A record-breaking round up of the 2026 Winter Olympics and ones to watch at Paralympics
The 2026 Winter Olympics, co-hosted by Milan and Cortina in Italy, recently wrapped up a thrilling two weeks of winter sports with the event’s closing ceremonies. With nearly 3,000 athletes competing across 119 events, the Games brought competitors and fans from all over the world together for some friendly – if sometimes heated (looking at you, curlers!) – competition between nations.
The in-person spectators weren’t the only ones invested in the action, however: coverage of the events drew an average of 21.5 million viewers a day, and 6.3 billion minutes of Olympics content were watched on NBC's streaming platform, Peacock.
But of the athletes competing, who was able to not only win their event but also break a world record? We’ve compiled a highlights list to catch you up on all the best record-breaking moments from the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.
And the elite sporting action isn’t over yet. As the Winter Paralympics get underway this weekend in Italy, we also look ahead to the records that might be toppled and suggest a few teams and athletes to keep your eye on...
Most medals won in the Winter Olympics (individual)
Norway’s record-breaking gold medal haul would not have been possible without cross-country skier Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, who won gold in all six cross-country skiing events during the Milano Cortina Games. This brought his overall gold medal total up to 11 across three Olympics.
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo. Image: Christine Olsson/TT/Shutterstock
His clean sweep of the cross-country skiing events also earned him the record for the most medals won at the Winter Olympics by an individual. Winning six gold medals over the course of the Games broke a more than four-decade-old record set by Eric Heiden (USA) who won five gold medals for speed skating during the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, USA.
Most short-track speed skating Olympic medals won by an individual
For speed skater Arianna Fontana (Italy), slowing down isn’t an option. Across the 35-year-old’s career, she’s accumulated 14 Olympic medals in short-track speed skating - the most won by any competitor in the event. To achieve the record, she took home gold in the 2,000 m mixed relay and silver in the 500 m and 3,000 m relay at this latest edition".
Fontana’s Olympic career spans a whopping 20 years, commencing with a bronze medal in the 3,000 m relay at the 2006 Turin Olympics at the age of just 15. Since then, she’s been unstoppable, medalling in every speed-skating distance and bringing home three golds, six silvers and five bronzes over the span of six Games.
By the time of the closing ceremony, Fontana was her country’s most decorated Olympic athlete in history – and what better a place for that to happen than on home soil? She certainly made Italy proud and was a force to be reckoned with during the 2026 Games!
READ MORE: Inside Lindsey Vonn's record-breaking career after horror crash at Winter Olympics
Most gold medals won at a single Winter Olympics (country)
In terms of medal counts, Norway absolutely dominated the 2026 games, with a total of 41 medals won across events such as cross-country skiing, speed skating and the biathlon.
The country claimed 11 bronze medals, 12 silvers and an impressive 18 gold medals - breaking their own record for the most golds any country has won during the Winter Olympic Games!
The record-breaking medal was claimed by Johannes Dale-Skjevdal, who took home first prize in the 15-km biathlon.
Most Winter Olympic medals won in freestyle skiing
With seven different event categories, freestyle skiing is one of the most complex events in the Winter Olympics. Athletes perform acrobatic tricks and stunts on skis, making it one of the most exciting sports to witness too.
During the Milano Cortina Games, skier Eileen Gu (China, b. USA) doubled her existing medal count with a gold in halfpipe and two silvers in big air and slopestyle, earning her the most Winter Olympics medals in freestyle skiing: six.
Her Olympic career began at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, where Gu (b. 3 September 2003) took home her first three medals: two golds in the big air and halfpipe, and a silver in slopestyle. These wins earned her the title of the youngest gold medallist in freestyle skiing at age 18 years 158 days.
Fastest short track speed skating 500 m (female)
Catch her if you can! Xandra Velzeboer (Netherlands) made history when she broke her own record for the fastest short track speed skating 500 m with a time of 41.399 seconds during the semi-finals of the event.
Following her record-breaking skating run, Velzeboer went on to the final round of the women’s 500 m speed skating. There, she skated with a time of 41.609 seconds, earning her a gold medal. The record-breaking gold was the third in her Olympic career, following another win at Milano Cortina in the women’s 1,000 m and in the 3,000 m women's relay at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
Congratulations to all the record breakers from the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics! We’re sad to see the end of these games, but luckily the 2026 Paralympics are right around the corner!
Read about more record-breaking athletes in our Sports and Fitness section.
2026 Paralympic Games
The winter sporting fun isn’t over yet! With the 2026 Paralympics kicking off this weekend, there are plenty more records that could be broken over the next 10 days of events. Here’s your guide to the athletes and events to look out for!
Most participants at a Winter Paralympics
The 2026 Paralympic Games themselves are already looking like they will break a record based on the size of the field of athletes taking part!
A staggering 665 athletes are expected to compete in six different sports, including para alpine skiing, para biathalon, para cross-country skiing, para ice hockey and wheelchair curling. This is the highest number of athletes to ever compete in a single Winter Paralympic games, breaking the record set in 2018 at Pyeongchang, South Korea.
We’re looking forward to seeing all the incredible achievements from competitors across 79 events!
Most medals for an individual in para snowboarding
Ahead of his Paralympics debut, Italian snowboarder Emanuel Perathoner is the favourite to win gold in multiple categories of para snowboarding. He previously competed in the Sochi 2014 Olympics before suffering an accident while training for the 2018 Olympic Games in Beijing. Following his recovery, he jumped right back into snowboarding and earned two gold medals at the 2025 Para Snowboard World Championships. He is definitely one to keep an eye on!
Emanuel Perathoner. Image: Mountainpix/Shutterstock
If Perathoner is successful in winning gold in both of his events, he will tie Matti Suur-Hamari (Finland) for most gold medals earned in para snowboarding (male).
Most decorated country in the Winter Paralympics
With a record-breaking haul of medals up for grabs at this year’s Games, there is serious potential to shake up the rankings for most decorated countries in the Winter Paralympics! Austria currently holds the title with a total of 345 medals, but Norway and the USA aren’t far behind, needing only 11 and 12 medals, respectively, to reach that current mark.
It will certainly be a close Paralympic Games! We’ll be checking the medal count throughout the week to see who lands on top.