With Sochi Olympics approaching, a history of Winter Olympic medals

More than 2,500 medals have been awarded in the history of the Winter Olympics, which began with 1924 Games in Chamonix, France. Norway is the overall leader with a total of 303, followed by the United States (254) and Germany (209).

Norway is the overall leader thanks primarily to cross-country skiing (96 medals) and speedskating (80). The race for gold is much closer, though, with Germany (41), the former Soviet Union (37) and U.S. (35) the clear front-runners.

Of the 15 disciplines in the Winter Games, Americans have medaled in every category except the biathlon. Athletes from Germany and Switzerland have medaled in 13 disciplines. The U.S. has the largest number of athletes under 20 to medal, while the graphic will also show you medalists in 1992 from the Unified Team, or former Soviet Union.

There are many anomolies, such as the Netherlands having won 89 medals, 86 of which have been in speedskating. While Norway is a juggernaut, neighboring Denmark has only one curling medal.

The Times’ data desk has compiled a guide that allows you to navigate from each Winter Olympics, sort by gold, silver or bronze as well as by men, women and age.

Check out the interactive graphic and have fun learning about the Winter Olympics.

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