What is the number of the coin

Vancouver, British Columbia

For the second straight Olympics, the Wall Street Journal's method of handicapping the medal table produced some strong results - and a few that were less than glowing.

Biathlete Magdalena Neuner Agence France-Presse/Getty Images helped meet Germany our lofty prediction. Closed Winter Olympics in Vancouver with a spectacular finale of fireworks and a star-studded celebration on Sunday. Video courtesy of Getty Images.

Show the results on three conclusions about the games: the US had a major breakthrough, the Austrian ski team may be in serious trouble and more Canadian for the lousy weather as the Canadians suffered no one.

We start with the good calls we made. The journal's prediction 10 gold medals for the United States was just one more result. Germany won 10 guilders and 30 medals in total, which was almost identical to our forecast of 10 and 29. Canada's haul of 14 guilders which divided broke the games record of 13 Norway and the Soviet Union, was a surprise to many, but it was only two medals more than our model had expected.

The journal's predictions that were compiled medal by assigning probabilities to candidates in each event and with you to bring you showed computer simulations of the games Norway won seven golds and 21 overall (won nine and 23). It had China and Korea two award-winning five guilders (China won five and six Korea). We have three golds unwinnable Netherlands and eight medals overall (won four golds and eight total).

The more instructive results were that we got wrong. We saw never France won 11 medals (the model had five), but their biathletes was great. Who is responsible for the training team deserves the Legion of honour.

We remain with the Austrian ski team to show some alarming signs of weakness chose angry these games. We thought the way would the legendary Austrian skiers, six golds and 19 total medals for your country, but you basically don't show up at Whistler. Only four medals, only a gold collected from you, in which long the country's national sport has applied.

Associated press, the poor Alpine skier Manuel Osborne-Paradis as for the Canadian team.

We were not surprised that Canada and the United States, 63 to win medals overall cleaned up. In fact, we thought that you would win 70. But we had the parts back: the journal had Canada win a winter games record 37 medals, rather than the U.S. team, which actually did.

The U.S. surge came "traditional" Olympic sports such as ski largely from breakout performances in several Alpine, where a surprising eight medals won the United States. And picked up in the Nordic combined, the United States, three silver and gold largely by three athletes developed for the better part of the last 15 years - Bill Demong, Johnny Spillane and Todd Lodwick. At the end of the combination of granular snow helped cook home continent and have the familiar time zone and the podium American climate. "We here are only really convenient," said Andrew female law that U.S. won cross country skier and the bronze medal in men's Super-g.

As for the Canadians who come we stay too short fault with one of the major topics of the Vancouver games by the weather. The Canadians of that type of extra practice returned to the home/freestyle skiing and usually gets a home team snowboarding courses could off with little snow at Cypress Mountain in December and January.

It's always tempting to see the results and some to make ambitious declarations on the future. This time the question seems, 2010 heralds a new era of North American dominance in the Olympic Games.

OLYMPIC deployment console: click the interactive data from Olympic Nationen--average amount of alcohol consumed by the number of McDonald's-restaurants in their countries have shown.

History teaches us something larger might work. Through the cold war came to dominate Soviet Union and the German Democratic Republic to the games. But since the collapse of the Berlin wall, North America has gaining ground in Europe, with a slight hiccup in 1998 in Nagano, Japan was steadily.

In Calgary, the last Soviet era play, the United States in 1988 two guilders and a total of six medals tied for eighth place in total medals won no guilders and five, while Canada total captured and tied for 10th. Sweden Norway Finland, Austria, Netherlands all finished higher, despite their enormous size disadvantages. 2006, The U.S. totals had nine and 25, climbed (square) and Canada were up to seven and 24, (square).

Not surprisingly, not Europeans see it, in this way.

The idea is Luciano Barra, the former Turin Olympic Executive and a known medals prognosticator, buy. "Were the games in North America," he said. "Don't forget the snow condition and other elements in favour of Europe were."

Jacques Rogge, President of the international of Olympic Committee saw no trend of developing either. "Have the same countries, are the powerhouses of winter sports," he said Sunday, finding the USA Canada, Germany Norway well had happened.

"The games around this very strong Nations develop," he added. "There are always ups and deep." It is clear that Russia is not very satisfied with their performance. It's not like in Athens, where we saw the rise of Asia. But I see a big trend here as a change. "It's confirmed what previously happened."

Write toMatthew Futterman on matthew.futterman@wsj.com

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