Winter Olympics: Here are different ways to look at the final medals tally
Norway dominated the 2026 Winter Olympics, setting a record with 18 gold medals. Even though it has fewer people than Colorado, it won more total medals than any other country.
But it didn’t win the medal count every way you look at it. Although Norway won the most events on snow, it won only one event on an ice rink. And when judges were involved, such as in halfpipe snowboarding or figure skating, Japan was on top.
Norway placed third when counting only women’s events, perhaps giving it room to grow in the next Winter Games.
The standard way to track medals is to count each event as awarding a single gold, silver and bronze medal. Counting that way doesn’t reward large team efforts like hockey in the official medal count, while other sports allow a single athlete to rack up medals in multiple events.
Cross-country skier Johannes Klaebo of Norway won six gold medals, including two in team events, but 48 hockey players from the United States received gold medals for just two events. If we count the number of athletes who received at least one medal, the US, Canada and Switzerland do very well.
Competing in the Winter Games is a challenge for many countries closer to the equator. More than 100 nations fall entirely between 45 degrees north and 45 degrees south latitude, and Norway won more medals than all of them combined. Brazil is the country closest to the equator to win a medal in these Games.
But it didn’t win the medal count every way you look at it. Although Norway won the most events on snow, it won only one event on an ice rink. And when judges were involved, such as in halfpipe snowboarding or figure skating, Japan was on top.
Norway placed third when counting only women’s events, perhaps giving it room to grow in the next Winter Games.
The standard way to track medals is to count each event as awarding a single gold, silver and bronze medal. Counting that way doesn’t reward large team efforts like hockey in the official medal count, while other sports allow a single athlete to rack up medals in multiple events.
Cross-country skier Johannes Klaebo of Norway won six gold medals, including two in team events, but 48 hockey players from the United States received gold medals for just two events. If we count the number of athletes who received at least one medal, the US, Canada and Switzerland do very well.
Competing in the Winter Games is a challenge for many countries closer to the equator. More than 100 nations fall entirely between 45 degrees north and 45 degrees south latitude, and Norway won more medals than all of them combined. Brazil is the country closest to the equator to win a medal in these Games.
Next Story