Italy Wins Record 30 Medals as Milan Cortina Olympics End

Italy just had its best Winter Olympics ever, and the whole country is celebrating.

The 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics closed Sunday with host nation Italy shattering its previous medal record of 20 with an incredible haul of 30 medals. The team brought home 10 gold, six silver, and 14 bronze medals, uniting Italians everywhere in pride.

The Games themselves made history as the most geographically spread-out Winter Olympics ever. Events spanned 8,500 square miles across northern Italy, from ice sports in Milan to downhill skiing near the Swiss border, with venues reaching all the way to the Austrian border for biathlon.

Norway topped the overall medal table with 41 total medals and 18 golds. A total of 116 medal events took place across 17 days of competition, including the debut of ski mountaineering as a new Olympic sport.

International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry praised the innovative approach, telling organizers they "delivered a new kind of winter games and you set a new, very high standard for the future." The spread-out model is already influencing future Games, with France 2030 planning to stage events from the Alps to the Mediterranean Sea.

The closing ceremony at the ancient Verona Arena brought 12,000 spectators and 1,500 athletes together for an intimate celebration of Italian culture. The evening featured everything from lyric opera characters emerging from crates to renowned ballet dancer Roberto Bolle performing his first-ever aerial routine inside a blazing ring representing the sun.

Italian pop DJ Gabry Ponte got athletes from around the world on their feet dancing as color confetti exploded across the stage. The ceremony concluded with Italian singer Achille Lauro performing "Incoscienti Giovani" (Reckless Young People), a fitting tribute to the young athletes who just showcased their incredible talents.

The Ripple Effect

The success of these Games extends far beyond the medal count. By spreading events across existing venues in multiple cities, Milan Cortina demonstrated that hosting the Winter Olympics doesn't require building expensive new facilities that might sit empty afterward. This sustainable approach could make future Winter Games more accessible to countries and regions that previously couldn't afford to host.

The model also brought Olympic excitement to communities across northern Italy rather than concentrating it in one location. Small mountain towns like Anterselva and Val di Fiemme got their moment on the world stage alongside major cities like Milan.

France now carries the Olympic torch forward, preparing to bring its own spread-out Games to life in the Alps and Nice in 2030, proving that Italy's innovative approach is already inspiring the future of winter sports.