Randahl Fink

In relation to the Olympics, Denmark is a strange country.

Since 1896, we have won 214 medals at Summer Olympics, but only 1 medal in Winter Olympics.

The reason: We have no mountains which rules out Alpine sports. And since Denmark is warmer than Sweden and Norway, we have too little snow, ruling out even cross country skiing.

But we do have 29 ice rinks, which explains why we won silver in curling in 1998.

In the Summer Olympics, we are strongest in sailing, matching our viking heritage.

Feb 18 at 10:27pmIvory for iOS
Show threadRenke MeuweseFeb 18
@randahl that looks especially strange from the Netherlands, where we have almost the exact same and are such a force in speed skating, there have been years where the question wasn't if the medalists would all be Dutch, just *which* Dutch competitor would win.
Show threadRafaΕ‚ πŸ‡΅πŸ‡±πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡¦πŸ‡²πŸ‡½πŸ‡©πŸ‡°πŸ‡¬πŸ‡±πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡ΊFeb 19
@meuwese @randahl When you cannot be good in many, specialize.
Show threadGJ Groothedde πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡ΊFeb 18
@randahl You guys should all take up skating. The Dutch, from a country just as flat as Denmark and even warmer yet, consistently figure in the top ten in the rankings, almost exclusively on the merits of speed skating. πŸ˜‚
Show threadRandahl FinkFeb 18
@Eetschrijver I believe we actually have a lot of figure skating teams. I do not know why they never win.
Show threadsaarmullerFeb 19
@randahl @Eetschrijver Northern people are too stiff...
Show threadnotsoloudFeb 19
@Eetschrijver
I believe the tradition stems from skating on the long straight canals which regularly froze over in ye olde times. Danish waterways are usually natural so more curvy.
@randahl
Show threadGJ Groothedde πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡ΊFeb 19
@notsoloud
You are definitely right.
@randahl
Show threadMad AlexFeb 18
@randahl I find the number of medals comparisons not particularly enlightening. Give me medals per million nationals and I'm more interested.
Show threadDan UllΓ©nFeb 18
@madalex @randahl Would still have Norway at the top then. 😁
Show threadIlka 🌐Feb 19
@randahl While the facts may be true, the correlation is not compelling. πŸ˜‰
Danes have other qualities. 😍
Show threadDaniel ArtforsFeb 19
@randahl As a Swed we see only one quality in the Danish, an it's the beer quality. πŸ˜‰
Show threadbenschwarzFeb 19
@randahl @assaf how do you explain Australia’s medal haul? Turns out our winter Olympians majority came from private schools, and wealthy families