ABSTRACT
In 1933, Dano-Norwegian author Axel Sandemose wrote A Fugitive Crosses His Tracks where he introduced the “Law of Jante” (Janteloven). The first rule of this literary construct is “you’re not to think you are anything special” and, in short, the ten rules reflect dominant social attitudes which may limit the opportunities for individual success in the Scandinavian countries. The mentality don’t think that you are any better than us is combined in Norway with an egalitarian nature and social democratic ideals.1 In 2009, the President of the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports (NIF) tried to challenge this dominant culture when she publicly stated that the best athletes may become victims of the Law of Jante in Norway (A. Andersen, 2009). According to her, you are at risk of being bullied if you stand out as exceptional and talented, and this creates a challenge for coaches, managers and naturally parents in addition to athletes. Successful athletes also address this concept on occasions, such as Gunn Rita Dahle Flesjaa, a successful female mountain biker, who contrasted the Norwegian talent development system with that found in the United States where “they use the best as role models. Being [the] best in Norway could be an obstacle to talent development, as the best is often unnoticed rather than emphasized” (quoted in A. Andersen, 2009, 9).
