-
Chamonix, France
First Winter Olympics
Athletes from 16 countries competed in the first Olympic Games. Only 13 women took part in the Games, they competed in the figure-skating events.Medals were awarded in 16 events in 7 sports.Charles Jewtraw from the USA became the first Winter Olympic gold medalist in the 500-meter speed skate. Canada won hockey gold. Norway won the unofficial team competition with 17 medals. -
Period: to
Sochi, Russia
-
St.Moritz, Switzerland
1928 Winter Olympics II
464 athletes from 25 nations competed at these Games. 14 events were contested in 6 sports. Athletes competed in skeleton for the first time. Norway finished on top of the medal table with a total of 15 medals. Sonja Henie won her first gold medal in women's figure skating. She set the record for the youngest person to win an Olympic medal, a record she held for 74 years. -
Lake Placid, United States
III Winter Games
Only 17 countries participated in these Games because of the worldwide economic crisis. Sportsmen competed in 14 events in 5 sports. The USA won with a total of 12 medals. Sonja Henie dominated in figure skating again. Figure skating competitions took place indoors for the first time. Canada's domination in hockey continued, but it was not as easy as at the previous Games. -
Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
1936 Winter Olympics
The Games were held under the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler. 28 countries took part in them. The Games marked the first time a symbolic fire was lit during the Winter Olympics. Alpine skiing events were included for the first time. Sonja Henie earned her third gold medal and turned pro. Britain was awarded gold in ice hockey creating one of the greatest upsets in Olympic history. -
St.Moritz, Switzerland
1948 Winter Olympics V
After an absence of 12 years Olympic competition returned. The Games felt the effects of the war. All of the venues were outdoors. Despite the problems, the Games were successful, with 28 countries. Alpine skiing became a major Olympic sport at and Gretchen Fraser of the U.S. was the surprise winner of the first gold medal for the women's slalom event. The Soviet Union did not send athletes to the Games of 1948. -
Oslo, Norway
VI Winter Games
The number of countries present increased to 30 (the Soviets were still absent). The first modern athlete's village was built. The first time ice hockey was held indoors at the Olympics. Canada once again won gold in hockey. Norway dominated the overall medal count with 16 medals, seven of them gold. -
Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy
Cortina Olympics 1956
32 nations competed at the Games. They were the first televised Winter Olympic Games. The USSR made its Winter Olympics debut and won more medals than any nation. It became an Olympic champion in ice hockey. A Soviet speed skater Yevgeny Grishin won two gold medals. Austrian Toni Sailer became the most famous athlete of the Games having won 3 alpine skiing events. -
Squaw Valley, United States
1960 Winter Olympics VIII
For the first time athletes from all five continents competed in Squaw Valley. The Games marked the only time that bobsled was not included in the Olympic programme. Women's speed skiing and the men's biathlon made their Olympic debut. Lidia Skoblikova won two gold medals in speed skating. The U.S. hockey team won its first gold medal in hockey. Soviet Union led the medals table with 21. -
Innsbruck, Austria
1964 Winter Olympics IX
The 1964 Games were marked by a lack of snow. Conditions at all venues were unsatisfactory. Russian speedskater Lidiya Skoblikova became the first person to earn four gold medals in a single Winter Olympics. The Soviet hockey team won gold again. Lyudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov earned first Olympic gold in the history of the Soviet figure skating. Soviet Union won the most medals for the third time. -
Grenoble, France
Grenoble 1968 Olympic Winter Games
The Games marked the first appearance of a mascot in Olympic history, Schuss - a man on skis. Norway won the most medals. The U.S. won only one gold medal—19–year-old Peggy Fleming in figure skating. In figure skating the Soviet pair Lyudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov repeated as champions.Jean Claude Killy was one of the brightest stars of the 1968 Games. He won the gold medal in the downhill skiing events. -
Sapporo, Japan
XI Winter Games
The sensational stars of the Games were Dutch speed skater Ard Schenk, who won three gold medals , Soviet cross-county skier Galina Kulakova who won all three women's events, and Swiss teen-ager Marie-Theres Nadig who won both the downhill and giant slalom. Soviet figure skaters Irina Rodnina and Alexei Ulanov won their first Olympic gold. The USSR was again on the top of the medal table with 16 medals. -
Innsbruck, Austria
1976 Olympics
37 nations participated in the Games. Ice dancing made its debut to the Olympics. Soviet speed skater Tatiana Averina won the most medals: two gold and two bronze.The USSR won its fourth ice hockey Olympic title.West German skier Rosi Mittermaier won two golds and a silver in Alpine events. Austrian favorite Franz Klammer won the downhill event in alpine skiing.He delighted his fans skiing on the edge of disaster. -
Lake Placid, United States
Wikipedia
The most notable highlight of the Games was the victory of the US men's ice hockey team, which became known as the «Miracle on Ice». They won the gold medal, defeating the heavily favored Soviet team. Eric Heiden of the United States won 5 gold medals in speedskating. He was the first to win 5 individual gold medals at one Winter Games. East Germany won the most medals overal. -
Sarajevo, Yugoslavia
1984 Olympics - Sarajevo, Yugoslavia
The highlight of the figure skating competitions was the free dance performance of Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean. Their Bolero earned perfect scores for artistic impression. Marja-Liisa Hämäläinen became the best athlete of the Games. She won all three individual cross-country races for women.The Soviet hockey team returned its Olympic title. -
Calgary, Canada
1988 - First Winter Olympics in Canada
The Games were extended to 16 days. The number of events increased from 39 to 46. The alpine events took place on artificial snow.The speed skating events were held on a covered rink for the first time.Eddie Edwards, also known as the Eagle, scored less than half of the points of any other athlete, became a cult hero of the 1988 Winter Olympics for his true Olympic spirit. -
Albertville, France
Wikipedia
Ski jumper Toni Nieminen, 16, became the youngest gold medalist of a Winter Olympic event. Norwegian skiers won every male cross-country skiing race. Bjørn Dæhlie and Vegard Ulvang each won three gold medals. Midori Ito became the first woman to land a triple axel in Olympic competition.Kristi Yamaguchi and Midori Ito of the United States and Japan became the first Asian persons to win Olympic medals in figure skating. -
Lillehammer, Norway
XVII(17th) Winter Games
The biggest winner of the Lillehammer Games was Italian Manuela Di Centa who won five medals in cross-country skiing. Russian nordic skier Lyubov Egorova won three more golds and a silver to bring her total to a record-tying six golds. In hockey, Russia suffered early losses for the first time, and Sweden won the gold.The Norwegians returned to the top of the medals table. -
Nagano, Japan
XVIII (18th) WINTER GAMES
Nordic skier Bjorn Dahlie won four medals and became the winningest Winter Olympic athlete ever, leaving Nagano with a career total of 12 medals. U.S. figure skater Tara Lipinski became the youngest woman ever to win her event. The fans cheered wildly for Japanese ski jumpers Masahiko Harada and Takanobu Okabe who tied for the longest jump on skis in Olympic history - 137 metres. -
Salt Lake City, United States
Salt Lake 2002
These Olympics marked the first time a US president opened an Olympic Winter Games held in the United States. Competition highlights included biathlete Ole Bjørndalen of Norway, winning gold in four men's events, Nordic combined athlete Samppa Lajunen of Finland winning three gold medals, Simon Ammann of Switzerland taking the double in ski jumping. Athletes from 18 countries won medals at these Games. -
Turin, Italy
Wimter Olympics 2006: Daily Highlights
A record 80 nations entered athletes at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games. Russian Evgeni Plushenko won gold in men's figure skating. Croatia's Janica Kostelic became the first woman to win four golds in alpine skiing. Italian Giorgio di Centa won the men's 50-km freestyle race by only eight tenths of a second. This was the closest victory in the history of the Olympic event. -
Vancouver, Canada
Russia at the 2010 Winter Olympics
Winter Olympics 2010 became the worst Olympics in the history of team Russia. The country's participants earned 15 medals: 3 gold, 5 silver and 7 bronze. The 3 gold medals was the worst ever result for Russia since competing after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Athletes from the 2010 team were criticized for performing below expectations. President Dmitry Medvedev demanded the resignation of Russian Olympic officials.
