LIVIGNO, Italy — On a day when she failed to retain her Olympic title after a surprise loss in the quarterfinals of the women’s parallel giant slalom, Ester Ledecka strongly criticized the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for even considering scrapping the event at the next Winter Olympics.

The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics officially get underway on Friday, February 6, with the Opening Ceremony, which features the flag bearers from every participating country making the march alongside the country’s flag and their countrymates who will be

When it comes to both overall medal count and gold medal count, Norway is the odds-on favorite at the Winter Olympics. The nation has 405 medals overall, 148 of them gold. Compare that to the United States, which sits in second position in the all-time medal table, with 330 total, 114 gold.

Check out the Winter Olympic medal count