What is Australia's Winter Olympics record?

Freestyle skier Cooper Woods has put Australia on the medal table at the 2026 Winter Olympics after winning gold in the men's moguls final.

His score of 83.71 was exactly the same as Canadian Mikael Kingsbury, but was given first place due to a better turn score - in other words, he maintained better technique through the moguls than his competitor, which is weighted more than the other judged elements of speed and aerial tricks.

Australia may not seem like an obvious medal-winning nation at a Winter Olympics, given the famously warm climate and the geographical distance from other countries that can provide training facilities for athletes, but in recent years they have consistently won medals.

While many may think of mountainous, colder European countries as the obvious contenders for Winter Olympic glory, Australia is home to a number of ski resorts in New South Wales and Victoria - although many rely on machine-made snow.

So how has the country fared over various editions of the Games?

How many Winter Olympics medals have Australia won?

Cooper Woods has won Australia's first medal at Milan-Cortina

It took until 1994 for Australia to win a medal of any kind at the Winter Olympics, when the men's short track speed skating team won bronze in Lillehammer in the 5,000m relay.

Another bronze was won in Nagano 1998 by alpine skier Zali Steggall in the women's slalom, but it wasn't until 2002 that Australia won their first ever gold medal - and two came along at once.

Steven Bradbury - who was also part of the 1994 bronze-winning speed skating team - took home gold in the men's 1,000m short track speed skating in Salt Lake City, followed by Alisa Camplin placing first in the women's aerials.

Bradbury's victory - achieved in remarkable style as the rest of the field crashed on the final lap - also made him the first athlete from the southern hemisphere to win Winter Olympic gold.

Australia's most successful Winter Olympics to date came in 2010 with a gold medal in women's snowboard halfpipe and women's ski aerials for Torah Bright and Lydia Lassila respectively, and a silver in men's moguls for Dale Begg-Smith.

In total (not including the 2026 Games in Milan-Cortina) Australia have won 20 medals at the Winter Olympics:

For comparison, the most successful nation of all time at the Winter Olympics, Norway, have won 405 medals, 158 of which are gold.

Team GB have won 34 medals over the years, 15 of them being gold, and have never won more than five medals in total at a single Games.

This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.

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