Norway predicted to top medal table, Canada to win 6 gold at Beijing Games
Norwegians tipped to win 44 medals; Canada to fall behind U.S. in podium finishes
Norway will top the medal table for a second successive Winter Olympics with Germany in second place, according to final projections by Nielsen's Gracenote ahead of the Beijing Games.
The Norwegians, who won 14 gold and a record 39 medals in Pyeongchang four years ago, are forecast to raise the tally to 21 gold and 44 overall.
The key to Norway's dominance will be its performance in cross-country skiing and biathlon, with 28 of the medals forecast in those sports.
Germany and the Russian Olympic Committee are predicted to take home 30 medals each, but with 11 gold to the ROC's 10, the Germans are in line to repeat their second-place finish in Pyeongchang.
The United States is predicted to finish fourth in the table with seven gold, down from nine in 2018, but that would be enough to reassert its ascendancy over Canada.
Canada won 11 events in Pyeongchang, finishing above its North American neighbour but are forecast to drop from third to fifth with six gold in Beijing. Gracenote predicts Canada to finish with 22 medals, and six gold, the lowest medal tally since Salt Lake City 2002.
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Gracenote uses data from Olympics, world championships and World Cups to feed a statistical model that forecasts the most likely gold, silver and bronze medallist in each event.
Host China is predicted to finish in 12th place with six gold and 13 medals overall, which would be their most successful Winter Olympics.
Japan is also expected to better its previous record of 13 medals with 19 while South Korea could take home only seven medals, down from 17 in Pyeongchang.
Gracenote said, however, medal estimates for Asian countries may be lower due to the inactivity of athletes in many sports during the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Beijing Games run from Feb. 4-20.
With files from CBC Sports
