Japan Ties All-Time Record With 18 Winter Olympic Medals... China Still on No-Gold Run

South Korea at 1 Gold, 2 Silver, 3 Bronze... 16th Overall

At the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics, Japan has tied its all-time record for the most medals won at a Winter Games.

Miura Riku (left) and Kihara Ryuichi of the figure skating pairs team, emotional after completing their routine. Photo by EPA Yonhap News

As of the 16th (local time), Japan has won 4 gold medals, 5 silver medals, and 9 bronze medals, placing 10th in the medal table based on gold medals. At this Games, Japan has captured 3 gold medals in snowboarding and 1 in figure skating, and has reached the podium in multiple events including ski jumping, freestyle skiing, and speed skating. In particular, Japan claimed its first-ever gold medal in the figure skating pairs event, staging a dramatic come-from-behind victory.

This medal haul matches Japan's all-time record for the most medals at a Winter Olympics. Japan’s previous record was 18 medals (3 gold, 7 silver, and 8 bronze) at the 2022 Beijing Games. If Japan adds even one more medal in the remaining events, it will set a new national record for the most medals at a Winter Olympics.

In terms of gold medals, the current record is 5 gold medals (1 silver and 4 bronze) at the 1998 Nagano Games, which were held on home soil. If Japan secures 1 more gold medal in the remaining events in Milan, it will also achieve its highest-ever gold medal tally at a Winter Olympics.

Of the events in which U.S. sports outlet Sports Illustrated (SI) predicted Japan would win gold, three are still to come: women’s singles figure skating, women’s snowboard slopestyle, and the women’s 1500m speed skating. This means Japan has a strong chance of adding to its gold medal count. SI forecast that Japan would finish these Games with 9 gold medals, 9 silver medals, and 6 bronze medals.

China, by contrast, has yet to win a gold medal and currently sits 19th in the medal table with 3 silver medals and 2 bronze medals. This stands in sharp contrast to the 2022 Beijing Games, where China swept up 9 gold medals. The 9 gold medals and 15 total medals won at those home Games were both Chinese records for a Winter Olympics. Before the current Games, SI projected that China would win 2 gold medals, 6 silver medals, and 2 bronze medals.

Gu Eileen won the silver medal in freestyle skiing big air. AP and Yonhap News Agency

Freestyle big air skier Gu Ailing, who won two gold medals at the Beijing Games, has taken two silver medals at these Games, while snowboarder Su Yiming, who earned one gold and one silver in Beijing, has managed just a single bronze medal this time. However, the aerials event, in which SI picked China as a gold-medal favorite, is still to come, drawing attention to whether China will manage to secure a gold medal or finish the Games with no golds.

Meanwhile, South Korea is currently in 16th place overall with 1 gold medal, 2 silver medals, and 3 bronze medals. At the previous 2022 Beijing Games, South Korea won 2 gold medals, 5 silver medals, and 2 bronze medals to finish 14th overall.