Norway at the Olympics

Norway has been a part of the Olympic Games for a very long time. They first joined the Summer Olympic Games in 1900 and have been there almost every year since, except for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow when they joined a group of countries who decided not to go. Recently, it was found out that two wrestlers from 1904, Charles Ericksen and Bernhoff Hansen, who were living in the United States at the time, were actually Norwegian citizens. So now, their gold medals from the wrestling welterweight and heavyweight events count for Norway.

Norwegian athletes have won 160 medals in the Summer Olympics. They do really well in sports like sailing and shooting. But Norway is most famous for the Winter Olympic Games. They have won 405 Winter Olympic medals, more than any other country, including 148 gold medals. Many of these come from cross-country skiing and speed skating. Norway is one of only three countries, along with Austria and Liechtenstein, to have won more medals in the Winter Olympics than in the Summer Olympics.

The group that helps organize Norway’s Olympic teams, called the National Olympic Committee, was started in 1900.

1904 Summer Olympics

Two wrestlers, Charles Ericksen and Bernhoff Hansen, were thought to have competed for the United States in the 1904 Summer Olympics. They both won gold medals. However, in 2012, historians found proof that Ericksen did not become a U.S. citizen until 1905, and Hansen likely never did. Because of this, they asked for the wrestlers to be listed as Norwegians instead. In 2021, the Olympic Committee updated its records to show that Ericksen and Hansen competed for Norway.

Hosted Games

Norway has hosted the Olympic Games on two different times.

Medal tables

See also: All-time Olympic Games medal table

Medals by Summer Games

Source:

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• ^{Art comp.} Art competitions (1912–1948) are not included in the medal table above, as they were non-sports events formerly part of the Olympic Games. Norway won its sole art competition medal, a silver, at the 1920 Summer Olympics.

Medals by Winter Games

  Host country

Source:

Medals overall

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

*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

  Leading in that sport

*This table includes three medals – two silver and one bronze – awarded in the figure skating events at the 1920 Summer Olympics.

Summary by sport

Athletics

Norway first joined the Olympic Games in 1900 with two track and field athletes. One of them, Carl Albert Andersen, won a bronze medal for pole vaulting.

Sailing

Norway began competing in sailing at the Olympics in 1908.

Shooting

Norway started in shooting events in 1900. Ole Østmo won medals in two different rifle positions, earning a bronze for himself and a silver for his team.

Medals in art competitions

Main article: List of Olympic medalists in art competitions

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 only art competition medal, a silver, at the 1920 Summer Olympics. These art events were part of the official Olympic program in seven Summer Games, from 1912 to 1948. In 1952, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stopped all non-sport events, including art competitions, and they were removed from official medal counts.

Medalists