Please read the following table in Markdown format and then answer the question according to the table. Table cells in one row are seperated by '|', and different rows are seperated by '
'.

Table:
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Germany | 17 | 9 | 14 | 40 |
| 2 | Russia | 12 | 16 | 8 | 36 |
| 3 | Ukraine | 6 | 11 | 9 | 26 |
| 4 | Norway | 6 | 2 | 7 | 15 |
| 5 | France | 5 | 4 | 3 | 12 |
| 6 | Switzerland | 3 | 5 | 3 | 11 |
| 7 | Finland | 3 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| 8 | Japan | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 9 | Netherlands | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 10 | Sweden | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 11 | Denmark | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 12 | Unified Team | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | Austria | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 14 | Slovakia | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 15 | Italy | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 15 | Poland | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 15 | Canada | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 15 | Belarus | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 15 | United States | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total 19 nations | Total 19 nations | 59 | 59 | 59 | 177 |
Question:
which nation is the top nation in number of gold awards won?
Answer:
Germany