ELI5 Norway's Olympics - how tiny Norway conquered the Winter Olympics

How did a country with only 5.7 million people beat much larger countries in Winter Olympic medals? Why does Norway ban competitive scoring and league standings for children under the age of twelve? How can not caring about winning at a young age actually create more world-class Olympic champions? Is it true that people in Norway actually use skiing as a primary way to get around?

... we explain like I'm five

Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: nudave, ritterbruder2, rap and theathletichq

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