Switzerland Looks back on 120 medals From Molitor and Olinger to Regez and Fiva

In the history of the Winter Olympics, Swiss snow sports athletes have won 120 Olympic medals – 50 of them gold. A look back – from Karl Molitor and Ralph Olinger to Ryan Regez and Alex Fiva.

All 120 podium finishes in the ten Olympic Swiss-Ski sports were achieved at the Olympic Games held after the Second World War. In 1924 (Chamonix), 1928 (St. Moritz), 1932 (Lake Placid) and 1936 (Garmisch-Partenkirchen), medal celebrations were reserved exclusively for Swiss athletes and teams competing not on snow, but on ice (bobsleigh, ice hockey, figure skating).

The alpine skiers brought the first medals to Swiss snow sports at the Winter Olympics in 1948 in St. Moritz, winning two golds, two silvers, and two bronzes. Karl Molitor and Ralph Olinger were responsible for the first medals ever won by Swiss athletes, both taking bronze in the downhill on February 2, 1948. A few hours later that same day, Hedy Schlunegger became the first female Olympic champion in snow sports, etching her name in Swiss sports history by winning the women's downhill.

Simon Ammann became a double Olympic champion in 2002 – and again in 2010.

Seventy years ago, the Winter Olympics were already held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, this year's Olympic venue. Switzerland won six medals then – four in alpine skiing and two in bobsleigh. Madeleine Berthod in the downhill (ahead of Frieda Dänzer) and Renée Colliard in the slalom both won gold, while Raymond Fellay secured the fourth snow sports medal with a silver in the men's downhill.

With 75 medals, including 27 golds, Swiss-Ski's alpine skiers are by far the most successful at the Winter Olympics. Since 2010, 45 of Switzerland's 50 Olympic medals have gone to Swiss-Ski athletes, most recently all 15 in Beijing. The last Olympic event with Swiss podium finishes was the men's ski cross on February 18, 2022, when Ryan Regez won gold ahead of Alex Fiva.

Simon Ammann and Dario Cologna, both Nordic skiers, are the most successful Swiss Winter Olympians to date, each winning four gold medals. Of all snow sports athletes, Vreni Schneider has stood on the podium most often at the Winter Olympics, winning three golds, one silver, and one bronze between 1988 and 1994. Thirty-two years ago in Lillehammer, she won a complete set of Olympic medals in slalom, combined, and giant slalom – the only Swiss-Ski athlete to date to achieve this feat in individual events at the same Games.