Norway did what Norway does this month in Italy. On the strength of Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo's historic 6-for-6 gold medal sweep of his cross-county events, the winter sports powerhouse claimed the most total medals (41) and the most gold medals (18) at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics.
The United States put forth a courageous effort to earn 33 total medals, second-most in the world, along with the second-most gold medals (12). It's the best Winter Olympics for the United States since 1952 in Oslo, Norway — the last time the U.S. held sole position of 2nd place in both total medals and gold medals. The 12 golds won by the U.S. mark the most the nation has ever won at a Winter Olympics, breaking the record of 10 U.S. golds won in 2002 in Salt Lake City.
The Italian hosts enjoyed delicious home cooking as they saw their nation's best results in a Winter Olympics with the third-most medals (30) and golds (10) in the world. Four countries won at least 10 gold medals with the Netherlands — on 13 golds in speed skating and seven in short track — joining Norway, the United States and Italy.
Germany finished 3rd with 26 medals and eight golds by dominating the sliding sports (eight medals in bobsled, six in skeleton, five in luge). And Japan rounded out the top five with 24 medals thanks to nine in snowboarding and six in figure skating.
Norway has now won the most medals in each of the last three Winter Olympics, and the most gold medals in the last four Winter Olympics. It's the first time in 20 years that a nation has led the total medal count at three consecutive Winter Olympic Games. (Germany was the last nation to do so in 1998, 2002 and 2006.)
The United States will return home with the most hardware in the nation's Winter Olympic history. This year, Team USA demonstrated great breadth of competitive excellence, earning medals in 11 of 16 winter sports. (The five sports in which the U.S. did not earn a medal: biathlon, Nordic combined, skeleton, ski jumping and ski mountaineering.)
Six Americans earned multiple medals at the Milan Cortina Olympics, with speed skating phenom Jordan Stolz leading the way for the U.S.
- Jordan Stolz (3): Gold in men’s speed skating 500m and 1000m, silver in men’s speed skating 1500m
- Madison Chock and Evan Bates (2): Silver in ice dance, gold in figure skating team event
- Kaillie Humphries (2): Bronze in monobob, bronze in two-woman bobsled
- Jaelin Kauf (2): Silver in women’s moguls, silver in women’s dual moguls
- Liz Lemley (2): Gold in women’s moguls, bronze in women’s dual moguls
- Alysa Liu (2): Gold in figure skating team event, gold in women’s figure skating singles
- Ben Ogden (2): Silver in cross-country skiing men’s sprint classic and men’s team sprint free
The hockey tournament was electric. On the women's side, the latest edition of the heated rivalry between the U.S. and Canada delivered at every stage. Hilary Knight scored her record-breaking goal in the gold medal game and Laila Edwards became the first Black woman to skate for the United States in the Olympics ... and also to score a goal ... and also to earn all-tournament honors. On the men's side, the return of NHL players for the first time since 2014 ensured fast-paced, edge-of-your-seats action, culminating in Jack Hughes' golden exclamation point and another USA-Canada clash for the ages.
And the curling tournament swept the nation, as it tends to do every four years. Cory Thiesse was a breakout star for the United States, earning the first curling medal by an American woman.
Around the world, three nations not known for their prowess at the Winter Olympics won historic gold medals at the Milan Cortina Games. Brazilian Alpine skier Lucas Pinheiro Braathen won gold in the giant slalom, the first gold medal at the Winter Olympics for any country in South America. Mikhail Shaidorov became Kazakhstan's first Olympic champion in figure skating, winning the nation's second gold medal ever. And, in the inaugural Olympic running of ski mountaineering, Spaniard Oriol Cardona Coll snapped a 54-year freeze on gold at the Winter Olympics for his nation.
In all, over 700 medals were awarded to Earth's top winter athletes over the last several weeks in Italy. From the moment the cauldron is extinguished on Sunday, competitors, fans and dreamers all over the world will have time to reflect on an incredible Olympics. Reflect, and prepare: The Winter Olympics return in the French Alps in exactly 3 years, 11 months and 10 days.