WINTER NOTE | Looking Back on the First Half of Milano Cortina 2026 — Japan’s 14 Medals and What to Watch Next
About one week after the Opening Ceremony. Each time the lights of San Siro and the snow-covered scenery of the Dolomites are shown in alternating shots, it really hits you that “Milano” and a “mountain resort” are coexisting within the same Games. In this WINTER NOTE, I’d like to look back on Milano Cortina 2026 at its halfway point—centering on Team Japan’s performances—and整理 the key highlights to watch in the second half.
According to the IOC’s official medal table, as of the end of February 13 Japan has 14 medals in total: 3 gold, 3 silver, and 8 bronze. In the country rankings, Japan sits in the group around 9th, chasing the top contenders like Norway, host nation Italy, and the United States. With Beijing 2022’s national winter record of 18 medals in sight, Japan is on a similar pace—and the overall impression so far is that “Japan is winning the medals it should be winning in the events it targeted.”
The Opening Ceremony, staged at San Siro in Milano, was packed with Italy’s signature mix of opera and fashion, framed by a production theme of “Harmony.” The way it connected the urban and mountain venues felt like a prologue for the wide variety of sports still to come.
Snowboarding has been the star on snow: Big Air & Halfpipe delivering big moments
When talking about Team Japan at these Games, the first place to start is snowboarding. In the men’s big air, Kira Kimura won a convincing gold medal, while Ryoma Kimata took silver—giving Japan a 1–2 finish. After years of chasing “the top of the podium in big air,” Japan finally reached it. Two Japanese riders flying freely under the lights of Livigno’s night session, on a huge kicker that looks made for the stage—this has been one of the defining images of Milano Cortina.
In the women’s big air, Kokomo Murase—bronze at Beijing 2022—finally reached gold, giving Japan its first-ever Olympic gold medal in women’s snowboarding. She sat in second after two runs, then delivered everything on her third run to take the lead. It was a big air–style drama in its purest form: “one run changes everything.”
Halfpipe has also been a major stage for Japan. On the women’s side, Mitsuki Ono won bronze and finally repaid the heartbreak of Beijing four years later. On the men’s side, Yuto Totsuka took gold and Ryusei Yamada won bronze—another double podium. Combined with big air, snowboarding alone has become Japan’s “medal engine” on snow: 3 gold, 1 silver, and 2 bronze.
Snowboarding is about more than just “going big” and “spinning fast”—it’s also about style and musicality, about how you make it look. In the first half of these Games, Japan’s young riders have embodied that joy better than anyone in the world. That’s a feeling this first week has made impossible to ignore.
Ski jumping and figure skating: stories written in the air and on the ice
Japan’s traditional strength in ski jumping has also produced results. In the women’s normal hill, Noya Maruyama won bronze. Sitting third after the first round, she held her nerve in the second, earning Japan’s first women’s individual jumping medal since PyeongChang 2018. In the men’s normal hill, Ren Nikaido also won bronze. And in the normal hill mixed team event, the quartet of Maruyama, Sara Takanashi, Ryoyu Kobayashi, and Nikaido claimed bronze as well. Reaching the podium in the relatively new mixed team event is another major talking point.
On the ice, the silver medal in the figure skating team event left a lasting impression. Yuma Kagiyama, Shun Sato, Kaori Sakamoto, Riku Miura / Ryuichi Kihara, and Utana Yoshida / Masaya Morita—this generation’s “faces” of Japanese figure skating—were all on stage together, battling the United States to the very end. Japan ultimately missed gold by just one point, but the event proved that Japan can fight at least evenly with the very best in the world in a team format.
Then came the men’s singles, where overwhelming pre-event favorite Ilia Malinin shockingly finished 8th. Taking the crown instead was Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov. Amid that turmoil, Japan landed a double podium: Yuma Kagiyama won silver, and Shun Sato took bronze. Even as each spoke of areas to improve in their performances, the ability to “reset after a fall” and “finish the program” felt like a strength that will matter later.
In speed skating, Miho Takagi won bronze in the 1000 meters. She took gold in this event at Beijing 2022, so she spoke candidly about disappointment—but standing on the podium in the same event at three consecutive Olympics is extraordinary. How the younger generation will chase the back of the ace who has led Japan’s skating for so long—there’s a “generational transition” story line here as well.
In freestyle skiing moguls, Ikuma Horishima won bronze. Even while attacking the steep, bumpy course, his ability to “put it together” on the biggest stage was classic Horishima. Moguls is another event Japan has invested in for years, and earning a medal here means the program continues to carry its history forward.
What the medal table says about “where Japan stands now”
Looking at the numbers again, Japan’s medals so far have leaned heavily toward snow events. All three gold medals have come from snowboarding. Of the three silvers, two are from figure skating (the team event and men’s singles), and the other is Ryoma Kimata’s silver in men’s snowboard big air. The eight bronzes include three from ski jumping, two from snowboarding, and one each from freestyle skiing, speed skating, and men’s figure skating singles.
With 14 total medals at this point, Japan sits behind host nation Italy and traditional winter powers like Norway and the United States. There’s still a gap if you look only at gold medals, but Japan’s approach—“consistent podium finishes across multiple sports”—feels noticeably more refined than it was at Beijing 2022.
Of course, whether Japan ultimately surpasses Beijing’s 18 medals depends on what happens in the second half. But the fact that medals are coming from such a wide range of sports already speaks to the growing breadth of winter sport in Japan.
What to watch in the second half: back to the “air” and the “ice”
In the second half, there are still plenty of events where Japan can contend. First up: more snowboarding. In Livigno, slope style, snowboard cross, and mixed team events are scheduled, and many of the riders who shined in big air and halfpipe will be back. Slope style, in particular, combines rails and kickers and demands both a deep trick bag and smooth linking between features. It should be a stage that suits Japan’s technical riders.
In ski jumping, the large hill individual and team events are still to come. What kind of jumps will Noya Maruyama, Ren Nikaido, Ryoyu Kobayashi, Sara Takanashi, and others show on the larger silhouette of the large hill? Another point to watch is whether the “feel” of winning a medal as a team—captured in the mixed team event—can translate into the men’s team, and eventually, a future women’s team pathway.
In figure skating, the pair of reigning world champions Riku Miura / Ryuichi Kihara will go for gold. After being a major point source in the team event, it’s time for them to show how far they can raise their completeness in their own discipline. Later in the Games, the women’s singles will be held with the short program (17th) and free skating (19th), featuring Kaori Sakamoto, Mona Chiba, and Ami Nakai. For Sakamoto—gold medalist at Beijing—this is a stage for a repeat title. For the two younger skaters, it’s a challenge to see “how fully they can commit to their own skating” at their first Olympics.
In addition, sports like short track, mid-to-long distance speed skating, curling, and ice hockey will reach key turning points as the medal rounds approach. The Japan women’s curling team, in particular, could re-enter the medal picture depending on how the round-robin unfolds. Curling’s slow-burn momentum shifts can be a totally different kind of fun—especially as a contrast between days packed with high-flying jumps and snowboarding.
A small tip for enjoying the Games from home
Finally, one small tip for enjoying the second half even more: keep the official schedule and medal table open, and decide on a “featured event” for the day—something like “Japan has a chance here today,” or “this is where the best moments from the international stars will happen.” If you try to follow everything, the volume of information can be overwhelming. But if you pick just one thing and decide, “I’ll watch this one live today,” the Olympics suddenly feels much closer.
Milano’s cityscape and the snowy mountains of Cortina and Livigno. Moving back and forth between these two landscapes on screen, Japan’s athletes are steadily continuing to update history this winter. As WINTER NOTE, I want to keep following these Games from a “Japan-first” perspective—while also, at times, allowing a slightly more relaxed viewpoint—right through to the final day of Milano Cortina.
