Look for Norway to top medal table again at Winter Olympics

By STEPHEN WADE
AP Sports Writer

Norway is expected to top the medal table with 22 gold medals and 45 overall when the Beijing Winter Olympics open in 30 days. Norway also topped the standings four years ago in South Korea. This is the forecast from US-based Gracenote Sports, which analyzes recent results to predict the medal totals. The team representing the Russian Olympic Committee is expected to finish second and predictions have Germany in third. Seven countries are grouped very closely behind the leaders. Gracenote has the Untied States in fourth place winning seven gold medals and 22 overall. Next up is Canada followed by Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Austria, and France to round out the top 10.