2010 Winter Olympics medal table in 2002). The United States placed first in total medals—its second time doing so in a Winter Games—and set a new record for most medals won by a NOC at a single Winter Olympics, with 37 (the previous record was 36, established by Germany in 2002). Athletes from Slovakia and Belarus won the first Winter Olympic gold medals for their nations. Cross-country skier Marit Bjørgen from Norway won five medals (three gold, one silver, one bronze), more than any other athlete. Chinese short track speed skater Wang Meng tied Bjørgen for the lead in gold medals, with three. The medal
Winter Olympic Games The success of Asian countries stood in stark contrast to the under-performing Russian team, with Vancouver marking a high point for medals won by Asian countries. In 1992 the Asian countries had won fifteen medals, three of which were gold. In Vancouver the total number of medals won by athletes from Asia had increased to thirty-one, with eleven of them being gold. The rise of Asian nations in Winter Olympics sports is due in part to the growth of winter sports programmes and the interest in winter sports in nations such as South Korea, Japan and China. Sochi, Russia, was