Road to No. 100: A History of US Winter Olympic Gold Medals

Shaun White made history for Team USA on Tuesday night when he captured the 100th all-time Winter Olympic gold medal for the United States, winning his third career gold medal in the men's snowboard halfpipe.

Here's a look at the United States' gold medal history at the Winter Olympics, and Team USA's road to No. 100.

Team USA's Winter Olympic Gold Medal History

Sport	Medal Count (99)	Events
Speedskating	29	Men’s 500m (7), Men’s 1000m (5), Men’s 1500m (3), Men’s 5000m (3), Men’s 10000m (2), Women’s 500m (5), Women’s 1000m (3), Women’s 1500m
Alpine Skiing	16	Men’s Slalom, Men’s Giant Slalom, Men’s Downhill (2), Men’s Super Combined (2), Women’s Slalom (4), Women’s Giant Slalom (3), Women’s Super-G (2), Women’s Downhill
Figure Skating	15	Men’s Singles (7), Ladies’ Singles (7), Ice Dance
Snowboarding	14	Men’s Halfpipe (4), Men’s Slopestyle (2), Men’s Snowboard Cross (2), Women’s Halfpipe (4), Women’s Slopestyle (2)
Freestyle Skiing	8	Men’s Moguls, Men’s Aerials, Men’s Halfpipe, Men’s Slopestyle, Women’s Moguls (2), Women’s Aerials, Women’s Halfpipe
Bobsled	7	Two-man (2), Four-man (4), Women’s
Short Track	4	Men’s 500m, Men’s 1500m, Women’s 500m (2)
Hockey	3	Men’s (2), Women’s
Skeleton	3	Men’s (2), Women’s
Nordic Combined	1	Individual Large Hill

U.S. Winter Olympic Gold Medal Milestones

# Gold	Athlete	Games	Sport	Event
25th Gold	Dianne Holum	1972 Sapporo Games	Speedskating	Women's 1500m
50th Gold	Dan Jansen	1994 Lillehammer Games	Speedskating	Men's 1000m
75th Gold	Seth Wescott	2006 Torino Games	Snowboarding	Men's Snowboard Cross
100th Gold	Shaun White	2018 PyeongChang Games	Snowboarding	Men's Halfpipe

Notable Facts

• The very first U.S. Winter Olympic medal was won by Charles Jewtraw in the speedskating men's 500m at the 1924 Chamonix Games.
  • Jewtraw is also the first Winter Olympic gold medalist from any nation -- the 500m was the first event to award medals in the first-ever Olympic Winter Games, on Jan. 26, 1924.
  • His medal currently resides in the Museum of American History at The Smithsonian.
• The U.S. has won 25 gold medals on home turf:
  • 1932 Lake Placid: 6
  • 1960 Squaw Valley: 3
  • 1980 Lake Placid: 6
  • 2002 Salt Lake City: 10
• The U.S. won 59 gold medals over its first 18 Olympic Winter Games, but hat number has skyrocketed in recent years, with 40 gold medals in its last five Winter Olympics, including 2018.
• The U.S. has won at least one gold medal in every Winter Olympics. They won exactly one gold in 1924, 1936, 1964 and 1968.
• 11 of the 99 U.S. gold medals have come in team event, with 88 in individual events.
• Speedskater Eric Heiden holds the record for both the U.S. and all countries for most gold medals won in a single games. He won five gold medals at the 1980 Lake Placid Games.
• The oldest U.S. gold medalist is Jay O'Brien, who won four-man bobsled gold at the 1932 Lake Placid Games at 48 years, 357 days old.
• The youngest U.S. gold medalist is Tara Lipinski, who won won ladies' singles figure skating gold at the 1998 Nagano Games at 15 years, 253 days old.
• Only Norway has won more Winter Olympic gold medals than the United States.

Americans with multiple Winter Olympic gold medals

Athlete	Sport	Gold Medals
Bonnie Blair	Speedskating	5
Eric Heiden	Speedskating	5
Shaun White	Snowboarding	3
William Fiske	Bobsled	2
Clifford Gray	Bobsled	2
Irving Jaffee	Speedskating	2
Jack Shea	Speedskating	2
Dick Button	Figure Skating	2
Andrea Mead Lawrence	Alpine Skiing	2
Cathy Turner	Short Track	2
Apolo Ohno	Short Track	2
Shani Davis	Speed Skating	2
Ted Ligety	Alpine Skiing	2
Seth Wescott	Snowboarding	2
Jamie Anderson	Snowboarding	2