Editing Norway (section)

=== Sports ===
{{Update|section|date=March 2025|reason=Lacks info on handball from the late 2010's onward and track and field}}
{{See also|List of Norwegian sport governing bodies|Football in Norway}}
[[File:Marit Bjørgen Holmenkollen 2011 001.jpg|thumb|Skier [[Marit Bjørgen]] from Norway is the [[List of multiple Winter Olympic medallists|most successful Winter Olympian]] of all time, with 15 medals]]

Sports are a central part of Norwegian culture, and popular sports include [[cross-country skiing (sport)|cross-country skiing]], [[ski jumping]], [[mountaineering]], [[hiking]], association football, [[handball]], [[biathlon]], [[Long track speed skating|speed skating]], and, to a lesser degree, [[ice hockey]].

Norway is known internationally for its role in the development of modern winter sports, particularly skiing. From the 19th century Norway also became a premier [[mountaineering]] destination, with books such as [[William Cecil Slingsby]]'s ''[[Norway, the Northern Playground]]'' contributing to the country's popularity among early mountain climbers.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Neate |first1=Jill |title=Mountaineering Literature |date=1986 |publisher=The Mountaineers Books |isbn=0938567047 |page=145}}</ref>

Association football is the most popular sport in Norway in terms of active membership. In 2014–2015 polling, football ranked far behind [[biathlon]] and [[cross-country skiing (sport)|cross-country skiing]] in terms of popularity as spectator sports.<ref name=Spopop>{{cite news|url=http://www.dagbladet.no/2015/04/10/sport/langrenn/fotball/norsk_idrett/petter_northug/38629571/|title=Knock-out fra Northug & co.|newspaper=[[Dagbladet]]|date=22 June 2015|access-date=22 June 2015|archive-date=22 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150622201025/http://www.dagbladet.no/2015/04/10/sport/langrenn/fotball/norsk_idrett/petter_northug/38629571/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Ice hockey]] is the biggest indoor sport.<ref name=NorHall>{{cite web|url=https://www.nrk.no/trondelag/stor-interesse-for-ishockey-1.10984731|title=Stor interesse for ishockey|publisher=[[NRK]]|date=13 April 2013|access-date=11 June 2016|archive-date=18 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818013912/https://www.nrk.no/trondelag/stor-interesse-for-ishockey-1.10984731|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Norway women's national handball team|women's handball national team]] has won several titles, including two [[Summer Olympics]] championships ([[Handball at the 2008 Summer Olympics|2008]], [[Handball at the 2012 Summer Olympics|2012]]), three [[World Women's Handball Championship|World Championships]] ([[1999 World Women's Handball Championship|1999]], [[2011 World Women's Handball Championship|2011]], [[2015 World Women's Handball Championship|2015]]), and six [[European Women's Handball Championship|European Championship]] ([[1998 European Women's Handball Championship|1998]], [[2004 European Women's Handball Championship|2004]], [[2006 European Women's Handball Championship|2006]], [[2008 European Women's Handball Championship|2008]], [[2010 European Women's Handball Championship|2010]], [[2014 European Women's Handball Championship|2014]]).

In association football, the [[Norway women's national football team|women's national team]] has won the [[FIFA Women's World Cup]] in [[1995 FIFA Women's World Cup|1995]] and the [[Football at the Olympics|Olympic Football Tournament]] in [[Football at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament|2000]]. The women's team also has two [[UEFA European Women's Championship]] titles ([[1987 European Competition for Women's Football|1987]], [[UEFA Women's Euro 1993|1993]]). The [[Norway national football team|men's national football team]] has participated three times in the [[FIFA World Cup]] ([[1938 FIFA World Cup|1938]], [[1994 FIFA World Cup|1994]], and [[1998 FIFA World Cup|1998]]), and once in the [[UEFA European Football Championship|European Championship]] ([[UEFA Euro 2000|2000]]). The highest FIFA ranking Norway has achieved is second, a position it has held twice, in 1993 and in 1995.<ref name=NorRank>{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/associations/association=nor/men/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219142916/http://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/associations/association=nor/men/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 February 2015|title=FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking|publisher=[[FIFA]]|date=22 June 2015|access-date=22 June 2015}}</ref>

Norwegian players in the [[National Football League]] include [[Halvor Hagen]], [[Bill Irgens]], [[Leif Olve Dolonen Larsen]], [[Mike Mock]], and [[Jan Stenerud]].<ref>Grasso, John (2013). ''Historical Dictionary of Football''. Scarecrow Press.  490 pp. {{ISBN|978-0810878570}}.</ref>

[[Bandy]] is a traditional sport in Norway and the country is one of the four founders of [[Federation of International Bandy]]. In terms of licensed athletes, it is the second biggest winter sport in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldbandy.com/newspost_7640.html|title=Bandy destined for the Olympic Winter Games!|access-date=4 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017132109/http://www.worldbandy.com/newspost_7640.html|archive-date=17 October 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> As of January 2018, [[Norway national bandy team|the men's national team]] has captured one silver and one bronze, while [[Norway women's national bandy team|the women's national team]] has managed five bronzes at [[Bandy#Overview of international competitions|the World Championships]].

Norway first participated at the [[Olympic Games]] in 1900, and has sent athletes to compete in every Games since then, except for the sparsely attended [[1904 Summer Olympics|1904 Games]] and the [[1980 Summer Olympics]] in Moscow when they participated in the [[1980 Summer Olympics boycott|American-led boycott]]. Norway leads [[All-time Olympic Games medal table|the overall medal tables]] at the [[Winter Olympic Games]] by a considerable margin. Norway has hosted the Games on two occasions:

* [[1952 Winter Olympics]] in Oslo
* [[1994 Winter Olympics]] in [[Lillehammer]]

It also hosted the [[2016 Winter Youth Olympics]] in Lillehammer, making Norway the first country to host both Winter regular and Youth Olympics.

Norway featured a women's national team in [[beach volleyball]] that competed at the [[2018–2020 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Continental Cup Finals start in Africa |url=https://www.fivb.com/en/about/news/continental-cup-finals-start-in-africa?id=94414 |access-date=7 August 2021 |work=[[FIVB]] |date=22 June 2021 |archive-date=7 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210807141038/https://www.fivb.com/en/about/news/continental-cup-finals-start-in-africa?id=94414 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Chess]] has gained huge popularity in Norway. [[Magnus Carlsen]], a Norwegian, was the [[World Chess Championship|world chess champion]] between 2013 and 2023.<ref name=MagCham>{{cite web|url=http://www.nrk.no/sport/carlsen-er-verdensmester_-_-jeg-er-lykkelig-og-lettet-1.12060026|title=Carlsen er verdensmester – Jeg er lykkelig og lettet|publisher=[[NRK]]|date=22 June 2015|access-date=22 June 2015|archive-date=16 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016014806/http://www.nrk.no/sport/carlsen-er-verdensmester_-_-jeg-er-lykkelig-og-lettet-1.12060026|url-status=live}}</ref> Many of the biggest chess tournaments are broadcast live on national television, with the [[World Rapid Chess Championship|World Rapid]] and [[World Blitz Chess Championship|Blitz Chess Championships]] airing on the country's biggest television channel [[NRK1]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nrk.no/sport/slik-blir-sjakk-vm-pa-nrk-1.17183434|title=Slik blir sjakk-VM på NRK|date=26 December 2024|accessdate=13 March 2025|lang=nb|publisher=[[NRK]]}}</ref>