After the first stretch of competition, the medal table is led by the usual winter-sport heavyweights. Norway tops the standings with 3 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals (6 in total), just ahead of Switzerland with 3 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze (5). Japan sits high on 2 gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze (7), while Germany has 2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze (4). The United States has started with 2 gold medals (2 in total). Austria follows with 1 gold and 3 silver medals (4), and Italy has built the biggest overall haul so far—1 gold, 2 silver and 6 bronze (9). In the next group, Czechia has 1 gold and 1 silver (2), while France, the Netherlands and Sweden each have 1 gold and 1 silver (2 apiece). China and South Korea each stand on 1 silver and 1 bronze (2). New Zealand, Poland and Slovenia have each collected 1 silver medal (1). Canada has 2 bronze medals (2), and Bulgaria has 1 bronze (1).
From a Central and Eastern European perspective, this is a familiar early-olympics pattern. The opening wave of events tends to reward countries with a broad “medal net” across alpine, Nordic, speed-skating and sliding disciplines, and those nations can stack results quickly. For our region, the start is more selective: there are clear high points and valuable podiums, but not yet the kind of multi-sport momentum that produces a rapid climb up the table.
Still, the story is far from finished. As the programme shifts and more competitions arrive in disciplines where Central and Eastern European teams traditionally have stronger shots at podiums, the middle of the table can change quickly. What matters now is converting strong performances into repeatable results—because once a team starts to string together finals, the medal count can move from “a promising beginning” to a real surge in just a couple of days.
