing (Gold)
Remember when the Canadians were sweating their first gold medal
last week? Big performance relative to population. Whether this
proves a successful Winter Olympics, however, rests solely on whether
their men's hockey team finishes Sunday with the gold around their necks. 
#8, Russia Image: Mark Baker / AP Photo Total medals: 13 (now 15)
Population: 140,041,247
GDP/Capita: $15,200
Financial Resources: Excellent
Winter Resources: Excellent
Notable Olympians: Evgeny Ustyugov, Biathlon (Gold); Evgeni Plushenko, Figure Skating (Silver)
Once a powerhouse of Olympic medals, Russia's performance in the
Vancouver Games has proven a disappointment. "The USSR was a
sports superpower, and there was a responsibility that athletes felt
toward the people and their country," hockey fan Sergei Kalashnikov
told The Christian Science Monitor. "Things are different now. It's a shame." 
#9, Sweden Image: Andrew Medichini / AP Photo Total medals: 8 (now 10)
Population: 9,059,651
GDP/Capita: $36,800
Financial Resources: Very good
Winter Resources: Excellent
Notable Olympians: Marcus Hellner, Cross-Country (Gold)
During the Swedish winters, cross-country isn't sport. It's transportation.
Sweden has been sweeping the men's cross-country skiing competition
this Olympics, and even the top competitors from other countries acknowledge
they're playing for second. 
#10, Netherlands Image: Elise Amendola / AP Photo Total medals: 6 (now 8 )
Population: 16,715,999
GDP/Capita: $39,000
Financial Resources: Very good
Winter Resources: Average
Notable Olympians: Sven Kramer, Speedskating (Gold); Mark Tuitert, Speedskating (Gold); Ireen Wust, Speedskating (Gold)
Perhaps another one of the biggest upsets this season rests with
Dutch speedskater Sven Kramer, who missed out on what would have
been his second gold medal after illegally changing lanes at the behest
of his coach. "Usually, I don't want to blame anyone else, but this time
I can't do anything else," Kramer told the Associated Press. Now it's a
national disgrace: Without Kramer's disqualification, the Netherlands
would have ranked higher on our list.
#14, Australia Image: Marcio Sanchez / AP Photo Total medals: 3 (still 3)
Population: 21,262,641
GDP/Capita: $38,500
Financial Resources: Very good
Winter Resources: Fair
Notable Olympians: Torah Bright, Snowboarding (Gold), Lydia Lassila, Ski Aerials (Gold)
Yes, they have great skiing, but most of the population lives in temperate
climes, and one-fifth of the continent-country is covered with desert.
Still, they're resilient: Four years after re-injuring her reconstructed knee
before competition at the Torino Olympics, Australian women's freestyle
aerial skier Lydia Lassila claimed gold with a twisting, flipping jump that wowed judges.(....)
#24, Finland Image: Charlie Riedel / AP Photo Total medals: 3 (now 5)
Population: 5,250,275
GDP/Capita: $34,900
Financial Resources: Very good
Winter Resources: Excellent
Notable Olympians: Peetu Piiroinen, Snowboard (Silver)
While Norway dominates and Sweden holds its own, their Scandinavian
neighbor turned in a horrific performance. Though Finland's most popular
sports include ice hockey and skiing, the country's top medal recipient came
from a pre-defeated snowboarder, Peetu Piiroinen. “I had no chance of beating
[Shaun] White. He is just too good,” Piiroinen later acknowledged in a Finnish publication. 
