Johannes Dale-Skjevdal won gold in the men’s biathlon mass start event Friday at the Milan Cortina Games. With that gold medal, Norway broke the record for most gold medals at a single Winter Olympics with 17.
“It’s quite a good ending to my first Olympics, and it is also my first time shooting 20 out of 20 [targets during the race],” Dale-Skjevdal said afterward. “What a day to do it on. It’s real, and I can’t find the words, but it’s just amazing, of course.”
Norway set its previous record set in 2022 with 16 gold medals.
The Scandinavian nation have been a juggernaut at the Winter Games, winning the most gold medals at every Winter Olympics dating back to Vancouver 2010 (in 2018, they were tied with Germany with 14 gold medals). Norway sits atop the all-time Winter Olympic medal count — and also has the most gold, silver and bronze medals — as the country of just 5.6 million people continues to punch above its weight.
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo has played a major role in Norway’s record-breaking Olympic campaigns. He won two of Norway's 16 gold medals in 2022 when the previous record was set. At the Milan Cortina Games, he has five of the country's 17 gold medals. He's now the all-time leader with 10 career Winter Olympic gold medals.
Norway is not done. Klaebo is the overwhelming favorite to win gold in the men’s 50km mass start on Saturday as he aims to complete a clean sweep at these Games, and Norway has medal contenders in other events that are still to come.
At the end of Friday, Norway currently sits atop the total medal count with 37 medals, nine more than 2nd-place United States. Norway also has eight more gold medals than the U.S.
Norway’s gold medals by sport at Milan Cortina 2026
- Cross-country skiing — 6 gold
- Biathlon — 3 gold
- Nordic combined — 3 gold
- Freestyle skiing — 2 gold
- Ski jumping — 2 gold
- Speed skating — 1 gold