I am a Kiwi and we look back to an Olympics in the last thirty years where we whacked Australia in the medal count.
This is unthinkable now. Whatever they put in the water since amassing only a couple of bronzes on that occasion has seen them get very bloody tallented.

I think that spotting tallent and fostering it also has a huge import and this may be the case for the Norwegian experience.

Perhaps the "try hard" sailors that only hit the middle of the fleet need strong mentoring from the top of the tallent base rather than just putting in hard work. A fellow on top gear was told by the Stig that while Ellen MacArther listened and followed his tuition that he did not. This man practiced all morning. She went fastest and he was the slowest ever. Wanting to win and working hard in your own paradigm can not make much gain if you cannot see the truth outside your own experience.