SOCHI: At the halfway point of the Sochi Winter Olympics, eyes are being cast to the medal tally as nations battle to be on top at the end of Day 16. Germany currently leads the gold medal count with seven, followed by Switzerland with five and Canada, Norway, the Netherlands and the United States all with four.

It has been a brilliant start for the Germans, who produced a clean sweep of all four Luge events and also had success in Alpine Skiing, Nordic Combined and Ski Jumping. While most of the country would be beaming with pride, there are a few people in Berlin who have paid the price for their compatriots' performance.

Railway company Deutsche Bahn introduced a special 'Gold Card' offer just before the Olympic Games. The ‘Gold Card’ investment cost 25 euros for second class or 50 euros for first class, and entitles cardholders to free train rides throughout the country the day after any German wins a gold medal. The German Olympic Team’s success has cost the business millions.

It is just one of a number of ways countries are celebrating Winter Olympic triumphs.

For the 2012 Olympic Games in London, British champions were honoured by having a red post-box in their home town re-painted gold. With no such prize on offer for the Winter Games, the Mayor of Bristol has proposed dumping fake snow on the city's streets to celebrate the bronze won by local Jenny Jones in the Women's Snowboard Slopestyle.

The biggest individual rewards up for grabs are for athletes from Kazakhstan. The country's government will give any of its 51 athletes who bring home a gold medal $250,000. So far the generous offer has failed to translate into success, with Kazakhstan still searching for their first podium finish.

But there is still plenty of time for competitors to claim their share of the spoils. So far just 45 of the 98 gold medals have been awarded.

After topping the medal tally at home in the 2010 Games with a record 14 gold medals, Canada is again looking good in 2014. After seven days in Vancouver the Canadians had won three gold medals, compared to the four they have won in Sochi.

Australia is on track for another successful Winter Olympics, with a silver medal to Torah Bright and a bronze to Lydia Lassila so far. At this stage in Vancouver the Aussies also had two medals, a gold to Bright and a silver to Dale Begg-Smith.