Winter Olympics Gold Medal Standings Shakeup: Norway Secures First Place, Netherlands Climbs to Third, China Adds a Bronze

On February 22nd Beijing time, the 15th day of competition at the Milan Winter Olympics ended, with 9 gold medals distributed among 7 countries. France and the Netherlands both won 2 golds each, while Norway, the U.S., Italy, Canada, and Germany each earned 1 gold. This led to a significant reshuffle in the gold medal leaderboard: Norway’s 18 gold medals set new records and secure first place, the U.S. stays second, the Netherlands surpassed Italy to claim third, Italy dropped to fourth, France rose to fifth, Germany stands seventh, and China remains in 12th place!

Norway’s gold medal performance at this event has been exceptionally strong, winning medals nearly every day. On this competition day, they captured the men’s 50km cross-country skiing mass start gold, marking their 18th gold of the games. Star athlete Klæbo claimed victory with a powerful final sprint, making him undefeated in all six events he entered at these Olympics, earning him the title of Winter Olympics legend. He now holds 11 Olympic golds, the most in Winter Olympic history. Meanwhile, Norway continues to make history by setting a new record for most gold medals won by a single country at one Winter Olympics, securing first place well ahead of others and successfully defending their title!

The U.S. enjoyed a surprise triumph on this day by defeating China to win the freestyle skiing aerials mixed team gold, marking their 11th gold medal of the games. They upset the team composed of two Olympic champions, Xu Mengtao and Wang Xindi, along with Li Tianma, to successfully defend their title and essentially lock in second place overall!

The Netherlands achieved a double gold haul on this day in their specialty, speed skating, winning gold in both the men’s and women’s mass start events. Their gold medal count surpassed 10, completing a perfect set of medals with 10 golds coming equally from short track and long track speed skating. It’s clear that the Netherlands has overtaken China and South Korea to become the dominant force in ice sports!

Host nation Italy won one gold in the men’s freestyle skiing ski cross event, bringing their total to 10 golds for these games, also achieving a perfect set. However, their ranking dropped one spot to fourth as they were overtaken by the U.S. and the Netherlands.

France, the host for the next Winter Olympics, had a big day with two gold medals from ski mountaineering mixed relay and the women’s 12.5km biathlon mass start. Their total gold count rose to 8, climbing directly to fourth place. Germany added another gold in their traditional strength, the women’s two-person bobsleigh, reaching 7 golds and moving up to fifth place. Canada earned a significant gold in mixed doubles curling, their fifth gold of the games, but remained in 11th place, closely trailing Japan and applying pressure!

The Chinese delegation added a bronze medal in the freestyle skiing aerials mixed team event. Unfortunately, a tactical error led to mistakes by Wang Xindi and Li Tianma, causing them to lose gold to the U.S. and missing the chance to surpass Japan as Asia’s top nation, which was very disappointing!

Written by / Sports Novel