Medal Tally Olympics 2022: Final Table for USA and Most Decorated Countries

The 2022 Winter Olympics are over, and once again, Norway has topped the medal count.

Despite having a population of roughly 5.4 million people, Norway has routinely outdone the rest of the world at the Winter Games over the years. This effort was perhaps the Scandinavian country's best yet, as its athletes notched a record 16 gold medals and won 37 overall.

The United States performed well in Beijing, finishing fourth in the overall medal count. Canada, Germany and the Russian Olympic Committee were also near the top of the leaderboard at an Olympics that featured a record 109 events.

Click through to see the final medal standings, as well as a closer look at how the United States and Norway hauled in their medals this time around.

Olympic Medal Table (Sorted by Gold Medals)

1. Norway (16 gold, 8 silver, 13 bronze, 37 total)

2. Germany (12 gold, 10 silver, 5 bronze, 27 total)

3. China (9 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze, 15 total)

4. United States (8 gold, 10 silver, 7 bronze, 25 total)

5. Sweden (8 gold, 5 silver, 5 bronze 18 total)

6. Netherlands (8 gold, 5 silver, 4 bronze 17 total))

7. Austria (7 gold, 7 silver, 4 bronze, 18 total)

8. Switzerland (7 gold, 2 silver, 5 bronze, 14 total)

9. Russian Olympic Committee (6 gold, 12 silver, 14 bronze, 32 total)

10. France (5 gold, 7 silver, 2 bronze, 14 total)

11. Canada (4 gold, 8 silver, 14 bronze, 26 total)

12. Japan (3 gold, 6 silver, 9 bronze, 18 total)

13. Italy (2 gold, 7 silver, 8 bronze, 17 total)

14. South Korea (2 gold, 5 silver, 2 bronze, 9 total)

15. Slovenia (2 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze, 7 total)

Full Olympic medal table available at Olympics.com

In order to dominate the medal standings, you have to be a well-rounded country. The Netherlands has a stranglehold on speed skating and short track, winning 16 medals in those disciplines. However, they only notched one medal outside of that sport (in women's skeleton) and thus finished tied for fourth in gold medals and tied for ninth in overall medals.

The Netherlands' neighbors to the north don't have that issue. The Norwegians won medals in nine different disciplines, from alpine skiing to Nordic combined and everything in between. Speed skating used to be a national obsession, but at these Winter Games, Norway did its best work in the biathlon and cross-country skiing events.

Much of the credit in the biathlon goes to two individuals: Johannes Thingnes Boe and Marte Olsbu Roiseland. Both athletes won five total medals. Boe notched four gold medals and a bronze, while Roiseland snagged three golds and two bronzes. It was Boe's victory in the mens' 15km mass start that earned Norway its 15th gold medal in Beijing, breaking the Winter Olympics record the country set in 2018.

"The key moment was my second prone when I shot clean and I went out in front," said Boe of his historic performance, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com) "And then I made the gap I wanted and from there I never looked back."

As for cross-country skiing, Therese Johaug and Johannes Hosflot Klaebo were the standouts there. Johaug won three gold medals, while Kalebo won two golds, a silver and a bronze.

Norway may have broken its own record for gold medals in China, but there's still more work to be done. The 37 total medals in Beijing fell just short of the record 39 that Norway won in Pyeongchang, South Korea in 2018. The rest of the world will be on notice as Norway looks to set a new standard at the 2026 Games in Italy.

While Norway can credit a significant chunk of its medal haul to four athletes, the United States relied on a number of athletes in different sports to earn eight gold medals and 25 overall. It was a true team effort, perhaps best exemplified by the women's hockey team, which won a silver medal after coming up just short against Canada in the final game.

Six individual American athletes won two medals each. Snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis is the standout of the multi-medalists, as both of her medals were golden.

Jacobellis won her first gold in the women's snowboard cross on Feb. 9, then followed that up three days later by partnering up with Nick Baumgartner to win the mixed team snowboard cross. These were the first medals for the 36-year-old Jacobellis since the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, where she won a silver in snowboard cross.

One of the American athletes who doubled up on medals also made history in Beijing. Elana Meyers Taylor won silver in women's monobob, a new competition, and then captured bronze alongside Sylvia Hoffman in the two-woman bobsled. The latter performance made Meyers Taylor the most decorated Black athlete in Winter Olympics history.

“That is overwhelming,” Meyers Taylor said of the achievement, per TeamUSA.org. “It’s so crazy to hear that stat and know I’m part of a legacy that’s bigger than me.”

Perhaps the most dramatic multi-medal performance from the U.S. goes to figure skater Nathan Chen. A disastrous short program in 2018 kept Chen off the podium in Pyeongchang. He didn't struggle for long, as he won three World Championships in 2018, 2019 and 2021. With all the pressure in the world on him, Chen put together a dream performance in Beijing, scoring a world-record 113.97 points in the short program and 218.63 in the free skate to capture a dominant gold medal in the men's singles event.

Chen also earned a silver medal in the team figure skating event. He then capped off his Olympics by landing a backflip in the non-competition gala routine. Not bad for the 22-year-old from Salt Lake City.