Australia Claims Spot on Winter Olympics Medal Tally with Moguls Gold
The Australian Winter Olympics campaign has officially landed on the medal tally, thanks to a spectacular gold medal performance by Cooper Woods in the men’s moguls. This triumphant win catapults Australia into 14th position on the official standings for the Milano Cortina 2026 Games, surpassing traditionally strong winter sports nations like Canada and China, at least in terms of gold medals. While both Canada and China boast more overall medals, with seven and four respectively, they are still chasing their first gold of the competition, leaving them trailing the Aussies for now.
The Games have now seen six days of intense competition, and the leaderboard is starting to take shape. Here’s a snapshot of how the nations are performing:
The Top Contenders: A Look at the Medal Tally
Norway — 7 gold, 2 silver, 5 bronze
Norway’s dominance continues across a variety of disciplines. They’ve secured multiple medals in cross-country skiing, with five podium finishes including two golds. Speed skating has also seen Norwegian success with one medal of each colour. Ski jumping has contributed a gold and a silver, while biathlon has yielded a gold and a bronze. Adding to their impressive haul, Birk Ruud and Jens Luraas Oftebro clinched gold medals in slopestyle skiing and nordic combined, respectively.Italy — 6 gold, 3 silver, 8 bronze
As the host nation, Italy is showcasing its strength with the highest number of total medals so far. Their six gold medals are spread across several exciting events, including women’s super-G alpine skiing, men’s and women’s doubles luge, and the fast-paced short-track speed skating mixed team relay. Francesca Lollobrigida has been a standout performer, securing both the women’s 3,000m and 5,000m speed skating golds.USA — 4 gold, 7 silver, 3 bronze
The United States has demonstrated its all-around winter sports prowess. A significant gold medal was secured in women’s downhill skiing, where Breezy Johnson and Liz Lemley capitalised on an opportunity to claim victory. The Americans also showcased their exceptional skating talent with a gold in the team event figure skating, and Jordan Stolz added another gold in the men’s 1,000m speed skating. Their impressive collection of ten minor medals in events ranging from moguls and slopestyle to curling and snowboard halfpipe keeps them firmly in contention.Germany — 4 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze
Germany has proven particularly dominant in luge, securing an impressive five medals in the discipline. This includes gold in both the men’s and women’s singles, as well as the team relay. They also earned silver and bronze medals in the women’s and men’s doubles. Philipp Raimund added a gold to their tally in the men’s normal hill ski-jumping. The women’s alpine skiing team performed strongly, taking home two silvers in individual and team downhill events, and a bronze was secured in the mixed biathlon relay.Sweden — 4 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze
Cross-country skiing has been a major source of success for Sweden, contributing seven of their eight medals, including three gold, three silver, and one bronze. The nation’s remaining gold medal was achieved in the mixed doubles curling event.Switzerland — 4 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze
Alpine skier Franjo von Allmen has been a key contributor to the Swiss medal count, securing three golds in the men’s downhill, men’s super-G, and the team event. He was joined on the podium by compatriots in the team event and super-G. Mathilde Gremaud claimed the team’s other gold in the women’s freestyle slopestyle, while Gregor Deschwanden earned a bronze in the men’s normal hill ski-jumping.Austria — 3 gold, 6 silver, 3 bronze
Austria has accumulated a significant medal haul of 12, exceeding Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland in total count. However, their lower gold medal count places them below these nations on the overall tally. Their three victories have come in women’s team combined alpine skiing, men’s snowboard cross, and men’s parallel giant slalom snowboarding.France — 3 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze
France has secured a dramatic gold medal in ice-dance figure skating, alongside two gold medals in biathlon.Netherlands — 3 gold, 3 silver
All six of the Dutch team’s medals have been achieved in speed skating. They’ve earned two golds in short track speed skating, and a gold in the women’s 1,000m. Additional silver medals were secured in the men’s and women’s 1,000m, and the women’s 5,000m.Japan — 2 gold, 2 silver, 6 bronze
Japan’s two gold medals were won in the women’s and men’s snowboard big air events, thanks to impressive performances from Kokomo Murase and Kira Kimura.South Korea — 1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze
Seventeen-year-old Gaon Choi delivered the Koreans’ sole gold medal of the Games so far with a stunning run in the women’s snowboard halfpipe, narrowly denying Chloe Kim a third consecutive title. The remaining medals for South Korea came in the men’s parallel giant slalom, women’s snowboard big air, and men’s 1,000m short track speed skating.Czechia — 1 gold, 1 silver
Zuzana Maderova secured gold in the women’s parallel giant slalom, while Metodej Jilek earned a silver medal in the men’s 5,000m speed skating.Slovenia — 1 gold, 1 silver
Both of Slovenia’s medals have been achieved in ski jumping. They claimed gold in the mixed team event and Nika Prevc secured a silver in the women’s normal hill.Australia — 1 gold
While the anticipation was building, it was Cooper Woods’s exceptional performance in the men’s moguls that finally etched Australia’s name onto the 2026 Winter Olympic Games medal tally with a gold. The question now remains: will this be the first of many for the Australian contingent?
