Italy Among Best Under the Radar Countries for the Winter Olympics
Ladies and gentlemen, the Olympics are here and already Day 2 is almost over. Yes, the six hour time difference from the East Coast means it is mid-afternoon over in Milano-Cortina. Anyway, the cold air can be felt in Italy as the Italians party on for the next 15 days.
Why are we so high on a country like Italy? Let's dig into the why below.
Fantasy Hockey Sleeper Countries For The Winter Olympics
Italy
The Italians won 17 medals in Beijing. That was a mild surprise but the bigger surprise may be to come in their home country. For those that continue to watch live feeds, the Men's Downhill saw one medal go to Italy already. Projections suggest the Italians could easily top 20 medals this time around. Could they approach 25? It is very much possible.
Alpine skiing could produce several more medals along the way. The Italians have 21 skiers ready to roll and that is a large number. Snowboarding could be another surprise with 17 boarders. Again, Italy has several medal favorites Giovanni Franzino was not but won silver on Saturday in the Men's Downhill.
🏅Saíram as primeiras medalhas de Milano-Cortina 2026!
— Olimpíada Todo Dia (@otd_oficial) February 7, 2026
⛷️Esqui Alpino - Downhill masculino
🇨🇭 Franjo von Allmen - 🥇
🇮🇹 Giovanni Franzoni - 🥈
🇮🇹 Dominik Paris - 🥉 pic.twitter.com/mMna8SzWBO
Italy has not been impacted by the Norovirus at all as other countries have been. That plays a role into our projections and predictions as well. Dominik Paris was an even bigger shock to be honest. Again, the idea is to think big picture. Expect Italy to at least double the amount of gold medals won in Beijing (2).
Great Britain
The risk here is great considering that the nation only won two medals in the last Winter Olympics. One thing to ponder is those 32 medals won by the Russian Olympic Coalition (ROC). With Russia and Belarus barred for this edition of the "Games", medals have to go elsewhere. One of the nations that might benefit is Great Britain.
Bruce Mouat has the Men's Curling team big hope for Gold. The mixed event could produce another medal too. Add in the Bobsled events, Luge, and even Skeleton to the events that Great Britain could benefit. Double digit medals are quite possible when this Olympiad is all said and done.
While SI has picked every medal for the Olympics, we have some twists of our own. Everyone has the Germans racking up a ton of medals in the Bobsled for example. We are thinking a couple of surprises are in the offing. Snowboarding could be a mini bonanza here for Great Britain being their biggest boost to medal count.
South Korea
This is another risk given that South Korea won nine medals in Beijing. Speed skating is the discipline where they receive the most medals typically. Again, the hope is for a few twists here. Finland, who lost so many of their hockey players to Norovirus, is still a country to keep an eye on. However, the South Koreans could benefit from the ROC absence.
Two days to go until #MilanoCortina2026! 🤩
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) February 4, 2026
Olympian Cha Junhwan is ready to take on the world’s best in figure skating. ⛸️#Olympics I #WinterOlympics I @ISU_Figure I @milanocortina26 pic.twitter.com/LJPTYjgHN1
The belief with so many countries and events is to try and see what clusters a country can dominate. Slovenia almost controls ski jumping but there are just not enough events. Again, South Korea has the potential to break past 10 medals. Most do not have them this high in the medal count. Some in the know do, however.
Good luck in the Fantasy Olympics and do not fret, we will keep you updated plenty on social media.
