List of participating nations at the Winter Olympic Games
The first Winter Games were held in 1924, in Chamonix, France. They were originally called "International Winter Sports Week" and held in association with the 1924 Summer Olympics, but were in retrospect designated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the "I Olympic Winter Games".
Sixteen nations participated in these Games: fourteen from Europe and two from North America.
Four years later, 25 nations were represented at the 1928 Winter Olympics, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, including Argentina (the first nation from the Southern Hemisphere), Japan (the first Asian nation), and Mexico.
Participation in the 1932 Games, held in Lake Placid, United States, during the Great Depression, was reduced to 17 nations.
The 1936 Winter Games, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, had 28 participating nations, the largest number to that date.
These would be the last Winter Games for twelve years, as the planned 1940 Games and 1944 Games were cancelled due to World War II.
List of 1956 Winter Olympics medal winners
The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the "VII Olympic Winter Games", were a winter multi-sport event held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from 26 January to 5 February 1956. A total of 821 athletes representing 32 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in these Games in 24 events across 8 disciplines. The Olympic program was similar to four years prior, with two new cross-country events added to the competition. Both men and women competed at these Games, though women only contested events in alpine skiing, figure skating, and cross-country skiing. The Soviet Union attempted to secure the inclusion of a women's speed skating event, but this was rejected by the IOC at its 49th session in Athens in 1954. Women would compete in speed skating four years later at the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympics.