Havana, February 22 (RHC) – The XXV Winter Olympic Games of Milan-Cortina 2026 concluded today with Norway comfortably leading the medal table thanks to a record 18 gold medals, their fourth consecutive victory in events under the five rings.
The Scandinavian nation also added 12 silver and 11 bronze medals for a total of 41, a number never before achieved by a country in ice and snow sports. They were followed in the medal standings by the United States (12-12-9, 33), the Netherlands (10-7-3, 20), Italy (10-6-14, 30), Germany (8-10-8, 26), and France (8-9-6, 23), who also set records for gold medals.
Cross-country skiing was Norway’s flagship sport with seven gold medals, six of which were won by the legendary Johannes Klaebo, a feat never before accomplished in the Winter Olympics.
Klaebo surpassed the performance of American figure skater Eric Heiden at Lake Placid 1980, where the American reached the top of the podium five times, and extended his record to 11 Olympic gold medals, having won three in Pyeongchang 2018 and two in Beijing 2022.
Norway skiers also claimed three gold medals in biathlon and Nordic combined, two in freestyle skiing, and two in ski jumping.
The only gold medal not on skis was won by Eitrem Sander in the 5,000 meters.
Meanwhile, the United States shone in ice hockey, defeating archrival Canada for gold in both the men’s and women’s events, and in freestyle skiing with three gold medals. They also added two golds each in alpine skiing, figure skating, and speed skating, the latter thanks to Jordan Stolz’s double victory.
The Netherlands, third in the medal standings, won all 10 of its titles in speed skating, while host nation Italy made a huge leap up the leaderboard, from two golds four years ago in Beijing to ten on home soil, propelled by speed skating, luge, and alpine skiing.
As for Germany, its driving forces were unsurprisingly bobsleigh and luge, with three golds in each discipline, and France secured six of its eight crowns in biathlon.
While Klaebo finished as the undisputed king of Milan-Cortina 2026 with his six historic titles, the title of queen belonged to French biathlete Julia Simon, the only woman with three.
For Latin America, the standout was Brazilian skier Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, whose gold in the super-G slalom gave the region its first medal at the Winter Olympic Games after nearly a century of participation.
