The Top Ten Medal Winning Countries
Norway
(2022 projection: 44 medals, 2018: 39 medals)
Norway is expected to surpass its record-breaking total of 39 medals won at Pyeongchang 2018. Cross country skiing and biathlon will be key for the Norwegians if they are to achieve this target. Currently, 28 medals are forecast for Norway in those two sports, eight more than they have ever won at a Winter Olympics.
Watch out for:
Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (Alpine Skiing)
Johannes Thingnes Bø, Sturla Holm Lægreid, Marte Olsbu Røiseland, Tiril Eckhoff (Biathlon)
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Therese Johaug (Cross Country Skiing)
Jarl Magnus Riiber (Nordic Combined)
Marius Lindvik (Ski Jumping)
Marcus Kleveland (Snowboard)
Germany
(2022: 30 medals, 2018: 31 medals)
Germany is set for a slight decline on its 31 medals at Pyeongchang 2018. That was the country’s best Winter Games since Salt Lake City 2002 when the Germans set a then-record of 36 medals. That record has since been beaten by the United States (37, 2010) and Norway (39, 2018).
Watch out for:
Francesco Friedrich, Laura Nolte (Bobsleigh)
Johannes Ludwig, Julia Taubitz, Toni Eggert, Sascha Benecken (Luge)
Vinzenz Geiger, Eric Frenzel (Nordic Combined)
Karl Geiger (Ski Jumping)
Russia Olympic Committee
(2022: 30 medals, 2018: 17 medals)
Russian athletes are allowed to compete at the Beijing Winter Games under the Olympic flag as Russia Olympic Committee. The team is forecasted to win 30 medals, more than any Russian or Soviet team has managed at a Winter Games when not hosting. Cross country skiing and figure skating are currently projected to be the most successful sports for ROC, delivering seven medals each.
Watch out for:
Alexander Bolshunov, Natalia Nepryaeva (Biathlon)
Kamila Valieva (Figure Skating)
Maxim Burov (Freestyle Skiing)
United States
(2022: 22 medals, 2018: 23 medals)
Only twice (1998, 2018) have the United States won fewer Winter Olympics medals than Canada. Current Gracenote projections suggest this may repeat in 2022 as the two countries are close. U.S. medals are likely to be spread across eight sports with freestyle skiing delivering the most medals.
Watch out for:
Mikaela Shiffrin (Alpine Skiing)
Kaillie Humphries, Elana Meyers Taylor (Bobsleigh)
Jessica Diggins (Cross Country Skiing)
Anthony Hall (Freestyle Skiing)
Brittany Bowe (Speed Skating)
Canada
(2022: 22 medals, 2018: 29 medals)
Canada is coming off of its best-ever total medal count from the Winter Olympics in 2018. The current forecast of 22 medals for Beijing 2022 would be Canada’s fewest medals since Salt Lake City 2002. While speed skating looks to be Canada’s strongest sport with eight medals projected, Canadian competitors are contenders in a broad range of sports as usual.
Watch out for:
Kim Boutin (Short Track)
Mark McMorris (Snowboard)
Isabelle Weidemann, Ivanie Blondin (Speed Skating)
Switzerland
(2022: 21 medals, 2018: 15 medals)
Switzerland’s 15 medals at the 2018 Winter Games matched the country’s best Winter Olympic performance since 1988. Current Gracenote forecasts suggest an even better performance in Beijing with 21 medals projected for the Swiss. Alpine skiing and freestyle skiing are the key sports if Switzerland is to achieve a new Olympic record number of medals.
Watch out for:
Beat Feuz, Marco Odermatt, Lara Gut-Behrami, Corinne Suter (Alpine Skiing)
Netherlands
(2022: 20 medals, 2018: 20 medals)
The Netherlands is projected to repeat its performance at the 2018 Winter Games by winning 20 medals. If the Netherlands achieves this, it will be the third successive Winter Games with 20+ Dutch medals. Prior to 2011, the Netherlands had never won more than 11 medals at a Winter Olympics. Dutch performance is, as usual, heavily reliant on events on the skating track.
Watch out for:
Suzanne Schulting (Short Track)
Kimberley Bos (Skeleton)
Thomas Krol, Jorrit Bergsma, Irene Schouten, Ireen Wüst (Speed Skating)
Sweden
(2022: 19 medals, 2018: 14 medals)
If Sweden can win 16 medals in Beijing, it would be the country’s best Winter Games performance, and the current projection has them well ahead of that. Sweden’s female athletes are particularly strong this year. Twelve medals are projected to go to Swedish women with another two forecast in the mixed alpine skiing event and mixed doubles curling.
Watch out for:
Hanna Öberg, Elvira Öberg, Sebastian Samuelsson (Biathlon)
The Curling teams
Ebba Andersson, Frida Karlsson (Cross Country Skiing)
Nils van der Poel (Speed Skating)
France
(2022: 19 medals, 2018: 15 medals)
France’s two best Winter Olympic performances were in 2014 and 2018 when they took home 15 medals. France is expected to improve upon this and win 19 medals. Strong performances in alpine skiing, biathlon and freestyle skiing will be critical to France taking home a new record number of medals from Beijing.
Watch out for:
Alexis Pinturault (Alpine Skiing)
Quentin Fillon Maillet, Emilien Jacquelin (Biathlon)
Tess Ledeux (Freestyle Skiing)
Japan
(2022: 19 medals, 2018: 13 medals)
Japan has improved its medal total at each of the last three Winter Games, winning a record 13 Winter Olympic medals last time. Japan is expected to break that record in Beijing and win 19 medals.
Watch out for:
Yuzuru Hanyu (Figure Skating)
Akito Watabe (Nordic Combined)
Ryoyu Kobayashi, Sara Takanashi (Ski Jumping)
Ayumu Hirano, Yuto Totsuka, Kokomo Murase (Snowboard)
Miho Takagi, Nao Kodaira (Speed Skating)
Bejing Winter 2022