When were the first Winter Olympics?
List of 1924 Winter Olympics medal winners
The inaugural Winter Olympics were held in Chamonix, France, from 25 January to 4 February 1924. A total of 258 athletes from 16 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) competed in 16 events across 9 disciplines. Women also took part in these Games, although the only events they were allowed to compete in were the figure skating ladies' singles and pairs. When the Games were held, they were not recognized as the Winter Olympics but rather as a winter sports week festival. It was not until 1926 that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) officially recognized them as the first Winter Olympics.
Winter Olympic Games
The 1976 Winter Olympics had initially been awarded in 1970 to Denver, Colorado in the United States. These Games would have coincided with the year of Colorado's centennial and the United States Bicentennial. However, in November 1972 the people of Colorado voted against public funding of the Games by a 3:2 margin. The IOC responded by offering the Games to Vancouver-Garibaldi, British Columbia, which had previously been an official candidate for the 1976 Games. However, a change in the provincial government resulted in an administration that did not support the Olympic bid, so the IOC's offer was rejected. Salt Lake City, previously a candidate for the 1972 Winter Olympics, then put itself forward, but the IOC opted instead to invite Innsbruck to host the 1976 Games, as most of the infrastructure from the 1964 Games had been maintained. Despite only having half the usual time to prepare for the Games, Innsbruck accepted the invitation to replace Denver in February 1973. Two Olympic flames were lit because it was the second time that the Austrian town had hosted the Winter Games. The 1976 Games featured the first combination bobsleigh and luge track, in neighbouring Igls. The Soviet Union won its fourth consecutive ice hockey gold medal.
Winter Olympic Games
The first Olympics after the war, the 1920 Summer Olympics, were held in Antwerp, Belgium, and featured figure skating and an ice hockey tournament. Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey were banned from competing in the Games. At the IOC Congress held the following year it was decided that the host nation of the 1924 Summer Olympics, France, would host a separate "International Winter Sports Week" under the patronage of the IOC. Chamonix was chosen to host this "week" (actually 11 days) of events. The Games proved to be a success when more than 250 athletes from 16 nations competed in 16 events. Athletes from Finland and Norway won 28 medals, more than the rest of the participating nations combined. Germany remained banned until 1925, and instead hosted a series of games called Deutsche Kampfspiele, starting with the winter edition of 1922 (which predated the first Winter Olympics). In 1925 the IOC decided to create a separate winter event and the 1924 Games in Chamonix was retroactively designated as the first Winter Olympics.
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Turin 2006 or , was a winter multi-sport event which was held in Turin, Piedmont, Italy from February 10 to 26, 2006. This marked the second time that Italy had hosted the Winter Olympic Games, the first being the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo. Italy also hosted the Summer Olympics in 1960 in Rome. Turin was selected as the host city for the 2006 Games in June 1999.
List of participating nations at the Winter Olympic Games
After the war, 28 nations would return to St. Moritz for the 1948 Winter Olympics, but not Germany or Japan, who were not invited because of their roles in the war.
The 1952 Winter Games in Oslo, Norway, featured 30 participating nations.
The 1956 Games in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, marked the Winter Games debut of the Soviet Union, along with 31 other nations.
The NOCs of East Germany and West Germany would be represented by a single German team, an arrangement that would continue until 1964.
Thirty nations would participate at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, United States, including South Africa, the first African nation to participate in the Winter Games.
Thirty-six nations were represented in Innsbruck, Austria, in 1964.
Winter Olympic Games
The 1998 Winter Olympics were held in the Japanese city of Nagano and were the first Games to host more than 2,000 athletes. The men's ice hockey tournament was opened to NHL players for the first time. Canada and the United States were favoured to win the tournament as they both fielded more NHL players than European countries, but surprisingly neither team won any medals and it was the Czech Republic who prevailed. The Czech team was mainly composed of domestic pros with some additions from the NHL The tournament was played under the IHHF rules, which were unfamiliar to many NHLers. Women's ice hockey made its debut and the United States won the gold medal. Bjørn Dæhlie of Norway won three gold medals in Nordic skiing, becoming the most decorated Winter Olympic athlete, with eight gold medals and twelve medals overall. Austrian Hermann Maier survived a crash during the downhill competition and returned to win gold in the super-G and the giant slalom. Tara Lipinski of the United States, aged just 15, became the youngest ever female gold medallist in an individual event when she won the Ladies' Singles, a record that had stood since Sonja Henie of Norway won the same event, also aged 15, in St. Moritz in 1928. New world records were set in speed skating largely due to the introduction of the clap skate.
Winter Olympic Games
The 1992 Winter Games were the last to be held in the same year as the Summer Games. They were hosted in the French Savoie region, with 18 events held in the city of Albertville and the remaining events spread out over the Savoie. Political changes of the time were reflected in the composition of the Olympic teams competing in France: this was the first Games to be held after the fall of Communism and the fall of the Berlin Wall, and Germany competed as a single nation for the first time since the 1964 Games; former Yugoslavian republics Croatia and Slovenia made their debuts as independent nations; most of the former Soviet republics still competed as a single team known as the Unified Team, but the Baltic States made independent appearances for the first time since before World War II. At 16 years old, Finnish ski jumper Toni Nieminen made history by becoming the youngest male Winter Olympic champion. New Zealand skier Annelise Coberger became the first Winter Olympic medallist from the southern hemisphere when she won a silver medal in the women's slalom.
List of 1964 Winter Olympics medal winners
The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known by the International Olympic Committee as the "IX Olympic Winter Games", were a multi-sport event held in Innsbruck, Austria, from 29 January through 9 February 1964. A total of 1,095 athletes representing 36 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in the Games in 34 events across 10 disciplines.
Winter Olympic Games
The Winter Olympics has been hosted on three continents by twelve different countries. The Games have been held four times in the United States (in 1932, 1960, 1980 and 2002); three times in France (in 1924, 1968 and 1992); and twice each in Austria (1964, 1976), Canada (1988, 2010), Japan (1972, 1998), Italy (1956, 2006), Norway (1952, 1994), and Switzerland (1928, 1948). Also, the Games have been held just once each in Germany (1936), Yugoslavia (1984), Russia (2014) and South Korea (2018). The IOC has selected Beijing, China, to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, and the host of the 2026 Winter Olympics will be selected on June 23rd, 2019. , no city in the southern hemisphere has applied to host the cold-weather-dependent Winter Olympics, which are held in February at the height of the southern hemisphere summer.
Venues of the 1976 Winter Olympics
For the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, a total of eight sports venues were used. The games were originally awarded to Denver, Colorado in the United States in 1970, but they withdrew in the wake of Colorado residents voting against it for environmental and cost reasons in November 1972. This led to the International Olympic Committee opening up the bids for the games again, eventually awarding them to Innsbruck in February 1973. The Austrian city, having hosted the Winter Olympics in 1964, was in the process of having the venues used for those Games before Denver's with clear cutting of the alpine skiing venues, lessening of the amount of cross-country skiing routes, upgrading the ski jumps, adding lighting in the indoor sports arena to accommodate color television, and the construction of a combination bobsleigh and luge track. After the 1976 Games, the venues have remained in use, hosting events in Nordic skiing and the sliding sports. They hosted some of the events for the Winter Universiade in 2005 and seven of the eight venues served as host for the first Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2012.
1960 Winter Olympics
Women were allowed to compete in the Olympic speed skating competition for the first time in 1960. Multiple nations had requested the inclusion of women's speed skating events in the program for the 1956 Games, but the request was rejected by the IOC. The issue was revisited for the 1960 Games, and since women had been competing internationally since 1936 and there was a World Championship for women's speed skating, the IOC agreed to four events; 500, 1,000, 1,500, and 3,000 meters. Most of the events were held on the Squaw Valley Olympic Skating Rink, which was an outdoor skating oval, and featured artificial ice, a first for the Olympic speed skating competition. Given the altitude and the artificial ice, the rink was the fastest in the world, as evidenced by Norwegian Knut Johannesen’s world record in the 10,000 meter event. At 15:46.6 he was the first skater ever to break the 16-minute barrier, and eclipsed the previous world record by 46 seconds. Despite Johannesen's victory, the Soviets dominated the speed skating events, winning all but two of the races. Yevgeny Grishin won both the 500 and 1,500 meter races, though he shared the 1,500 meter gold medal with Norwegian Roald Aas. Lidiya Skoblikova from the Soviet Union was the other double gold medalist, when she won the 1,500 and 3,000 meter events. Polish skaters Helena Pilejczyk and Elwira Seroczyńska placed second and third in the 1,500 meter event, which were Poland's only medals of the Games. They were just the second and third Poles ever to win Winter Olympic medals.
Figure skating at the Olympic Games
Figure skating was first contested as an Olympic sport at the 1908 Summer Olympics, in London, United Kingdom. As this traditional winter sport could be conducted indoors, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved its inclusion in the Summer Olympics program. It was featured a second time at the Antwerp Games, after which it was permanently transferred to the program of the Winter Olympic Games, first held in 1924 in Chamonix, France.
Winter Paralympic Games
Sepp Zwicknagl, a pioneer of snow sports for disabled athletes, was a double-leg amputee Austrian skier who experimented skiing using prosthetics. His work helped pioneer technological advances for people with disabilities who wished to participate in winter sports. Advances were slow and it was not until 1974 that the first official world ski competition for physically impaired athletes, featuring downhill and a cross-country skiing, was held. The first Winter Paralympics were held in 1976 at Örnsköldsvik, Sweden from February 21–28. Alpine and Nordic skiing for amputees and visually impaired athletes where the main events but ice sledge racing was included as a demonstration event. There were 198 participating athletes from 16 countries, and it was the first time athletes with impairments other than wheelchair athletes were permitted to compete.
Ice hockey at the 1920 Summer Olympics
This was the first ice hockey tournament at an Olympic Games, and the only ever instance of it at a Summer Olympics. An ice hockey tournament was part of the inaugural Winter Olympics in 1924 and has been part of every Winter programme since then.
Winter Olympic Games
The 1972 Winter Games, held in Sapporo, Japan, were the first to be hosted on a continent other than North America or Europe. The issue of professionalism was disputed during these Games when a number of alpine skiers were found to have participated in a ski camp at Mammoth Mountain in the United States; three days before the opening ceremony, IOC president Avery Brundage threatened to bar the skiers from competing in the Games as he insisted that they were no longer amateurs having benefited financially from their status as athletes. Eventually only Austrian Karl Schranz, who earned more than the other skiers, was excluded from the competition. Canada did not send teams to the 1972 or 1976 ice hockey tournaments in protest at not being able to use players from professional leagues. It also accused the Soviet Union of using state-sponsored athletes, who were de facto professionals. Francisco Fernández Ochoa became the first (and, as of 2018, only) Spaniard to win a Winter Olympic gold medal when he triumphed in the slalom.
North Korea at the 1964 Winter Olympics
North Korea competed as "North Korea" at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria. It was the first time that the nation was represented at any Olympic Games. Han Pil-hwa is the first Winter Olympic medalist from either Korea before South Korea won its first winter medals in 1992 starting with Kim Ki-hoon.
History of figure skating
Figure skating's Olympic debut came at the 1908 Summer Olympics—it was the first winter sport introduced to the Olympics. The competition included men's singles, ladies' singles, pairs, and special figures.
Soviet Union at the Olympics
The 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo became the first Winter Olympic Games for Soviet athletes. There Lyubov Kozyreva won the first Winter Olympic gold medal in the history of Soviet sport, competing in the women's cross-country skiing 10 km event.
Skijoring
Skijoring as a sport behind reindeer made its official debut in Stockholm at the Nordic Games of 1901, 1905 and 1909 (http://www.morgedal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/The-beginning-of-the-Winter-Olympics.pdf and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_Games;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skijoring_at_the_1928_Winter_Olympics). In 1926, equine skijoring made an appearance at the Chamonix International Winter Sports Week Games (http://blog.americanheritage1.com/blog/bid/103179/The-Magnificent-1924-Chamonix-Winter-Olympic-Games) which set the stage for it’s inclusion as an exhibition sport at the 1928 Winter Olympic Games two years later in St. Moritz, Switzerland (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skijoring_at_the_1928_Winter_Olympics). In 1976, Denver, Colorado listed skijoring as an exhibition sport in their bid for the Winter Olympics. Denver won the bid, but ultimately turned it down, and skijoring was destined to remain in the shadows. Skijor International, LLC and Skijor USA, a non-profit organization, are working to bring equine skijoring back to the Winter Olympic Games in some capacity in 2026 or 2030 marking 100 years of skijoring history.
List of bids for the Summer Olympics
The first three games were not subject to bids; the first IOC Session, in 1894, awarded the first games to Athens (1896) and Paris (1900), respectively. The 1904 Olympics were initially awarded to Chicago, but then moved to St. Louis to be co-located with the World Fair. A system with bids was introduced ahead of the 1908 Olympics, and were awarded to Rome. After the 1906 eruption of Mount Vesuvius, Italy returned the games to IOC, which awarded them to London. The 1916 Olympics were awarded to Berlin, but canceled due to the First World War. The 1940 Olympics were originally awarded to Tokyo, but after the 1938 break-out of the Second Sino-Japanese War, they were returned to the IOC, who awarded them to Helsinki. The games, and the 1944 Olympics awarded to London, were ultimately canceled due to the Second World War. The 1956 Olympics were awarded to Melbourne, but Australian horse quarantine rules forced the equestrian events to be held in Stockholm. Three times there have been only a single bid, Stockholm in 1912, and Los Angeles in 1932 and 1984. Starting with the 2004 Olympics, only the highest-rated cities are short-listed for the final IOC vote.
Winter Olympic Games
In 1988, the Canadian city of Calgary hosted the first Winter Olympics to span three weekends, lasting for a total of 16 days. New events were added in ski-jumping and speed skating, while future Olympic sports curling, short track speed skating and freestyle skiing made their debut appearance as demonstration sports. The speed skating events were held indoors for the first time, on the Olympic Oval. Dutch skater Yvonne van Gennip won three gold medals and set two world records, beating skaters from the favoured East German team in every race. Her medal total was equalled by Finnish ski jumper Matti Nykänen, who won all three events in his sport. Alberto Tomba, an Italian skier, made his Olympic debut by winning both the giant slalom and slalom. East German Christa Rothenburger won the women's 1,000 metre speed skating event. Seven months later she would earn a silver in track cycling at the Summer Games in Seoul, to become the only athlete to win medals in both a Summer and Winter Olympics in the same year.
Winter Olympic Games
The Winter Olympics have been an ideological front in the Cold War since the Soviet Union first participated at the 1956 Winter Games. It did not take long for the Cold War combatants to discover what a powerful propaganda tool the Olympic Games could be. The advent of the state-sponsored "full-time amateur athlete" of the Eastern Bloc countries further eroded the ideology of the pure amateur, as it put the self-financed amateurs of the Western countries at a disadvantage. The Soviet Union entered teams of athletes who were all nominally students, soldiers, or working in a profession, but many of whom were in reality paid by the state to train on a full-time basis. Nevertheless, the IOC held to the traditional rules regarding amateurism until the '90s.
Denmark at the 1968 Winter Olympics
Denmark has been part of the Olympic movement since the beginning, having sent three athletes to the first modern Olympics in 1896. Since then, the only Summer Olympic Games they have missed is the 1904 Summer Olympics. Denmark first competed at the Winter Olympics at the 1948 Winter Olympics. Grenoble was accordingly their fifth time participating in the Winter Olympics. Denmark has won at least one medal in every Summer Olympics they have participated in, but won a medal in the Winter Olympics only once, in 1998 at Nagano in the sport of curling. The 1968 Winter Olympics were held from 6–18 February 1968; a total of 1,158 athletes competed representing 37 National Olympic Committees. The Danish delegation to Grenoble consisted of three cross-country skiers; Apollo Lynge, Kirsten Carlsen, and Svend Carlsen. Kirsten Carlsen was the flagbearer for the opening ceremony. The two Carlsens' were husband and wife.
1956 Winter Olympics
The Cold War began after the allied victory in World War II. Until 1952, many of the Communist countries of Eastern Europe had participated in Worker's Olympics or Spartakiads. The Soviet Union emerged from international isolation by eschewing the Spartakiad and participating in the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki; they made their Winter Olympics debut at the Cortina Games. Soviet general secretary Nikita Khrushchev's aim was to use international sports competitions, such as the Olympics, to demonstrate the superiority of communism, strengthen political ties with other communist countries, and project the Soviet Union as a peace-loving nation actively engaged in the world. The Soviets' participation at the Olympics raised the level of competition as they won the most medals and more gold medals than any other nation. The Cortina Games were held before the Hungarian Revolution and subsequent Soviet invasion, and the Suez War, which occurred in the autumn of 1956; the Winter Games escaped the boycotts that plagued the Melbourne Olympics, which were celebrated in November and December of that year.
Special Olympics
In 1971, The U.S. Olympic Committee gave the Special Olympics official approval to use the name "Olympics". France sent the first athletes from outside North America to the second games held in 1970. The third games in 1972 saw 10 nations send athletes The first Special Olympics World Winter Games were held in February 1977 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, U.S. The United Nations declared 1986, the year of the Special Olympics. In 1988, the Special Olympics was officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The first World Games held outside the U.S., were the winter games of 1993 in Salzburg and Schladming, Austria. The Austrian president was the first head of state to personally open the games.
1956 Winter Olympics
The opening ceremonies took place on Thursday, 26 January 1956 in the Olympic Ice Stadium. Temporary seating was added to boost the stadium's capacity to 14,000 people. Athletes representing 32 nations marched in the ceremony and Mr Giovanni Gronchi, President of the Italian Republic, declared the Games open. At this point, speed skater Guido Caroli skated into the stadium with the Olympic flame. While he was on a circuit of the Ice Stadium he tripped and fell over a television cable; he regained his feet and lit the cauldron. The Olympic oath was delivered by Giuliana Chenal-Minuzzo; this was the first time a female athlete gave the oath at an Olympic Games. The Olympic Hymn, officially recognised as such at the IOC congress in Paris on 13 June 1955, was played for the first time at the Cortina Games.
List of 1936 Winter Olympics medal winners
The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known by the International Olympic Committee as the IV Olympic Winter Games, were a multi-sport event held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, from February 6 through February 16, 1936. A total of 646 athletes representing 28 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated at the Games in 17 events across 8 disciplines.
1968 Winter Olympics medal table
The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event held in Grenoble, France, from 6 to 18 February 1968. A total of 1,158 athletes representing 37 National Olympic Committees (NOCs)—including Morocco's first delegation—participated in 35 events from 10 different sports and disciplines. The team relay (4 × 7.5 km) event in biathlon was contested for the first time.
Winter Olympic Games
St. Moritz was selected to host the first post-war Games in 1948. Switzerland's neutrality had protected the town during World War II, and most of the venues were in place from the 1928 Games, which made St. Moritz a logical choice. It became the first city to host a Winter Olympics twice. Twenty-eight countries competed in Switzerland, but athletes from Germany and Japan were not invited. Controversy erupted when two hockey teams from the United States arrived, both claiming to be the legitimate U.S. Olympic hockey representative. The Olympic flag presented at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp was stolen, as was its replacement. There was unprecedented parity at these Games, during which 10 countries won gold medals—more than any Games to that point.
Australia at the Winter Olympics
The first Winter Olympics took place in 1924. Australia first competed at the Winter Olympics in 1936, when its sole representative, Kenneth Kennedy, participated in speed skating. Kennedy came 33rd in both the 1500 m and 5000 m, near the bottom of the standings. He was entirely on his own; no Australian support staff were in attendance, even though the AOF officially sanctioned Kennedy's entry.
Winter Paralympic Games
The Winter Paralympic Games is an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete in snow & ice sports. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. The Winter Paralympic Games are held every four years directly following the Winter Olympic Games. The Winter Paralympics are also hosted by the city that hosted the Winter Olympics. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) oversees the Winter Paralympics. Medals are awarded in each event: with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, following the tradition that the Olympic Games started in 1904.
1960 Winter Olympics
The 1960 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event held between February 18–28, 1960 in Squaw Valley, California, United States.
Winter Olympic Games
A predecessor, the Nordic Games, were organised by General Viktor Gustaf Balck in Stockholm, Sweden in 1901 and were held again in 1903 and 1905 and then every fourth year thereafter until 1926. Balck was a charter member of the IOC and a close friend of Olympic Games founder Pierre de Coubertin. He attempted to have winter sports, specifically figure skating, added to the Olympic programme but was unsuccessful until the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. Four figure skating events were contested, at which Ulrich Salchow (10-time world champion) and Madge Syers won the individual titles.
Luxembourg at the 1992 Winter Olympics
Luxembourg first joined Olympic competition at the 1900 Summer Olympics and first participated at the Winter Olympic Games at the 1928 Winter Olympics. Their participation at Winter Olympics since has been sporadic, Luxembourg did not sent a delegation to any Winter Olympics from 1948 to 1984. The 1992 Winter Olympics were held from 8–23 February 1992. Albertville marked their fourth appearance at a Winter Olympics. The delegation sent by Luxembourg to Albertville consisted of a single alpine skier, Marc Girardelli.
1924 Winter Olympics
The tradition of holding the Winter Olympics in the same year as the Summer Olympics would continue until 1992, after which the current practice of holding a Winter Olympics in the second year after each Summer Olympics began.
Roy Forbes (ice hockey)
The 1948 Winter Olympics were to be held in St. Moritz, Switzerland. They were then officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games as they were the first Olympic games to be celebrated after World War II. In the fall of 1947, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association invited the RCAF to form Canada’s Olympic ice hockey squad. Although Forbes traveled to St. Moritz as a member of Canada national hockey team, due to tournament rules that allowed teams to dress only twelve players, Forbes was used as a reserve and did not get into game play during the 1948 Olympics. Nonetheless, Forbes was a member of the team that won Canada’s first gold medal in Olympic hockey since 1932, and he was given an Olympic Gold Medal.
1932 Winter Olympics
The 1932 Winter Olympics, officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event in the United States, held in Lake Placid, New York. The games opened on February 4 and closed on February 15. It was the first of four Winter Olympics held in the United States; Lake Placid hosted again in 1980.
1924 Winter Olympics
In 1925, the IOC decided to organize Olympic Winter Games every four years, independent of the Olympic Games proper, and recognized the International Winter Sports Week as the first Olympic Winter games in retrospect.
1976 Winter Paralympics
The 1976 Winter Paralympic Games () were the first Winter Paralympics. They were held in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, from 21 to 28 February 1976. The disabilities included in this Paralympics were blindness and amputees. Sixteen countries took part with 196 athletes. There were competitions in Alpine and Nordic skiing for amputee and visually impaired athletes, and a demonstration event in ice sledge racing.
1896 Summer Olympics
The 1896 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad, was the first international Olympic Games held in modern history. Organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which had been created by Pierre de Coubertin, it was held in Athens, Greece, from 6 to 15 April 1896.
1992 Winter Olympics
The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games (), were a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 8 to 23 February 1992 in Albertville, France. They were the last Winter Olympics to be held the same year as the Summer Olympics, and the first where the Winter Paralympics were held at the same site. Albertville was selected as host in 1986, beating Sofia, Falun, Lillehammer, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Anchorage and Berchtesgaden. The games were the third Winter Olympics held in France, after Chamonix in 1924 and Grenoble in 1968, and the fifth Olympics overall in the country.
Winter Olympic coins
Although the first Olympic coin can be traced back to 480 BC, the modern Olympics did not see its first commemoratives until 1951. The original concept of Olympic coins was that the Greeks believed that coins brought the general public closer to the Olympic games. The premise was that those who could not attend the games could at least have a tangible souvenir of the event.
Winter Olympic Games
In 1980 the Winter Olympics returned to Lake Placid, which had hosted the 1932 Games. The first boycott of a Winter Olympics took place at these Games, when Taiwan refused to participate after an edict by the IOC mandated that they change their name and national anthem. This was an attempt by the IOC to accommodate China, who wished to compete using the same name and anthem as those used by Taiwan. As a result, China participated for the first time since 1952. American speed-skater Eric Heiden set either an Olympic or World record in every one of the five events in which he competed, winning a total of five individual gold medals and breaking the record for most individual golds in a single Olympics (both Summer and Winter). Hanni Wenzel won both the slalom and giant slalom and her country, Liechtenstein, became the smallest nation to produce an Olympic gold medallist. In the "Miracle on Ice", the American hockey team composed of college players beat the favoured seasoned professionals from the Soviet Union, and progressed to eventually win the gold medal.
Winter Olympic Games
Three years later, Italian count Eugenio Brunetta d'Usseaux proposed that the IOC stage a week of winter sports included as part of the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. The organisers opposed this idea because they desired to protect the integrity of the Nordic Games and were concerned about a lack of facilities for winter sports.
1952 Winter Olympics
The 1952 Winter Olympics (Norwegian: "Vinter-OL 1952"), officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games (French: Les "VIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver"), took place in Oslo, Norway, from 14 to 25 February 1952.
Australia at the 1994 Winter Paralympics
Despite the previous Winter Olympics being held in 1992, a 1986 decision made by the International Organising Committee (IOC) was implemented, denoting that the Summer and Winter Olympic Games be held on alternating 4 year cycles, occurring on even years. Thus, the 1994 games were held a mere 2 years after the previous Winter Olympics of Albertville (France) in 1992. The Games were held from Thursday March 10, to Saturday March 19, and consisted of 133 events across 5 sports. 31 Nations participated, with a total of 471 participating athletes. The 1994 Winter Paralympics were also the first Games organized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
Summer Olympic Games
The Summer Olympic Games () or the Games of the Olympiad, first held in 1896, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years. The most recent Olympics were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) organises the Games and oversees the host city's preparations. In each Olympic event, gold medals are awarded for first place, silver medals are awarded for second place, and bronze medals are awarded for third place; this tradition began in 1904. The Winter Olympic Games were created due to the success of the Summer Olympics.
Ice hockey at the Olympic Games
The first Winter Olympic Games were held in 1924 in Chamonix, France. Chapter 1, article 6, of the 2007 edition of the Olympic Charter defines winter sports as "sports which are practised on snow or ice". Ice hockey and figure skating were permanently integrated in the Winter Olympics programme. The IOC made the Winter Games a permanent fixture and they were held the same year as the Summer Games until 1992. Following that, further Winter Games have been held on the third year of each Olympiad.
Ice hockey at the Olympic Games
Ice hockey tournaments have been staged at the Olympic Games since 1920. The men's tournament was introduced at the 1920 Summer Olympics and was transferred permanently to the Winter Olympic Games program in 1924, in France. The women's tournament was first held at the 1998 Winter Olympics.
Bobsleigh at the Winter Olympics
Bobsleigh is an event in the Winter Olympic Games where a two- or four-person team drives a specially designed sled down an ice track, with the winning team completing the route with the fastest time. The event has been featured since the first Winter Games in 1924 in Chamonix, France, with the exception of the 1960 games in Squaw Valley when the organizing committee decided not to build a track in order to reduce expenses. Other than that exception, the four-man competition has been competed at every game (in 1928, it was a five-man competition). The two-man event was introduced at the 1932 games and a two-woman event was first contested at the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Winter Olympic Games
The original five Winter Olympics sports (broken into nine disciplines) were bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, Nordic skiing (consisting of the disciplines military patrol, cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, and ski jumping), and skating (consisting of the disciplines figure skating and speed skating). The Games were held every four years from 1924 to 1936, interrupted in 1940 and 1944 by World War II, and resumed in 1948. Until 1992 the Winter and Summer Olympic Games were held in the same years, but in accordance with a 1986 decision by the IOC to place the Summer and Winter Games on separate four-year cycles in alternating even-numbered years, the next Winter Olympics after 1992 was in 1994.
Winter Olympic Games
St. Moritz, Switzerland, was appointed by the IOC to host the second Winter Games in 1928. Fluctuating weather conditions challenged the hosts. The opening ceremony was held in a blizzard while warm weather conditions plagued sporting events throughout the rest of the Games. Because of the weather the 10,000 metre speed-skating event had to be abandoned and officially cancelled. The weather was not the only noteworthy aspect of the 1928 Games: Sonja Henie of Norway made history when she won the figure skating competition at the age of 15. She became the youngest Olympic champion in history, a distinction she held for 70 years.
Olympic Games
The United States hosted four Winter Games, more than any other nation. The other nations hosting multiple Winter Games are France with three, while Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Japan, Canada and Italy have hosted twice. Among host cities, Lake Placid, Innsbruck and St. Moritz have played host to the Winter Olympic Games more than once, each holding that honour twice. The most recent Winter Games were held in Pyeongchang in 2018, South Korea's first Winter Olympics and second Olympics overall (including the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul).
List of years in ice sports
Ice hockey is included in the 1920 Summer Olympics.
International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (FIBT) is founded
The first ever Winter Olympic Games includes the ice sports bobsleigh, figure skating, and ice hockey. Curling was played unofficially.
Ice hockey at the Olympic Games
The Soviet Union competed in its first World Championship in 1954, defeating Canada and winning the gold medal. At the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, the Soviet team went undefeated and won its first gold medal. Canada's team lost to the Soviets and the United States in the medal round, winning the bronze. The 1960 Winter Olympics, in Squaw Valley, United States, saw the first, and to date only, team from Australia compete in the tournament. Canada, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and Sweden were the top four teams heading into the Games, but were all defeated by the American team, which won all seven games en route to its first Olympic gold medal. Canada won the silver medal and the Soviet Union won the bronze.
List of participating nations at the Winter Olympic Games
In October 1986, the IOC had voted to hold the Olympic Winter Games halfway through the four-year Olympiad, rather than in the same year as the summer Games, and this change started with the XVIIth Olympic Winter Games in 1994 in Lillehammer, Norway. A total of 67 nations took part, including the Czech Republic and Slovakia as independent teams, and each of the ex-Soviet nations.
Cross-country skiing at the Winter Olympics
Cross-country skiing has been contested at the Winter Olympic Games since the first Winter Games in 1924 in Chamonix, France. The women's events were first contested at the 1952 Winter Olympics.
Denmark at the 1988 Winter Olympics
Denmark joined the modern Olympic movement at the beginning, participating in the first modern Games, the 1896 Summer Olympics. The National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark was formally recognised by the International Olympic Committee on 1 January 1905. Denmark has sent a team to every Summer Olympic Games except the 1904 St. Louis Olympics, and they first participated in the Winter Olympic Games in the 1948 St. Moritz Olympics. Their participation at Winter Olympics has been sporadic, and these Calgary Games were their first time competing at a Winter Olympics since the 1968 Grenoble Olympics 20 years prior. The 1988 Winter Olympics were held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada from 13–28 February 1988; a total of 1,423 athletes representing 57 National Olympic Committees took part. Denmark was represented in Calgary by a single figure skater, Lars Dresler, who was selected as the flag-bearer for the opening ceremony.
Australia at the Winter Olympics
Australia first competed in the Winter Olympic Games in 1936 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and has participated in every games since, with the exception of the 1948 Games in St. Moritz.
1948 Winter Olympics medal table
This is the full table of the medal table of the 1948 Winter Olympics, which were held in St. Moritz, Switzerland. These rankings sort by the number of gold medals earned by a country. The number of silvers is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze. If, after the above, countries are still tied, equal ranking is given and they are listed alphabetically. This follows the system used by the IOC, IAAF and BBC. Medals for the two demonstration sports Military patrol and Winter pentathlon are not included in this summary, albeit they are listed in the official report of the Swiss Olympic Committee. Italy won its first Winter Olympic Medal, a Gold medal.
1984 Winter Paralympics
The 1984 Winter Paralympic Games (German: "Paralympische Winterspiele 1984") were the third Winter Paralympics. They were held from 14 to 20 January 1984 in Innsbruck, Austria. They were the first Winter Games organized by the International Co-ordinating Committee (ICC), which was formed on March 15, 1982, in Leysin, Switzerland. These Games were accessible for all athletes with cerebral palsy. For the first time, an exhibition event was held at the Olympic Winter Games in Sarajevo and 30 male three-track skiers took part in the Giant Slalom event. Three sports were contested: alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, and ice sledge speed racing. The most successful athlete was German alpine skier Reinhild Moeller, who won 3 gold medals and 1 silver medal. The Games, then known as the Third World Winter Games for the Disabled, were fully sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).The top 10 NPCs by number of gold medals are listed below. The host nation (Austria) is highlighted.
Summer Olympic Games
The 1896 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in Athens, Greece, from 6 to 15 April 1896. It was the first Olympic Games held in the Modern era. About 100,000 people attended for the opening of the games. The athletes came from 14 nations, with most coming from Greece. Although Greece had the most athletes, the U.S. finished with the most champions. 11 Americans placed first in their events vs. the 10 from Greece. Ancient Greece was the birthplace of the Olympic Games, consequently Athens was perceived to be an appropriate choice to stage the inaugural modern Games. It was unanimously chosen as the host city during a congress organised by Pierre de Coubertin, a French pedagogue and historian, in Paris, on 23 June 1894. The IOC was also established during this congress.
Commonwealth Winter Games
The Commonwealth Winter Games was a multi-sport event comprising winter sports, last held in 1966. Three editions of the Games have been staged. The Winter Games were designed as a counterbalance to the Commonwealth Games, which focuses on summer sports, to accompany the Winter Olympics and Summer Olympic Games.
1928 Winter Olympics
The 1928 Games were the first true "Winter Olympics" held on its own as they were not in conjunction with a "Summer Olympics". The preceding 1924 Games were retroactively renamed the inaugural Winter Olympics, though they had been in fact part of the 1924 Summer Olympics. All preceding Winter Events of the Olympic Games were the winter sports part of the schedule of the Summer Games, and not held as a separate Winter Games. These games also replaced the now redundant Nordic Games, that were held quadrennially since early in the century.
1940 Winter Olympics
In the spring of 1939, the IOC gave the 1940 Winter Olympics, now scheduled for 2–11 February, to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, where the previous Games held. Three months later, Germany invaded Poland, on September 1, to ignite World War II and the Winter Games were cancelled in November. Likewise, the 1944 Games, awarded in 1939 to Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, were cancelled in 1941. St Moritz held the first post-war games in 1948, while Cortina d'Ampezzo hosted in 1956.
1964 Winter Olympics
Innsbruck competed against Calgary, Canada, and Lahti, Finland, for the right to host the 1964 Winter Olympics. Here is the resulting vote count that occurred at the 55th IOC Session, in Munich, West Germany, on May 26, 1959:Medals were awarded in 34 events contested in 6 sports (10 disciplines).
36 nations sent athletes to compete in Innsbruck. India, Mongolia, and North Korea participated in the Winter Games for the first time. Athletes from West Germany (FRG) and East Germany (GDR) competed together as the United Team of Germany from 1956 to 1964.
1948 Winter Olympics
There were 28 nations that marched in the opening ceremonies on January 30, 1948. Nearly 670 athletes competed in 22 events in four sports. The Games also featured two demonstration sports: military patrol, which later became the biathlon, and winter pentathlon, which was discontinued after these Games. Notable performances were turned in by figure skaters Dick Button and Barbara Ann Scott and skier Henri Oreiller. Most of the athletic venues were already in existence from the first time St. Moritz hosted the Winter Games in 1928. All of the venues were outdoors, which meant the Games were heavily dependent on favorable weather conditions.
Denmark at the 1964 Winter Olympics
Denmark has been part of the Olympic movement since the beginning, having sent three athletes to the first modern Olympics in 1896. Since then, the only Summer Olympic Games they have missed is the 1904 Summer Olympics. Denmark then first competed at the Winter Olympics at the 1948 Winter Olympics. Innsbruck was accordingly their fourth time participating in the Winter Olympics. The 1964 Winter Olympics were held from 29 January to 9 February 1964. The Danish delegation consisted of two athletes, cross-country skier Svend Carlsen and speed skater Kurt Stille. Carlsen was the flag bearer for the opening ceremony.
Winter Olympic Games
The 1994 Winter Olympics, held in Lillehammer, Norway, were the first Winter Games to be held separately from the Summer Games. This change resulted from the decision reached in the 91st IOC Session (1986) to separate the Summer and Winter Games and place them in alternating even-numbered years. Lillehammer is the northernmost city to ever host the Winter Games and it was the second time the Games were held in Norway, after the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo. After the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, the Czech Republic and Slovakia made their Olympic debuts. The women's figure skating competition drew media attention when American skater Nancy Kerrigan was injured on 6 January 1994, in an assault planned by the ex-husband of opponent Tonya Harding. Both skaters competed in the Games, but the gold medal was controversially won by Oksana Baiul who became Ukraine's first Olympic champion, while Kerrigan won the silver medal. Johann Olav Koss of Norway won three gold medals, coming first in all of the distance speed skating events. 13-year-old Kim Yoon-Mi became the youngest-ever Olympic gold medallist when South Korea won the women's 3,000 meter speed skating relay. Russia won the most events, with eleven gold medals, while Norway achieved 26 podium finishes, collecting the most medals overall on home ground. Juan Antonio Samaranch described Lillehammer as "the best Olympic Winter Games ever" in his closing ceremony speech.
1952 Winter Olympics
Oslo had unsuccessfully bid to host the 1936 Winter Olympics, losing to Germany, which had hosted the 1936 Summer Olympics. At that time, the nation that hosted the Summer Olympics also hosted the Winter Olympics. After the 1936 Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to award the Winter and Summer Games to different countries, but the Games were suspended during World War II. London hosted the first post-war Games, the 1948 Summer Olympics, and recommended Oslo as the host city for the 1948 Winter Games, but the city council declined. Instead, the 1948 Winter Olympics were held in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
1972 Winter Olympics medal table
The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XI Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event held in Sapporo, Japan, from 3 to 13 February 1972. A total of 1,006 athletes representing 35 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in 35 events from 10 different sports and disciplines.
Winter Olympic Games
The Austrian city of Innsbruck was the host in 1964. Although Innsbruck was a traditional winter sports resort, warm weather caused a lack of snow during the Games and the Austrian army was enlisted to transport snow and ice to the sports venues. Soviet speed-skater Lidia Skoblikova made history by winning all four speed skating events. Her career total of six gold medals set a record for Winter Olympics athletes. Luge was first contested in 1964, but the sport received bad publicity when a competitor was killed in a pre-Olympic training run.
Asian Winter Games
The Asian Winter Games (AWG) is an international multi-sport event held every four years for members of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) which features winter events. The Japanese Olympic Committee first suggested the idea of holding a winter version of the Asian Games in 1982. Their efforts were rewarded when they were finally given hosting rights for the first edition that was held in Sapporo in 1986, as the city had the infrastructure and expertise gained from hosting of the 1972 Winter Olympics.
Winter Olympic Games
The German towns of Garmisch and Partenkirchen joined to organise the 1936 edition of the Winter Games, held on 6–16 February. This was the last time the Summer and Winter Olympics were held in the same country in the same year. Alpine skiing made its Olympic debut, but skiing teachers were barred from entering because they were considered to be professionals. Because of this decision the Swiss and Austrian skiers refused to compete at the Games.
1988 Winter Olympics medal table
The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event held in Calgary, Canada, from 13 to 28 February 1988. A total of 1,423 athletes representing 57 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) (+8 from 1984 Olympics) participated in 46 events (+7 from 1984) from 10 different sports and disciplines (unchanged from 1984). Five new events were contested at these Games—men's and women's Super G in alpine skiing, team events in Nordic combined and ski jumping, and women's 5000 metres in speed skating—and two events returned to the program—men's and women's combined in alpine skiing.
List of Olympic venues in figure skating
For the Summer and Winter Olympics, there are 27 venues that have been or will be used for figure skating. This is one of two sports in the Winter Olympics to debut in the Summer Olympics with ice hockey being the other. The first venue for the event took place during the 1908 Games was held indoors. Twelve years later, the venue joined ice hockey as another Winter Olympic sport in the Summer Olympics. For the first two Winter Olympics, figure skating was held outdoors. With figure skating being held outdoors, there were weather concerns with thawing for the first two Winter Games. A suggestion by International Olympic Committee President Count Henri de Baillet-Latour to 1932 Olympic Organizing Committee President Godfrey Dewey in September 1930 led Dewey to create the first indoor arena for the Winter Olympics. For the 1936 Games, the venue was covered partially. Following World War II, the 1948 venue became the first venue to be used twice at the Winter Olympics since it had been used twenty years earlier. Figure skating's final competition that took place outdoors was in 1956 though that venue has since had a roof added to it. Since 1960, all figure skating competitions have taken place indoors. Three National Hockey League (NHL) venues have hosted Olympic figure skating competitions: the 1988 (both venues) and the 2010 though the NHL Vancouver Canucks moved out of the 2010 venue following the 1994–95 season. The 2002 venue was a National Basketball Association (NBA) venue which meant the Utah Jazz was on a road trip during the 2002 Games.
Ice Hockey World Championships
The IIHF considers the ice hockey tournament held at the 1920 Summer Olympics to be the first Ice Hockey World Championship. It was organized by a committee that included future IIHF president Paul Loicq. The tournament was played from 23 to 29 April. Seven teams participated: Canada, Czechoslovakia, the United States, Switzerland, Sweden, France and Belgium. Canada, represented by the Winnipeg Falcons, won the gold medal, outscoring opponents 27–1. The United States and Czechoslovakia won the silver and bronze medals respectively. Following the 1921 Olympic Congress in Lausanne, the first Winter Olympics were held in 1924 in Chamonix, France, though they were only officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as such in the following year.
Speed skating at the Winter Olympics
Speed skating has been featured as a sport in the Winter Olympics since the first winter games in 1924. Women's events were added to the Olympic program for the first time in 1960.
Winter Olympic Games
The Winter Olympic Games () is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympics, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in Chamonix, France. The modern Olympic games were inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894, leading to the first modern Summer Games in Athens, Greece in 1896. The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure and authority.
List of outdoor ice hockey games
In the early history of hockey, games were played outdoors on rivers, lakes, and other naturally occurring ice surfaces. In fact, the first indoor game, held in 1875, was a novelty at the time, yet after that the game moved inside. While the first Olympic hockey tournament, held in 1920, was played indoors, games at the first Winter Olympics in 1924 were the first of several such tournaments to be played outdoors. Games at the World Championships were occasionally played outdoors, including the 1957 gold medal game between the Soviet Union and Sweden at the Lenin Stadium in Moscow. The attendance at that game was approximately 55,000, a number that stood as a record for more than 40 years. In 1954, the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL) played an exhibition game on an outdoor ice surface against the inmates of Michigan's Marquette Branch Prison.
Winter Paralympic Games
The Winter Paralympics began in 1976 in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. Those Games were the first Paralympics (Summer or Winter) that featured athletes other than wheelchair athletes. The Games have expanded and grown to be (along with the Summer Games) part of the largest international sporting event after the Olympic Games. Given their expansion, the need for a very specific classification system has arisen. This system has also given rise to controversy and opened the door for cheating. Winter Paralympians have also been convicted of steroid use and other forms of cheating unique to Paralympic athletes, which has tainted the integrity of the Games.
Olympic results index
[[Luge at the 1924 Winter Olympics|1924]] [[Luge at the 1928 Winter Olympics|1928]]
[[Luge at the 1932 Winter Olympics|1932]] [[Luge at the 1936 Winter Olympics|1936]]
[[Luge at the 1948 Winter Olympics|1948]] [[Luge at the 1952 Winter Olympics|1952]]
[[Luge at the 1956 Winter Olympics|1956]] [[Luge at the 1960 Winter Olympics|1960]]
[[Luge at the 1964 Winter Olympics|1964]] [[Luge at the 1968 Winter Olympics|1968]]
[[Luge at the 1972 Winter Olympics|1972]] [[Luge at the 1976 Winter Olympics|1976]]
[[Luge at the 1980 Winter Olympics|1980]] [[Luge at the 1984 Winter Olympics|1984]]
[[Luge at the 1988 Winter Olympics|1988]] [[Luge at the 1992 Winter Olympics|1992]]
[[Luge at the 1994 Winter Olympics|1994]] [[Luge at the 1998 Winter Olympics|1998]]
[[Luge at the 2002 Winter Olympics|2002]] [[Luge at the 2006 Winter Olympics|2006]]
[[Luge at the 2010 Winter Olympics|2010]] [[Luge at the 2014 Winter Olympics|2014]]
[[Luge at the 2018 Winter Olympics|2018]] [[Luge at the 2022 Winter Olympics|2022]]
1986 Asian Winter Games
The 1st Asian Winter Games were held from March 1 to 8, 1986 in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. The Japanese Olympic Committee first suggested the idea of having a continent-wide winter version of the Asian Games in 1982. With Sapporo's expertise and infrastructure available after successfully hosting the 1972 Winter Olympics, the Olympic Council of Asia General Assembly in Seoul in 1984 decided to give Japan the privilege of hosting the first ever Asian Winter Games. Participating in a total of 35 events in seven sports were 430 athletes and officials from seven countries.
German Olympic Sports Confederation
In lieu of the Olympic Games of 1920, for which Germany and its allies were not invited, "Deutsche Kampfspiele" (""German Sports Contests"") were organized, both for Summer and Winter, with the 1922 Winter edition predating the first Olympic Winter Games by two years. Hardly surprising, Berlin, having been prepared for 1916, was the site for the first Summer event:
Winter Olympic coins
Specifications
Dimensions
Specifications
Dimensions
Specifications
Dimensions
At the time, Sarajevo was the second largest city to host the Olympic Winter Games. These were the first Winter Olympic Games that featured gold coins. Marja-Liisa Haemaelaeinen of Finland was the first woman to win three gold medals in cross country skiing. Katarina Witt won her first Olympic gold medal in Figure Skating, and figure skating duo Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean won the Gold Medal, and performed to the music of Ravel's Bolero.
Olympic results index
[[Cross-country skiing at the 1924 Winter Olympics|1924]] [[Cross-country skiing at the 1928 Winter Olympics|1928]]
[[Cross-country skiing at the 1932 Winter Olympics|1932]] [[Cross-country skiing at the 1936 Winter Olympics|1936]]
[[Cross-country skiing at the 1948 Winter Olympics|1948]] [[Cross-country skiing at the 1952 Winter Olympics|1952]]
[[Cross-country skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics|1956]] [[Cross-country skiing at the 1960 Winter Olympics|1960]]
[[Cross-country skiing at the 1964 Winter Olympics|1964]] [[Cross-country skiing at the 1968 Winter Olympics|1968]]
[[Cross-country skiing at the 1972 Winter Olympics|1972]] [[Cross-country skiing at the 1976 Winter Olympics|1976]]
[[Cross-country skiing at the 1980 Winter Olympics|1980]] [[Cross-country skiing at the 1984 Winter Olympics|1984]]
[[Cross-country skiing at the 1988 Winter Olympics|1988]] [[Cross-country skiing at the 1992 Winter Olympics|1992]]
[[Cross-country skiing at the 1994 Winter Olympics|1994]] [[Cross-country skiing at the 1998 Winter Olympics|1998]]
[[Cross-country skiing at the 2002 Winter Olympics|2002]] [[Cross-country skiing at the 2006 Winter Olympics|2006]]
[[Cross-country skiing at the 2010 Winter Olympics|2010]] [[Cross-country skiing at the 2014 Winter Olympics|2014]] 
[[Cross-country skiing at the 2018 Winter Olympics|2018]] [[Cross-country skiing at the 2022 Winter Olympics|2022]]
Olympic sports
The only winter sports that were included in all Winter Olympic Games are skiing (only nordic skiing), skating (figure skating and speed skating), and ice hockey. Figure skating and ice hockey were also included in the Summer Olympics before the Winter Olympics were introduced in 1924.
Sports in Puerto Rico
The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the "XV Olympic Winter Games", was celebrated in Calgary, Alberta, Canada between February 13 and 28. It was the first Winter Olympics ever held in Canada. It was also the first time that a Puerto Rican team was sent to represent the island in an Olympic ski competition. No Puerto Rican had ever skied in the Olympics. The six-person Puerto Rican ski team was made up of native Puerto Ricans. They were Félix Flechas, Walter Sandza, Kevin Wilson, his sister Mary Pat Wilson and Jason Edelmann. Mary Pat Wilson is Puerto Rico’s first and only female Olympic skier. Even though the team did not do well in the competition, they were highly respected by their competitors.
1924 Winter Olympics medal table
The 1924 Winter Olympics, officially known as the I Olympic Winter Games, and known at the time as "Semaine Internationale des Sports d'Hiver" ("International Winter Sports Week"), was a winter multi-sport event held in Chamonix, France, from 25 January to 5 February 1924. Norway topped the table, collecting seventeen medals in total, including four gold, three of which were won by Thorleif Haug in the nordic combined and cross-country skiing events. Norway also achieved two podium sweeps, winning all three medals in both the 50 km cross-country skiing and the nordic combined. This remained a record at the Winter Olympics until 2014.
List of 1928 Winter Olympics medal winners
The 1928 Winter Olympics, referred to by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the II Olympic Winter Games, were held in St. Moritz, Switzerland, from February 11 through February 18, 1928. A total of 464 athletes from 25 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in these Games. Overall, 14 events were contested in 8 disciplines. Athletes competed in skeleton for the first time, but unlike the previous Olympic Games there was no curling competition and military patrol was a demonstration event rather than a medal event. Both men and women competed in these Games, although women were only allowed to compete in the figure skating ladies' singles and pairs events.
Special Olympics World Games
The first International Special Olympics Summer Games were held in Chicago, Illinois, US, in 1968, while the first International Special Olympics Winter Games were held in February 1977 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, US. In 1991, the name was officially changed from International Special Olympics Summer/Winter Games to Special Olympics World Summer/Winter Games.
List of Olympic medalists in bobsleigh
Bobsleigh is an Olympic sport that is contested at the Winter Olympic Games. The sport was included in the first Winter Olympics in 1924 and has been held at every Olympics since, except 1960. The four-man event, which was first held in 1924, was switched to a five-man event in 1928. The two-man event was added to the programme in 1932.
1980 Winter Olympics
The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIII Olympic Winter Games (French: "Les XIIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver"), was a multi-sport event which was celebrated from February 13, through February 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. This was the second time the Upstate New York village hosted the Games, after 1932. The only other candidate city to bid for the Games was Vancouver-Garibaldi, British Columbia, Canada, which withdrew before the final vote (though Vancouver would eventually win the bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympics.)
1998 Winter Olympics medal table
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event held in Nagano, Japan, from 7 to 22 February 1998. Twenty-four nations earned medals at these Games, and fifteen won at least one gold medal; forty-eight countries left the Olympics without winning a medal. Competitors from Germany earned the highest number of gold medals (12) and the most overall medals (29). With 10 gold medals and 25 overall medals, Norway finished second in both categories. Denmark won its first – and as of 2018 only – Winter Olympics medal, while Bulgaria and the Czech Republic won their first Winter Games gold medals. Azerbaijan, Kenya, Macedonia, Uruguay, and Venezuela competed for the first time, but none of them won a medal.
Olympic results index
[[Ice hockey at the 1924 Winter Olympics|1924]] [[Ice hockey at the 1928 Winter Olympics|1928]]
[[Ice hockey at the 1932 Winter Olympics|1932]] [[Ice hockey at the 1936 Winter Olympics|1936]]
[[Ice hockey at the 1948 Winter Olympics|1948]] [[Ice hockey at the 1952 Winter Olympics|1952]]
[[Ice hockey at the 1956 Winter Olympics|1956]] [[Ice hockey at the 1960 Winter Olympics|1960]]
[[Ice hockey at the 1964 Winter Olympics|1964]] [[Ice hockey at the 1968 Winter Olympics|1968]]
[[Ice hockey at the 1972 Winter Olympics|1972]] [[Ice hockey at the 1976 Winter Olympics|1976]]
[[Ice hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympics|1980]] [[Ice hockey at the 1984 Winter Olympics|1984]]
[[Ice hockey at the 1988 Winter Olympics|1988]] [[Ice hockey at the 1992 Winter Olympics|1992]]
[[Ice hockey at the 1994 Winter Olympics|1994]] [[Ice hockey at the 1998 Winter Olympics|1998]]
[[Ice hockey at the 2002 Winter Olympics|2002]] [[Ice hockey at the 2006 Winter Olympics|2006]]
[[Ice hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics|2010]] [[Ice hockey at the 2014 Winter Olympics|2014]]
[[Ice hockey at the 2018 Winter Olympics|2018]] [[Ice hockey at the 2022 Winter Olympics|2022]]
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.
Alps
In the first half of the 20th century the Olympic Winter Games were held three times in Alpine venues: the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France; the 1928 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland; and the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. During World War II the winter games were cancelled but after that time the Winter Games have been held in St. Moritz (1948), Cortina d'Ampezzo (1956), Innsbruck, Austria (1964 and 1976), Grenoble, France, (1968), Albertville, France, (1992), and Torino (2006). In 1930 the "Lauberhorn Rennen" (Lauberhorn Race), was run for the first time on the Lauberhorn above Wengen; the equally demanding Hahnenkamm was first run in the same year in Kitzbühl, Austria. Both races continue to be held each January on successive weekends. The Lauberhorn is the more strenuous downhill race at and poses danger to racers who reach within seconds of leaving the start gate.
Speed skating at the 1924 Winter Olympics – Men's 500 metres
The 500 metres speed skating event at the 1924 Winter Olympics was held on 26 January 1924 at the Stade Olympique de Chamonix. One of four speed skating events to be contested at these Games, this was the first event ever contested at the Winter Olympics. The event was won by American Charles Jewtraw who became the first Winter Olympics gold medallist.
Paralympic Games
The first Winter Paralympic Games were held in 1976 in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. This was the first Paralympics in which multiple categories of athletes with disabilities could compete. The Winter Games were celebrated every four years on the same year as their summer counterpart, just as the Olympics were. This tradition was upheld until the 1992 Games in Albertville, France; after that, beginning with the 1994 Games, the Winter Paralympics and the Winter Olympics have been held in those even-numbered years separate from the Summer Games.
Kandahar Ski Club
The first Winter Olympic Games also took place in 1924 as did the foundation of the FIS. There were only Nordic events at these games and the FIS was concerned only with these. The club's aim was to ensure that the Alpine disciplines were included in the future. In the same year the club issued a challenge to the British skiers in Wengen across the valley. The competition was for a slalom and a downhill race, which was won by the Kandahar. The skiers from Wengen went on to form the "Downhill Only Ski Club" (DHO). Swiss skiers also shared the objectives of the Kandahar. In Mürren were brothers Walter and Max Amstutz, both of whom were keen downhill skiers and were friends with the British. Walter Amstutz founded the "Schweizerischen Akademischen Skiklub" in November 1924.
List of 1960 Winter Olympics medal winners
The 1960 Winter Olympics, officially known by the International Olympic Committee as the "VIII Olympic Winter Games", were a multi-sport event held in Squaw Valley, California, United States from February 18 through February 28, 1960. A total of 665 athletes representing 30 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in 27 events across 8 disciplines during the Games.