Germany is associated mostly with its soccer prowess when it comes to sports, but the country is also a true winter sports nation. A look at the all-time medal table of the Olympic Winter Games shows that Germany has won more than 400 Olympic winter medals since 1924, ahead of Norway, Russia and the United States. Germany has also won the most Winter Olympics gold medals – 150. Canada, which comes sixth in the all-time medals table, has won a disproportionate number of golds, placing it fifth when only counting won competitions.
Whether Germany can further extend its lead at this year's Olympic Winter Games in Beijing remains to be seen. At the most recent installment of the Games in South Korea's Pyeongchang, German athletes won 31 medals in total – the most in 16 years. For U.S. athletes, the latest Games were a disappointment. 23 medals were the worst result in 20 years. The best year for U.S. winter Olympionites were the 2002 Games at home in Salt Lake City, when the U.S. snatched up 34 medals.
The following chart count all medals German teams have acquired, from Nazi Germany to Germany divided into East and West until after reunification. For Russia, Soviet Union medals are counted as well as those won by the 'Olympic Athletes from Russia' delegation which was created due to Russia's doping scandal of 2015. Russian Athletes are still barred from taking part in the Olympics under the Russian flag.
