Winter Olympic Dreams and Foreign Friends

To win glory at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, China commissioned 100 Norwegian winter sports coaches and support staff to train 200 Chinese athletes. Norway hoped to strengthen the global status of ski sports by nurturing Chinese elite contestants. Despite compatible motivations and good athlete–coach relationships, the program had limited success in terms of enhancing Chinese winter sports coaching methods. However, the exchange was symbolically important to China as proof of foreign friendship and commitment to Olympic ideals.