Long-term development culture for sustainable Olympic success: Lessons learned from Norwegian cross-country skiing

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Background Popular media often speculates about a “secret” or innovative Norwegian method associated with Norway’s sustained success in winter sport. However, these explanations overlook the system design and holistic training culture that underpin long-term performance development. This commentary aims to describe system design, training practices, and cultural aspects that have shaped the development of world-class cross-country skiers in Norway, using Johannes Høstflot Klæbo’s progression from being a decent youth skier to becoming the most decorated winter Olympian as a case example. Conclusions In this commentary, we use cross-country skiing as an example to outline how the Norwegian system postpones talent selection and specialization, prioritizes systematic coach education, and places athlete health at the center of a comprehensive, long-term development approach. The well-defined yet adaptable talent pathway is grounded in scientific evidence and allows individual progression in training, physiological adaptation, and technical development. The outcome is a system that creates conditions for a virtuous cycle: widespread youth participation and scientifically informed development principles produce a deep pool of resilient talents that, given time and skilled guidance, may unlock their athletic potential. A good example of this is Johannes Høstflot Klæbo’s rise from being an unremarkable youth skier to becoming a record-breaking winter Olympian. Rather than offering a universal “Norwegian model”, we present principles that may inform system design in other sports contexts.