These Americans have won the most gold medals at the Winter Olympics

BORMIO, Province of Sondrio — The Winter Olympics are just a few months away, and thousands of athletes are preparing to go for gold.

The United States has the second most medals in the Winter Olympic Games from 1924 to 2022, with 330, according to Statistica. Norway takes first place with 405.

There are plenty of U.S. athletes who have won many medals, even though the U.S. doesn’t always dominate at the Winter Olympics like it typically does at the Summer Games. 

Here are the Americans who have won the most medals of any U.S. Winter Olympians. 

Bonnie Blair is the most decorated female U.S. Winter Olympian of all time, according to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum. 

The New York native made her speedskating Olympics debut in the 1984 Winter Games. In the 1988 Winter Games, she set a world record and won gold in the 500-meter race. She participated in the 1992 and 1994 games, where she went on to defend her title. 

She was also popular for eating a peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich before a race. 

Blair has since retired, but has consistently been involved in the Olympics since. Ahead of the 2002 Winter Games, she carried the Olympic Torch and in 2014, she was a member of the U.S. delegation.

Eric Heiden, an Olympian in 1976 and 1980 and a 5-time Olympic gold medalist in speedskating, is one of the most successful American Winter Olympics athletes in history. 

The Wisconsin native is known as “one of the greatest speed skaters of all time, according to the Olympics Hall of Fame. He was the first American to win the world all-around men’s long track speedskating championships. While competing, Heiden set 15 speedskating world records.

After retiring from sports, Heiden went to Stanford Medical School to get his medical degree. He now practices sports medicine as an orthopedic surgeon.

Three-time Olympian Apolo Anton Ohno is yet another speedskater and key figure in Winter Games history.

The Seattle-born skater originally tried to make it in swimming during his childhood, but eventually learned about speedskating while watching the Winter Olympics, according to the Olympics Hall of Fame. 

He debuted at the Olympics in 2002, where he won gold and silver in one of the most memorable Winter Games moments ever: Four of the five speedskaters toppled over at the final bend of the race, letting Steven Bradbur secure Australia’s first-ever gold at the Olympic Winter Games. Ohno managed to get back up and throw himself over the line to grab silver. 

Ohno went on to participate in the 2006 and 2010 Winter Games, earning another gold, silver and four bronze medals. 

He is the most decorated U.S. Winter Olympian of all time. 

Mikaela Shiffrin, a three-time Olympic skier, debuted at the 2014 Winter Games, becoming the youngest-ever slalom Olympic champion at 18 years old, according to the Olympics. 

The Colorado native participated in the 2014, 2018 and 2022 Winter Games. Outside of the Olympics, she set the record for the most FIS Alpine World Cup wins (17) in one season (2018-19). 

Nathan Chen is a record-breaking figure skater and one of the breakout stars of the 2022 Winter Olympics. He participated in the 2018 and 2022 Olympics.

The California native landed five clean quadruple jumps to win gold in the men’s singles figure skating event. He became the first singles skater in Olympic history to win two gold medals in the same Games after helping the U.S. win in the team competition. 

Chen graduated from Yale and is applying to medical schools around the country to pursue his career in medicine. He will not return to defend his title in the 2026 Winter Games.

Chloe Kim, the first female snowboarder to land a 1260 in halfpipe, is set to compete again at the 2026 Winter Games. 

The California native made her Olympic debut in 2018, winning a gold medal at 17 years old. She defended her title in 2022 and became the first woman to win back-to-back Olympic golds in the halfpipe. She was also the first athlete to win titles at all four major snowboarding events, according to her Olympics Team USA profile. 

She has qualified for the 2026 Winter Games. 

Jessie Diggins competed in the 2014, 2018 and 2022 Winter Games in Cross-Country Skiing. 

The Minnesota native began skiing at age 3, according to the Olympics. She made history as part of the first U.S. team to win an Olympic gold medal in cross-country skiing at the Olympic Winter Games in 2018.