Winter Olympics: Three golds increase Norway's lead, Germany claim first clean sweep

Beijing, February 16: It was good day for Norway as they claimed three golds to increase their lead in the medal table at the Beijing Winter Olympics on Tuesday (February 16).

Five Norwegian athletes won medals as the Scandinavian nation took their total tally for the Games to 26.

Norway have secured 12 Olympic titles in the Chinese capital, three more than second-placed Germany.

Joergen Graabak was crowned Nordic combined champion for Norway and compatriot Jens Luraas took silver at the end of a dramatic 10-kilometre cross-country skiing race.

Beijing 2022 Medal Tally

Jarl Magnus Riiber led the way for Norway after topping the ski jump standings on the large hill at the National Ski Jumping Centre, but took a wrong turn when he had an advantage of 44 seconds in the cross-country skiing.

Riiber turned around after realising he had gone off track and was left to rue a huge lapse, which his countryman Graabak capitalised on.

Norway also won men's biathlon gold in the 4x7.5km relay event and took the men's team pursuit speed skating title.

German bobsleigh legend Francesco Friedrich led the first podium clean sweep of these Games in the two-man competition at the Yanqing National Sliding Centre.

Johannes Lochner won silver and Christoph Hafer took bronze as Germany took their medal tally to 18, half of which have been gold.

There were no gold medals for third-placed USA, but Anna Gasser won Austria's sixth of the Games in the snowboard big air final.

Switzerland rose to eighth after Corinne Suter and Mathilde Gremaud were crowned women's downhill and freeski slopestyle champions respectively.

Medal table:

1. Norway (G12 S7 B7, Total: 26)

2. Germany (G9 S6 B3, Total: 18)

3. United States (G7 S6 B4, Total: 17)

4. Austria (G6 S6 B4, Total: 16)

5. Netherlands (G6 S4 B3, Total: 13)

6. China (G6 S4 B2, Total: 12)

7. Sweden (G5 S3 B3, Total: 11)

8. Switzerland (G5 S0 B5, Total: 10)