Milan Winter Olympics Medal Table: Japan Leads, Five Teams Win Gold, China Seventh, Su Yiming Takes Bronze

On February 8 Beijing time, the first competition day of the Milan Winter Olympics finished, with many events running in an orderly fashion. Five gold medals were distributed and captured by five teams, reflecting a broad spread of victories. The host nation Italy, Japan, and Norway all secured 1 gold, 1 silver, and 1 bronze, tying for first place. Sweden ranked fourth with 1 gold and 1 silver, Switzerland fifth with 1 gold, Slovenia sixth, and China shared seventh place with Canada, both having 1 bronze!

The first competition day saw five gold medals awarded. The inaugural gold of the Games was in the men’s alpine skiing downhill event, which was fiercely contested with very narrow margins, a true battle among top athletes. Ultimately, Swiss star Feuz emerged victorious, breaking through the Italian pair to claim gold with a time of 1 minute 51.61 seconds. The two Italians took silver and bronze respectively!

The second gold came from the women’s 10km + 10km skiathlon cross-country skiing event, a contest mainly between Sweden and Norway. Initially, one Norwegian and two Swedish skiers led the race, but as it progressed, the two Swedish athletes pulled ahead of the Norwegian. In the final moments, Swedish skier Karlsson demonstrated remarkable strength and endurance, breaking away from her teammate to lead solo and ultimately winning gold with a time of 53 minutes 45.02 seconds. Silver also went to Sweden, while the bronze was claimed by a Norwegian athlete!

The third gold was won in the women’s 3000m speed skating final, where host nation Italy’s star Lollobrigida delivered a stunning performance. She accelerated powerfully in the final stretch, leaving competitors behind to win gold with an Olympic record time of 3 minutes 54.28 seconds, surpassing athletes from Norway and Canada. This marked Italy’s first gold of the Games and was an incredibly dominant display!

The fourth gold was awarded in the women’s normal hill ski jumping final. Norwegian jumper Strøm executed flawless techniques throughout and performed superbly, outshining competitors from Slovenia and Japan to secure gold. This was Norway’s first gold medal of the Games, signaling their strong start and intent to defend their top spot on the medal table!

The fifth gold came from the men’s snowboard big air final, a highly competitive event where anyone had a chance to win depending on their performance on the day. Two Japanese athletes delivered perfect runs to claim gold and silver. Defending champion Su Yiming had some minor mistakes in his three runs, touching the snow twice, and ultimately earned bronze with 168.5 points. This bronze medal was also China’s first medal of this Winter Olympics!

Written by / Sports Novel