The 2026 Winter Olympics will begin this week when competitors walk under the wave of their nation's flags at Friday's Opening Ceremony. The ceremony not only offers Olympians a chance to represent their country on the international stage,

When it comes to both overall medal count and gold medal count, Norway is the odds-on favorite at the Winter Olympics. The nation has 405 medals overall, 148 of them gold. Compare that to the United States, which sits in second position in the all-time medal table, with 330 total, 114 gold.

Even though the Olympics are said to connect the global village, the Winter Games remain a distant story for Africa, a continent where snow and ice are hard to find. Winter sports face high barriers from the start here.