The Winter Olympics gold medal standings changed dramatically overnight! Norway remains first, Japan rises to third, and the United States drops below China by 12 places.

By the end of the third day of the Milan Winter Olympics on February 10th Beijing time, it was a wild night as all five gold medals were distributed among four nations. Switzerland was the standout, winning two golds in one day, while Japan, Germany, and the Netherlands each took one. This reshaped the medal table overnight: Norway stayed atop with three golds, Switzerland climbed to second with three golds, Japan moved up to third with two golds, Germany took fourth with two golds, the USA dropped to fifth with two golds, and China remained 12th without a gold medal.

The Swiss team is highly competitive in snow and ice sports. They won the first gold medal of the Games on day one, had no golds on day two, but exploded on day three by capturing two gold medals: one in women’s freestyle skiing slopestyle and another in men’s alpine skiing team combined. The freestyle skiing slopestyle gold was especially impressive, as it involved defeating China’s defending champion. With three golds, Switzerland surged to second place, tied with Norway but ranked behind due to fewer bronze medals.

Japan secured its first gold on day one, earned none on day two, but struck again on day three with a gold in women’s snowboard big air, winning decisively. This propelled Japan back into the top three, trailing only Norway and Switzerland, and making it the leading Asian country in the standings.

Germany won one gold on day two and capitalized on momentum by adding another gold on day three in men’s ski jumping individual large hill. With two gold medals, Germany climbed to fourth place. The German team still has strong medal prospects in luge and skeleton events.

The Netherlands had no gold medals on the first two days but burst onto the scene on day three by winning two medals in women’s 1000m speed skating, sweeping gold and silver while both skaters broke Olympic records. This marked the Netherlands’ first gold of the Games and secured their place on the medal table.

China earned a valuable silver medal on day three in women’s freestyle skiing slopestyle, won by Eileen Gu who narrowly lost to the defending Swiss champion. Since this event is not Gu’s strongest, winning silver is an excellent achievement, and expectations should be tempered accordingly.

Although Norway did not win any gold medals on day three, their total of three golds kept them ahead of Switzerland at the top of the leaderboard, marking the third consecutive day they have held first place since the Games began. The United States earned no golds on day three and dropped to fifth place. After three days, the Chinese team has won one silver and one bronze but still awaits their first gold, ranking 12th. At least five countries have won two or more golds, eleven countries have won at least one gold, and eighteen countries have earned medals overall.

Written by / Sports Fiction