The Winter Olympics have concluded for the one and only time in 2026. This year’s venue was Milano Cortina, where the Olympics took place all around Lombardy and Northeast Italy. The Winter Olympics have been a recurring ceremony for the past 102 years, with the first Winter Olympics occurring in Chamonix, France, in 1924. 250 athletes came together in 1924, competing in 16 events. Now there are over 2000 athletes competing from all around the world in 2026. Kendall Achziger, a Spanish teacher at Eaton High School, said, “It’s great to have a place where all the countries in the world can come together in a positive way.”
With 20 countries from all around the world taking at least one gold and multiple taking home other medals, here are the top three.
The country that got first was Norway, taking home 18 golds, 12 silvers and 11 bronze medals, totaling 41 medals.They took seven golds, two silvers and five bronze in cross-country skiing, taking 14 of their 41 total medals in just one event. Then, they took three gold, five silver and three bronze in the biathlon, which has become a very popular sport across the Olympics. The biathlon medals added another 11 medals to their 41 medal total.
In second place was the United States, who took home 12 golds, 12 silvers and nine bronze medals, totaling 33 medals. They took three golds, four silvers and 1 bronze in freestyle skiing, earning eight of the total 33 medals. Then, they took at least one gold, silver and bronze in speed skating and alpine skiing. One of the biggest events was their double gold in ice hockey, where both the mens’ and womens’ teams won against Canada.
Cathy Gaber, a teacher at Eaton High School, said, “I have always liked the Olympics and it’s a good time to watch the pros do what they do.” Many Americans woke up at 5 a.m. to watch the hockey finals. Gaber said, “I was in Vegas and got up to watch it, and watched anytime I was on plan.” Gaber expressed that she likes watching the Olympics in general, but hockey is her favorite event to experience. She said,, “I loved watching the women play and the dominance that they [showed] I loved watching the guys play. I loved watching Jack Hughes getting his tooth knocked out.”
Connor Hellebuyck, the men’s team’s goalie, earned a lot of hype throughout the Olympics. He blocked 41 out of 42 goals, which is 95.6 % of shots blocked. According to the New York Post’s article, Trump announces USA goalie Connor Hellebuyck will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom during State of the Union 2026.
The country coming in third place was the Netherlands, who actually only scored in two events, scoring 20 total medals. They scored 10 golds, seven silvers and three bronzes among all events. In speed skating, the Netherlands scored five gold, six silvers and two bronze, earning 13 of their 20 medals. The second event was short track, in which they scored five golds, one silver and one bronze, earning their last seven medals to get their 20 medals and place third among all countries.
After an impressive performance from all countries and athletes, it will be interesting to see if the podium changes in 2030 during the next Winter Olympics.
