The Winter Olympic Games are the largest winter sports competition on a planetary scale. The Olympics are held once every four years, in winter, under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee. The next White Olympics will be held in 2018 in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea.
Ode to Coubertin
Once every four years, one of the cities on the planet hosts athletes from all over the world to participate in the White or Winter Olympics. The Winter Olympic Games, like the Olympic Movement as a whole, owe their origin to the Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin, who revived the tradition of sports competitions held in ancient Greece.
In 1896, a public figure, convinced that the youth of the world should compete with each other not on the battlefield, but on the sports arena, organized the International Olympic Committee, and in the same year, Greece, as the historical homeland of the Olympics, hosted the first Summer Olympic Games.
The idea of inclusion winter views sports in the Olympic program has haunted Coubertin since the revival of the games, but it turned out to be not so easy to introduce them into the list of disciplines. For the first time, winter sports appeared only at the 1908 Olympics in London and were represented by four disciplines for figure skaters. Among the winners of the first winter competition were the Swedes, Russians, Germans and British.
northern gamesVSWhite Olympics
Nevertheless, these competitions, of course, did not reach the level of a full-fledged event dedicated to winter sports. In many ways, the development of the idea of the Winter Olympic Games slowed down the Scandinavian countries, primarily Sweden.
The fact is that in Stockholm at that time there were NordicGames - the Northern Games. The event took place from 1901 to 1926 - the Northern Games were the first international sporting event dedicated to winter sports. The Finns, Norwegians, and, first of all, the Swedes, who had a monopoly on the event, did not seek to bring the original northern sports to the world stage and sincerely perplexed Coubertin's idea to introduce the Winter Olympic Games, because it is obvious that in ancient Greece on ice no one between did not compete. Despite the active protest of the Swedes, history decreed otherwise. In 1926, the last Northern Games were held, the end of the era of which was facilitated by several factors at once - the beginning of the winter Olympic Movement, the lack of snow in Sweden in 1930 for the games, the Great Depression, and after - the Second World War.
First Winter Olympics
As the era of the Northern Games drew to a close, Pierre de Coubertin applied all his diplomatic skills to organize and host the first White Olympiad. In 1921-1922, he created a commission for the organization of the Winter Olympic Games, which included representatives, mainly from the northern countries - Canada, Sweden, Norway and a number of European countries. Despite the contradictions that reigned within the commission, as well as the negative forecasts of financiers about the payback of the White Olympics through the sale of tickets for competitions, de Coubertin lobbied for the holding of the “Week winter sports dedicated to the upcoming Games of the VIII Olympiad in Paris. The venue was the French ski resort Chamonix, where 293 athletes from 16 countries arrived in 1924. The competitions were held under the auspices of the IOC, and now and then the Olympic flags soared in the air, the spectators were half-hearted, but still came to watch the competition. All this subsequently allowed Coubertin to rename the Winter Sports Week into the I Winter Olympic Games.
The second White Olympiad was held in St. Moritz, Switzerland, the third Olympiad was hosted by the American Lake Placid. Until 1992, the Winter Olympics were held every four years, the same year as the summer competitions. The exceptions were 1940 and 1944, when the Olympics were canceled due to World War II.
In 1992, the IOC decided to shift the schedule of the Winter Games by two years relative to the summer ones, thus, only two years passed between the Olympics in Albertville and Lillehammer.
Winter disciplines of the Olympic Games
To date, the IOC has approved a list of 15 disciplines in 7 winter sports that will be included in the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea:
1. Skate: figure skating, skating, short track,
2. Ski: mountain skiing, skiing, freestyle, Nordic combined, ski jumping and snowboarding,
3. Bobsleigh: bobsleigh and skeleton,
4. Biathlon,
5. Curling,
6. Hockey,
7. Luge.
The number of Olympic disciplines is not static, some sports are excluded from the program, while others, on the contrary, become part of it. For example, in 2018, for the first time, viewers will be able to watch competitions in the disciplines of big air snowboarding, mass start in speed skating, and parallel slalom presented at the Sochi Olympiad will be excluded from the program.
The long-lived discipline among winter sports can be called figure skating, which was included in the program of the 1908 Olympics in London. The most "fresh" discipline is snowboarding.
OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES, complex winter sports competitions held by the IOC 1 time in 4 years. The decision to hold independent Olympic Winter Games on a regular basis was made in 1925 at the IOC Session in Prague. This was facilitated by the success of world competitions in winter sports - the International Sports Week on the occasion of the VIII Olympiad (1924, Chamonix, France), to which the IOC assigned the name "I Olympic Winter Games"; the term "Olympics" is not accepted in connection with the Olympic Winter Games, but the name "White Olympics" is sometimes used in sports and popular literature. Until 1992, the Olympic Winter Games were held in the year of the Summer Olympic Games, since 1994 - in the middle of the Olympic cycle. In the program of 7 Olympic sports .
In 1924-2014, 22 Olympic Winter Games were held - in the USA (4), France (3), Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Japan, Italy, Canada (2 each), Germany, Yugoslavia, Russia (1 each). Most often, the capitals of the Olympic Winter Games were St. Moritz, Lake Placid and Innsbruck (2 times each). In 1968, at the Olympic Winter Games in Grenoble, he first appeared olympic mascot. The same ceremonies are held at the Olympic Winter Games as at the Summer Games. Olympic Games, ignition Olympic flame, raising the Olympic flag (with the same emblem), opening and closing parades, awarding Olympic champions and prize-winners, etc. Olympic records are recorded only in speed skating. The list of statesmen and crowned persons who officially opened them: Chamonix, 1924 - Gaston Vidal (Deputy Secretary of State of France); St. Moritz, 1928 - Edmund Schultes (President of Switzerland); Lake Placid, 1932 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Governor of New York, USA); Garmisch-Partenkirchen, 1936 - Adolf Hitler (Reich Chancellor of Germany); St. Moritz, 1948 - Enrico Celio (President of Switzerland); Oslo, 1952 - Princess Ragnhild (Her Royal Highness of Norway); Cortina d "Ampezzo, 1956 - Giovanni Gronchi (President of Italy); Squaw Valley, 1960 - Richard Nixon (Vice President of the United States); Innsbruck, 1964 - Adolf Scherf (Federal President of Austria); Grenoble, 1968 - Charles de Gaulle (President France); Sapporo, 1972 - Hirohito (Emperor of Japan); Innsbruck, 1976 - Rudolf Kirschhagler (Federal President of Austria); Lake Placid, 1980 - Walter Mondale (U.S. Vice President); Sarajevo, 1984 - Mika Shpilyak (President of Yugoslavia) ; Calgary, 1988 - Jeanne Matilde Sauve (Governor General of Canada); Albertville, 1992 - Francois Mitterrand (President of France); Lillehammer, 1994 - Harald V (King of Norway); Nagano, 1998 - Akihito (Emperor of Japan); Salt Lake City, 2002 - George W. Bush (US President), Turin, 2006 - Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (President of Italy), Vancouver, 2010 - Mikael Jean (Governor General of Canada), Sochi, 2014 - Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (President of Russia) In the entire history of the White Olympiads, women have opened them only twice (Oslo, 1952; Calgary, 1988).
The largest number of medals in the history of the Olympic Winter Games (as of January 1, 2018) was won by athletes of the national teams: Russia; Norway (22; 118, 111, 100); USA (22; 96, 102, 83); Germany; Sweden (22; 50, 40, 54); Finland (22; 42, 62, 57).
See table 1 for the dates and main totals of all Olympic Winter Games. Olympic awards at the Olympic Winter Games, see table 2. For athletes who have participated in 6 or more White Olympiads, see table 3.
Table 1. The main results of the Olympic Winter Games (Chamonix, 1924 - Sochi, 2014)
| Olympic Winter Games | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Official name. Capital, dates. Main stadium. Games Mascots (since 1968) | Number of countries; athletes (including women); sets of medals played in sports | Most Successful Athletes (medals gold, silver, bronze) | Countries that have won the most medals (gold, silver, bronze) |
| I Olympic Winter Games. Chamonix, 25.1–5.2.1924. Olympic Stadium(45 thousand places) | 16; 258 (11); 16 to 9 | K. Thunberg (Finland; 3, 1, 1); T. Haug (Norway; 3, 0, 0); Y. Skutnab (Finland; 1, 1, 1) | Norway (4, 7, 6); Finland (4, 4, 3); Austria (2, 1, 0); Switzerland (2, 0, 1); USA (1, 2, 1) |
| II Olympic Winter Games. St. Moritz, February 11–February 19, 1928. Badrutts Park | 25; 464 (26); 14 to 6 | K. Thunberg (Finland; 2, 0, 0); J. Gröttumsbroten (2, 0, 0) and B. Evensen (1, 1, 1; both - Norway) | Norway (6, 4, 5); USA (2, 2, 2); Sweden (2, 2, 1); Finland (2, 1, 1); France and Canada (1, 0, 0 each) |
| III Olympic Winter Games. Lake Placid, 4.2–15.2.1932. Olympic Stadium (7.5 thousand seats) | 17; 252 (21); 14 to 4 | J. Shea and I. Jeffy (2, 0, 0 each; both - USA) | USA (6, 4, 2); Norway (3, 4, 3); Sweden (1, 2, 0); Canada (1, 1, 5); Finland (1, 1, 1) |
| IV Olympic Winter Games. Garmisch-Partenkirchen, February 6–February 16, 1936. "Olympia-skistadion" ("Olympia-Skistadion"; 35 thousand seats) | 28; 646 (80); 17 to 4 | I. Ballangrud (3, 1, 0) and O. Hagen (1, 2, 0; both Norway); B. Vasenius (Finland; 0, 2, 1) | Norway (7, 5, 3); Germany (3, 3, 0); Sweden (2, 2, 3); Finland (1, 2, 3); Switzerland (1, 2, 0) |
| V Olympic Winter Games. St. Moritz, 30.1–8.2.1948. "Badruts Park" | 28; 669(77); 22 to 4 | A. Oreye (France; 2, 0, 1); M. Lundström (Sweden; 2, 0, 0) | Sweden (4, 3, 3); Norway (4, 3, 3); Switzerland (3, 4, 3); USA (3, 4, 2); France (2, 1, 2) |
| VI Olympic Winter Games. Oslo, 14.2–25.2.1952. "Bislett" ("Bislett"; St. 15 thousand seats) | 30; 694 (109); 22 at 6 | J. Andersen (Norway; 3, 0, 0); A. Mid-Laurence (USA; 2, 0, 0); L. Nieberl and A. Ostler (both - Germany; 2, 0, 0 each) | Norway (7, 3, 6); US (4, 6, 1); Finland (3, 4, 2); Germany (3, 2, 2); Austria (2, 4, 2) |
| VII Olympic Winter Games. Cortina d'Ampezzo, 26.1–5.2.1956. Olympic Stadium (12 thousand seats) | 32; 821 (134); 24 to 4 | A. Sailer (Austria; 3, 0, 0); E. R. Grishin (USSR; 2, 0, 0); S. Ernberg (Sweden; 1, 2, 1); V. Hakulinen (Finland; 1, 2, 0); P. K. Kolchin (USSR; 1, 0, 2) | USSR (7, 3, 6); Austria (4, 3, 4); Finland (3, 3, 1); Switzerland (3, 2, 1); Sweden (2, 4, 4) |
| VIII Olympic Winter Games. Squaw Valley, 18.2–28.2.1960. "Blyth Arena" ("Blyth Arena"; 8.5 thousand seats) | 30; 665 (144); 27 to 4 | L. P. Skoblikova and E. R. Grishin (both from the USSR; 2, 0, 0 each); V. Hakulinen (Finland; 1, 1, 1) | USSR (7, 5, 9); WGC* (4, 3, 1); USA (3, 4, 3); Norway (3, 3, 0); Sweden (3, 2, 2) |
| IX Olympic Winter Games. Innsbruck, 29.1–9.2.1964. "Bergisel" ("Bergisel"; up to 28 thousand seats) | 36; 1091 (199); 34 to 6 | L. P. Skoblikova (4, 0, 0) and K. S. Boyarskikh (3, 0, 0; both - USSR); E. Myanturanta (Finland; 2, 1, 0); S. Ernberg (Sweden; 2, 0, 1) | USSR (11, 8, 6); Austria (4, 5, 3); Norway (3, 6, 6); Finland (3, 4, 3); France (3, 4, 0) |
| X Olympic Winter Games. Grenoble, 6.2–18.2.1968. "Ledigier" ("Lesdiguie ̀ res"; approx. 12 thousand seats). Skier Schuss (unofficial) | 37; 1158 (211); 35 to 6 | J.C. Killy (France; 3, 0, 0); T. Gustafsson (Sweden; 2, 1.0) | Norway (6, 6, 2); USSR (5, 5, 3); France (4, 3, 2); Italy (4, 0, 0); Austria (3, 4, 4) |
| XI Olympic Winter Games. Sapporo, 3.2–13.2.1972. "Makomanai" (20 thousand seats) | 35; 1006 (205); 35 to 6 | G. A. Kulakova (USSR; 3, 0, 0); A. Schenk (Netherlands; 3, 0, 0); V. P. Vedenin (USSR; 2, 0, 1); M. T. Nadig (Switzerland; 2, 0, 0) | USSR (8, 5, 3); GDR (4, 3, 7); Switzerland (4, 3, 3); Netherlands (4, 3, 2); USA (3, 2, 3) |
| XII Olympic Winter Games. Innsbruck, 4.2–15.2.1976. Bergisel (up to 28 thousand seats). Snowman Olympiamandle | 37; 1123 (231); 37 at 6 | T. B. Averina (USSR; 2, 0, 2); R. Mittermeier (Germany; 2, 1, 0); N. K. Kruglov (USSR; 2, 0, 0); B. Germeshausen and M. Nemer (both - GDR; 2, 0, 0 each) | USSR (13, 6, 8); GDR (7, 5, 7); USA (3, 3, 4); Norway (3, 3, 1); Germany (2, 5, 3) |
| XIII Olympic Winter Games. Lake Placid, 13.2–24.2.1980. "Lake Placid Equestrian Stadium" ("Lake Placid Equestrian Stadium"; hippodrome; 30 thousand seats). Raccoon Roni | 37; 1072 (232); 38 to 6 | E. Hayden (USA; 5, 0, 0); N. S. Zimyatov (USSR; 3, 0, 0); H. Wenzel (Liechtenstein; 2, 1, 0); A. N. Alyabiev (USSR; 2, 0, 1) | USSR (10, 6, 6); GDR (9, 7, 7); USA (6, 4, 2); Austria (3, 2, 2); Sweden (3, 0, 1) |
| XIV Olympic Winter Games. Sarajevo, 8.2–19.2.1984. "Koševo" ("Koš evo"; 37.5 thousand seats). Wolf cub Vuchko | 49; 1272 (274); 39 at 6 | M. L. Hämäläinen (Finland; 3, 0, 1); K. Enke (GDR; 2, 2, 0); G. Swan (Sweden; 2, 1, 1); G. Boucher (Canada; 2, 0, 1) | GDR (9, 9, 6); USSR (6, 10, 9); USA (4, 4, 0); Finland (4, 3, 6); Sweden (4, 2, 2) |
| XV Olympic Winter Games. Calgary, 13.2-28.2.1988. "McMahon" ("McMahon"; 35.6 thousand seats). White bear cubs Heidi and Howdy | 57; 1423 (301); 46 to 6 | I. van Gennip (Netherlands; 3, 0, 0); M. Nyukyanen (Finland; 3, 0, 0); T. I. Tikhonova (USSR; 2, 1, 0) | USSR (11, 9, 9); GDR (9, 10, 6); Switzerland (5, 5, 5); Finland (4, 1, 2); Sweden (4, 0, 2) |
| XVI Olympic Winter Games. Albertville, 8.2-23.2.1992. "Theatre de Seremonies" ("Thé atre des Cérémonies"; 35 thousand seats). Mountain Elf Magik | 64; 1801 (488); 57 at 7 | L. I. Egorova (OK**; 3, 2, 0); B. Delhi and V. Ulvang (both from Norway; 3, 1, 0 each); M. Kirchner and G. Niemann (both from Germany; 2, 1, 0 each) | Germany (10, 10, 6); OK** (9, 6, 8); Norway (9, 6, 5); Austria (6, 7, 8); USA (5, 4, 2) |
| XVII Olympic Winter Games. Lillehammer, 12.2–27.2.1994. "Lysgårdsbakken" ("Lysgå rdsbakken"; 40 thousand seats). Folk dolls Haakon and Kristin | 67; 1737 (522); 61 to 6 | L. I. Egorova (Russia; 3, 1, 0); J. O. Koss (Norway; 3, 0, 0); M. Di Centa (Italy; 2, 2, 1) | Russia (11, 8, 4); Norway (10, 11, 5); Germany (9, 7, 8); Italy (7, 5, 8); US (6, 5, 2) |
| XVIII Olympic Winter Games. Nagano, 7.2–22.2.1998. Olympic Stadium (30 thousand seats). Owls Sukki, Nokki, Lekke, Zukki | 72; 2176 (787); 68 to 7 | L. E. Lazutina (Russia; 3, 1, 1); B. Delhi (Norway; 3, 1, 0); O. V. Danilova (Russia; 2, 1, 0); K. Funaki (Japan; 2, 1, 0) | Germany (12, 9, 8); Norway (10, 10, 5); Russia (9, 6, 3); Canada (6, 5, 4); USA (6, 3, 4) |
| XIX Olympic Winter Games. Salt Lake City, 8.2–24.2.2002. "Rice-Eccles" ("Rice-Eccles"; 45 thousand seats). Powder Hare, Copper Coyote, Cole Bear | 78; 2399 (886); 75 to 7 | O. E. Bjoerndalen (Norway; 4, 0, 0); J. Kostelich (Croatia; 3, 1, 0); S. Lajunen (Finland; 3, 0, 0) | Norway (13, 5, 7); Germany (12, 16, 8); US (10, 13, 11); Canada (7, 3, 7); Russia (5, 4, 4) |
| XX Olympic Winter Games. Turin, February 10–February 26, 2006. Olympic Stadium (28 thousand seats). Neve Snowball and Plic Ice Cube | 80; 2508 (960); 84 to 7 | Ahn Hyun-soo (3, 0, 1) and Chin Sung Yoo (3, 0, 0; both Republic of Korea); M. Grice (Germany; 3, 0, 0); F. Gottwald (Austria; 2, 1, 0) | Germany (11, 12, 6); USA (9, 9, 7); Austria (9, 7, 7); Russia (8, 6, 8); Canada (7, 10, 7) |
| XXI Olympic Winter Games. Vancouver, February 12–February 28, 2010. "BC Place" ("BC Place"; approx. 60 thousand seats). Miga killer whale, Kuatchi sea bear, Sumi hawk | 82; 2566 (1044); 86 to 7 | M. Bjørgen (Norway; 3, 1, 1); Wang Meng (China; 3, 0, 0); P. Nortug (2, 1, 1) and E. H. Svendsen (2, 1, 0; both from Norway); M. Neuner (Germany; 2, 1.0) | Canada (14, 7, 5); Germany (10, 13, 7); USA (9, 15, 13); Norway (9, 8, 6); Republic of Korea (6, 6, 2) |
| XXII Olympic Winter Games. Sochi, February 7–23, 2014. "Fisht" (40 thousand seats). White bear, Leopard, Bunny | 88; 2780 (1120); 98 at 7 | V. Ahn (Ahn Hyun-soo; Russia; 3, 0, 1); D. V. Domracheva (Belarus; 3, 0 , 0); M. Björgen (3, 0, 0); I. Wüst (Netherlands; 2, 3, 0); S. Kramer (Netherlands; 2, 1, 0); M. Fourcade (France; 2, 1, 0). | Russia (13, 11, 9); Norway (11, 5, 10); Canada (10, 10, 5); USA (9, 7, 12); Netherlands (8, 7, 9). |
* United German team.
** United team of the countries of the former USSR.
Table 2. Athletes with the most victories at the Olympic Winter Games (Chamonix, 1924 - Sochi, 2014).
| Sportsman, the country | Kind of sport, years of participation | Medals | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| golden | silver | bronze | ||
| O. E. Bjoerndalen, Norway | Biathlon, 1998–2014 | 8 | 4 | 1 |
| B. Delhi, Norway | Ski race, 1992–1998 | 8 | 4 | 0 |
| M. Björgen, Norway | Ski race, 2002–2014 | 6 | 3 | 1 |
| L. I. Egorova, Russia | Ski race, 1992–1994 | 6 | 3 | 0 |
| W. Ahn (Ahn Hyun-soo)*, Russia | short track, 2006, 2014 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| L. P. Skoblikova, the USSR | Skating, 1960–1964 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| K. Pechstein, Germany | Skating, 1992–2006 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| L. E. Lazutina, Russia | Ski race, 1992–1998 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| K. Thunberg, Finland | Skating, 1924–1928 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| T. Alsgaard, Norway | Ski race, 1994–2002 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| B. Blair, USA | Skating, 1988–1994 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| E. Hayden, USA | Skating, 1980 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| R. P. Smetanina, the USSR | Ski race, 1976–1992 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| S. Ernberg, Sweden | Ski race, 1956–1964 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| R. Gross, Germany | Biathlon, 1992–2006 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| I. Wust, Netherlands | Skating, 2006–2014 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| G. A. Kulakova, the USSR | Ski race, 1972–1980 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Ch. A. Omodt, Norway | Skiing, 1992–2006 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| S. Fisher, Germany | Biathlon, 1994–2006 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| I. Ballangrud, Norway | Skating, 1928–1936 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| I. Kostelich, Croatia | Skiing, 2002–2006 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Wang Meng, China | short track, 2006–2010 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| G. Swann, Sweden | Ski race, 1984–1988 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| E. H. Svendsen, Norway | Biathlon, 2010–2014 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| E. R. Grishin, the USSR | Skating, 1956–1964 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| J. O. Koss, Norway | Skating, 1992–1994 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| K. Kuske, Germany | Bobsled, 2002–2010 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| A. Lange, Germany | Bobsled, 2002–2010 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| M. Nyukyanen, Finland | Ski jumping, 1984–1988 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| N. S. Zimyatov, the USSR | Ski race, 1980–1984 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| A. I. Tikhonov, the USSR | Biathlon, 1968–1980 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Jung Lee Kyung (Chung Lee Kyung) The Republic of Korea | short track, 1994–1998 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| S. Amman, Switzerland | Ski jumping, 2002–2010 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| T. Wassberg, Sweden | Ski race, 1980–1988 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
* In 2006 (Turin) he played for the national team of the Republic of Korea.
3 gold Olympic medals won at the Olympic Winter Games of St. 50 athletes (as of January 1, 2018), including representatives of Russia (including the USSR): K. S. Boyarskikh, E. V. Vyalbe, N. V. Gavrylyuk, V. S. Davydov, V. G. Kuzkin , A. P. Ragulin , A. A. Reztsova , I. K. Rodnina , V. A. Tretyak , A. V. Firsov , A. V. Khomutov , Yu. A. Chepalova
Table 3. Athletes who have competed at 6 or more Olympic Winter Games (as of 1.1.2018)
| Athlete (year of birth), the country | Quantity | Kind of sport | Participation years | Medals | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| golden | silver | bronze | ||||
| A. M. Demchenko (b. 1971), Russia | 7 | luge | 1992–2014 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| N. Kasai (b. 1972), Japan | 7 | Ski jumping | 1992–2014 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| C. Coates (b. 1946), Australia | 6 | Skating | 1968–1988 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| M. L. Kirvesniemi (b. 1955), Finland | 6 | Ski race | 1976–1994 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| A. Eder (b. 1953), Austria | 6 | Biathlon | 1976–1994 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| M. Dixon (b. 1962), UK | 6 | Cross-country skiing and biathlon | 1984–2002 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| I. Britsis (b. 1970), Latvia | 6 | Biathlon | 1992–2010 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| M. Büchel (b. 1971), Liechtenstein | 6 | Skiing | 1992–2010 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A. Veerpalu (b. 1971), Estonia | 6 | Ski race | 1992–2010 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| A. Orlova (b. 1972), Latvia | 6 | luge | 1992–2010 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| E. Radanova* (b. 1977), Bulgaria | 6 | Short trek; cycling | 1994–2010; 2004 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| C. Hughes* (b. 1972), Canada | 6 | Cycling; skating | 1996, 2000, 2012; 2002–2010 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| H. von Hohenlohe (b. 1959), Mexico | 6 | Skiing | 1984–94, 2010, 2014 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| K. Pechstein (b. 1972), Germany | 6 | Skating | 1992–2006, 2014 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| T. Selanne (b. 1970), Finland | 6 | Hockey | 1992, 1998–2014 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| J. Ahonen (b. 1977), Finland | 6 | Ski jumping | 1994–2014 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| O. E. Bjoerndalen (b. 1974), Norway | 6 | Biathlon | 1994–2014 | 8 | 4 | 1 |
| S. N. Dolidovich (b. 1973), Belarus | 6 | Ski race | 1994–2014 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| T. Lodwick (b. 1976), USA | 6 | Nordic combined | 1994–2014 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Lee Kyu Hyuk (b. 1978), Republic of Korea | 6 | Skating | 1994–2014 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A. Zöggeler (b. 1974), Italy | 6 | luge | 1994–2014 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| M. Stecher (b. 1977), Austria | 6 | Nordic combined | 1994–2014 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| H. Wickenheiser* (b. 1978), Canada | 6 | Hockey; softball | 1998–2014; 2000 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| R. Helminen (b. 1964), Finland | 6 | Hockey | 1984–2002 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| E. Hunyadi (b. 1966), Hungary (1), Austria (5) | 6 | Skating | 1984–2002 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| G. Weissensteiner (b. 1969) | 6 | Luge and bobsleigh | 1988–2006 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| G. Hackl (b. 1966), Germany (1), Germany (5) | 6 | luge | 1988–2006 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| W. Huber (b. 1970), Italy | 6 | luge | 1988–2006 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| S. V. Chepikov (b. 1967), Russia | 6 | Biathlon, ski race | 1988–2006 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| K. Neumanova* (b. 1973), Czechoslovakia, (1), Czech Republic (5) | 6 | Ski race; mountain bike | 1992–2006; 1996 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
* The athlete also competed at the Olympic Games.
MOSCOW, February 9 - RIA Novosti. XXIII Winter Olympic Games will start in Pyeongchang ( South Korea) on Friday and will last until February 25.
The following is reference Information about the history of the Winter Games.
The Winter Olympic Games are complex winter sports competitions held by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) once every four years.
For the first time winter sports (figure skating) appeared at the 1908 Games in London. The issue of holding the Winter Olympic Games was discussed at the IOC session in Budapest in 1911. It was proposed to organize a special Winter Sports Week within the framework of the next Olympic Games in Stockholm, but the organizers of the Games opposed such a proposal. The program of the Summer Games in Antwerp (1920) included figure skating and ice hockey.
I Winter Olympic Games were held from January 25 to February 5, 1924 in Chamonix (France). Their program included cross-country skiing (18 and 50 km races, ski jumping, biathlon), speed skating (distances of 500, 1500, 5000 and 10,000 m), figure skating (single male and female, pair skating), and also hockey and bobsleigh. In addition, demonstration competitions were held - military patrol ski races and curling matches. In total, 16 sets of medals were played, for which 258 athletes from 16 countries competed. In the medal standings (hereinafter - the team standings by the number of gold medals) won the team of Norway, which won 17 awards: 4 gold, 7 silver and 6 bronze medals. The second place was taken by the Finnish team - 11 awards (4 gold and silver, 3 bronze medals each), the third - the Austrian team (2-1-0). The Games in Chamonix were originally called "Winter Sports Week" and did not have the status of an Olympic Games. Following their success, the IOC decided to hold the Winter Olympics regularly (every four years), and the Chamonix competitions were given the official status of the first Olympic Winter Games.
The II Winter Olympic Games were held in St. Moritz (Switzerland) from February 11 to 19, 1928. 464 athletes from 25 countries took part in the Games, 14 sets of medals were awarded. Skeleton entered the program for the first time. For the first time, athletes from Asia - Japanese athletes - participated in the competition. In the medal standings, the first place was taken by the Norwegian team - 15 medals (6 gold, 4 silver and 5 bronze), the second place was taken by the US team, which won 6 medals (2 gold, silver and bronze each), the third place was taken by the Swedish team with 5 medals ( 2 gold and silver, 1 bronze).
The III Winter Olympic Games were held in the American Lake Placid from February 4 to February 15, 1932. 252 athletes from 17 countries participated in them, 14 sets of awards were played. At these competitions, for the only time in the history of the Olympic Games, speed skating races were held according to the rules adopted in the USA, that is, with a general start. In the medal standings, the USA team won the first place - 12 awards (6 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze medals), the Norwegian team was the second - 10 awards (3 gold, 4 silver and 3 bronze medals), the Swedish team took the third place - 3 awards (1 gold, 2 silver medals).
IV Winter Olympic Games were held in German Garmisch-Partenkirchen from 6 to 16 February 1936. 646 athletes from 28 countries participated, 17 sets of awards were played. The competition program included a ski relay race and competitions in a ski combination ( downhill plus slalom). In the medal standings, the Norwegian team was the first - 15 awards (7 gold, 5 silver and 3 bronze), the German team took the second place - 6 awards (3 gold and silver each), the Swedish team was third - 7 awards (2 gold and silver each). and 3 bronze).
The 1940 Winter Olympics were originally supposed to be held from February 3 to 12 in Sapporo (Japan), but were canceled due to the outbreak of World War II in 1939. The Winter Games of 1944 were to be held in the Italian city of Cortina d'Ampezzo, but were also cancelled.
The V Winter Olympic Games were held in Swiss St. Moritz from January 30 to February 8, 1948 and received a special name - "Renaissance Games". 669 athletes from 28 countries participated, 22 sets of medals were played. Skeleton was again included in the program of the Games, which next appeared in it only in 2002. Athletes from Germany and Japan were not allowed to participate in the Games as representatives of the countries that unleashed the Second world war. In the medal standings, the first place was shared by the teams of Sweden and Norway - 10 awards (4 gold, 3 silver and bronze each). The second was the Swiss team, which also won 10 awards (3 gold and bronze and 4 silver medals each). Third place went to the US team - 9 awards (3 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze medals).
The VI Winter Olympic Games were held in Oslo (Norway) from February 14 to 25, 1952. 694 athletes from 30 countries participated, 22 sets of medals were played. For the first time, competitions were held among skiers (a race of 10 kilometers), and in alpine skiing competitions, the combination was replaced by a giant slalom. The hosts of the competition, the Norwegians again excelled in the medal standings, winning 16 awards (7 gold, 3 silver and 6 bronze). The second place was taken by the Americans - 11 medals (4 gold, 6 silver and 1 bronze). The third place was taken by the Finnish team - 9 awards (3 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze medals).
The VII Winter Olympic Games were held in the Italian Cortina d "Ampezzo from January 26 to February 5, 1956. 821 athletes from 32 countries participated, 24 sets of awards were played. The USSR team became the debutant of the Games. In the medal standings, she became the first, having won 16 awards ( 7 gold, 3 silver and 6 bronze medals. The second place was taken by the Austrian team with 11 medals (4 gold and bronze, 3 silver each), the third place was taken by the Finnish team with 7 medals (3 gold and 3 silver, 1 bronze medal).
The VIII Winter Olympic Games were held in Squaw Valley (USA) from February 18 to 28, 1960. 665 athletes from 30 countries participated in the Games, 27 sets of medals were played. Biathlon was officially included in the program of the Olympics, formerly referred to as competitions. ski patrols, women competed in speed skating. Due to the lack of a track, bobsleigh left the program of the Games for the first time. The USSR team won the medal standings, winning 21 awards (7 gold, 5 silver and 9 bronze medals). The second place was taken by the united German team - 8 awards (4 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze medal). The USA team was third with 10 awards (3 gold and bronze medals each and 4 silver medals).
The IX Winter Olympic Games were held in Innsbruck (Austria) from January 29 to February 9, 1964. 1091 athletes from 36 countries took part in them, 34 sets of medals were played. Mongolia, India and North Korea took part in the Olympics for the first time. The USSR team won the medal standings - 25 awards (11 gold, 8 silver and 6 bronze medals). The second was the Austrian team - 12 awards (4 gold, 5 silver and 3 bronze medals), the third - the Norwegian team with 15 awards (3 gold, 6 silver and bronze medals each).
The 10th Winter Olympic Games were held in French Grenoble from 6 to 18 February 1968. 1158 athletes from 37 countries participated, 35 sets of awards were played. For the first time, medals featured a pictogram for each sport. In addition, the Games had their own mascot, but it was unofficial. The first place in the medal standings was taken by the Norwegian team - 14 awards (6 gold and silver medals, 2 bronze), the second place was taken by the USSR team with 13 awards (5 gold and silver medals, 3 bronze), the third was the French team - 9 awards (4 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals).
The XI Winter Olympic Games were held in Sapporo (Japan) from February 3 to 13, 1972. 1006 athletes from 35 countries participated in the Games, 35 sets of medals were played. For the first time, the Winter Olympics took place on the Asian continent. In the medal standings, the first were the athletes of the USSR, who won 16 awards (8 gold, 5 silver and 3 bronze medals), the second was the GDR team - 14 awards (4 gold, 3 silver and 7 bronze medals). In third place is the Swiss team with 10 awards (4 gold, 3 silver and bronze medals each).
The XII Winter Olympic Games were held in Innsbruck (Austria) from February 4 to 15, 1976. 1123 athletes from 37 countries took part in the competition, 37 sets of medals were played. Initially, the XII Winter Olympic Games were to be held in Denver (USA), but the inhabitants of the city voted in a referendum against the construction of Olympic facilities for environmental reasons. As a result, the competition was moved to Innsbruck. At this Olympics, ice dancing was included in the program. For the first time, the organizers chose the official mascot of the Games, it was a snowman. The first in the medal standings was again the USSR team, which won 27 awards (13 gold, 6 silver and 8 bronze medals), the second place was taken by the GDR team - 19 awards (7 gold and bronze, 5 silver medals each). Third place went to the US team, which won 10 medals (3 gold and 3 silver, 4 bronze).
The XIII Winter Olympic Games were held in Lake Placid (USA) from February 13 to 24, 1980. 1072 athletes from 37 countries participated in them, 38 sets of awards were played. For the first time in the history of the Olympics, artificial snow was used. The first place in the medal standings was taken by the USSR team, which won 22 awards (10 gold, 6 silver and bronze medals each). The second place belongs to the GDR team - 23 awards (9 gold, 7 silver and bronze medals each). Third place went to the USA team with 12 medals (6 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze medals).
The XIV Winter Olympic Games were held in Sarajevo (Yugoslavia, now the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina) from February 8 to 19, 1984. 1272 athletes from 49 countries participated in them, 39 sets of awards were played. In the medal standings, the first place was taken by the GDR team - 24 awards (9 gold and silver, 6 bronze medals), the second was the USSR team - 25 awards (6 gold, 10 silver, 9 bronze medals). The third place was taken by the US team - 8 awards (4 gold and 4 silver medals).
The XV Winter Olympic Games were held in Calgary (Canada) from February 13 to 28, 1988. 1423 athletes from 57 countries took part in the Games, 46 sets of awards were played. The competition program included super giant slalom, curling, freestyle, and speed skating. The first place in the medal standings was again taken by the USSR team, which won 29 medals (11 gold, 9 silver and bronze medals each), the GDR team was in second place - 25 awards (9 gold, 10 silver, 6 bronze). The third place was taken by Switzerland - 15 awards (5 gold, silver and bronze medals each).
The XVI Winter Olympic Games were held in Albertville (France) from 8 to 23 February 1992. 1801 athletes from 64 countries participated in them, 57 sets of awards were played. Winter Games in last time were held in the same year as the summer ones. Women's biathlon, short track and freestyle debuted in the program of the Games. The competition was attended by the Joint Team of Athletes of the Former Soviet Republics, performing under the Olympic flag ("Joint Team of Independent National Olympic committees sovereign countries"). For the first time since 1936, a unified German team participated in the Games. The German team won the medal standings, winning 26 awards (10 gold, 10 silver and 6 bronze medals). The second place was taken by the Unified Team - 23 awards (9 gold, 6 silver and 8 bronze medals), the third is the Norwegian team, which won 20 medals (9 gold, 6 silver, 5 bronze).
The XVII Winter Olympic Games were held in Lillehammer (Norway) from February 12 to 27, 1994. 1737 athletes from 67 countries took part in the Games, 61 sets of awards were played. Due to the change in the schedule of the Olympic Games so that the Winter Games do not coincide with the Summer Games, the Games in Lillehammer were held two years after the Winter Olympics in Albertville. The Russian team won the medal standings - 23 medals (11 gold, 8 silver and 4 bronze medals). In second place is the Norwegian team - 26 awards (10 gold, 11 silver and 5 bronze medals). The third place was taken by the German team - 24 awards (9 gold, 7 silver and 8 bronze medals).
The XVIII Winter Olympic Games were held in Nagano (Japan) from February 7 to 22, 1998. 2176 athletes from 72 countries took part in them, 68 sets of awards were played. Snowboard made its debut in the program of the Games, medals were played for the first time in women's hockey. A high-profile event was the first arrival at the Winter Olympics of players from the NHL. For the first time in Winter Games Athletes from Azerbaijan, Venezuela, Kenya, Macedonia and Uruguay took part. In the medal standings, the German team took the first place - 29 awards (12 gold, 9 silver and 8 bronze medals), the Norwegian team took the second place - 25 awards (10 gold and silver and 5 bronze medals each). The third place was taken Russian team, which won 18 awards (9 gold, 6 silver and 3 bronze medals).
XIX Winter Olympic Games were held from 8 to 24 February 2002 in Salt Lake City (USA). 2399 athletes from 77 countries took part in them, 78 sets of awards were played. The program of the Olympics included competitions in the women's bobsleigh in deuces, for the first time since 1928 the skeleton returned. In the medal standings, the Norwegian team took first place - 25 awards (13 gold, 5 silver and 7 bronze medals). In second place is the German team - 36 awards (12 gold, 16 silver, 8 bronze medals), the third place was taken by the US team - 34 awards (10 gold, 13 silver and 11 bronze medals).
The XX Winter Olympic Games were held in Turin (Italy) from 10 to 26 February 2006. 2508 athletes from 80 countries competed at the Olympics. 84 sets of awards were played. For the first time, athletes from Albania, Madagascar and Ethiopia participated in the competition. For the first time, video broadcasts of the Games could be watched using mobile phones. The organizers built the highest bowl for the Olympic flame with a height of 57 meters. The first place in the medal standings was taken by the German team - 29 awards (11 gold, 12 silver and 6 bronze medals), the second was the US team - 25 awards (9 gold and silver, 7 bronze medals each). The Austrian team took the third position - 23 awards (9 gold and 7 silver and bronze medals each).
XXI Winter Olympic Games were held from 12 to 28 February 2010 in Vancouver, Canada. 2566 athletes from 82 countries took part in them, 86 sets of awards were played. Canadian athletes took first place in the medal standings - 26 awards (14 gold, 7 silver and 5 bronze medals), the German team took second place - 30 awards (10 gold, 13 silver and 7 bronze medals), the USA team took third place - 37 awards (9 gold, 15 silver and 13 bronze medals).
The XXII Winter Olympic Games were held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi. 2780 athletes from 88 countries participated in the Games, 98 sets of awards were played. Athletes from Malta, Paraguay, East Timor, Togo, Tonga and Zimbabwe made their debut at the Olympics. For the first time, the competition began the day before the opening of the Olympics - February 6, 2014. These were qualifying starts in such sports as slopestyle in snowboarding, mogul in freestyle, team figure skating tournament. A number of sports have been included in Olympic program only in 2011, and if they were held after the opening of the Games, this could significantly disrupt the schedule.
In the medal standings, the first place was taken by the Russian team - 33 awards (13 gold, 11 silver and 9 bronze medals). The second was Norway - 26 awards (11 gold, 5 silver and 10 bronze medals), the third place went to the Canadian team - 25 awards (10 gold, 10 silver and 5 bronze medals).
In 2016, the ex-head of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory, Grigory Rodchenkov, that at least 15 Russian medalists of the 2014 Olympics in Sochi were allegedly part of the Russian "doping program" aimed at dominating the home Games.
Following an Independent Panel (WADA)-led investigation into doping in Russian sports The IOC has created two commissions. One of them - led by - double-checked doping tests from the Games in Sochi. The second commission, headed by the ex-president of Switzerland, checked the data on the possible interference of the authorities in the Russian anti-doping system.
As a result of the work of the Oswald Commission, 43 Russian athletes were banned for life from the Olympics, Russia lost 13 medals (4 gold, 8 silver and one bronze) and lost first place in the medal standings of the Games in Sochi.
On December 5, 2017, the IOC Executive Board made a decision on disqualification (ROC). Russian athletes were admitted to the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang in a neutral status - "Olympic athletes from Russia". The fate of each future Olympian was to be decided by an IOC commission led by Valerie Furneuron. It was she who was responsible for invitations to athletes to the Olympics, which were issued only after a thorough study of the doping "background".
February 1, 2017 (CAS) granted 28 appeals Russian athletes to the decision (IOC), which suspended them for life from participation in the Olympics and annulled their results at the Games in Sochi. As a result of the CAS decision, nine medals from the 2014 Olympics will be returned. Thus, the Russian national team will have 11 gold, 9 silver and 9 bronze medals, Russia will return to first place in the medal standings.
Also, CAS partially granted the appeals of 11 more athletes. The court found that they were guilty of an anti-doping rule violation, but replaced the life ban from the Olympics with a ban only from the 2018 Games. At the same time, their results at the Sochi Olympics were cancelled. The cases of three biathletes -, and - will be considered later.
Reacting to the decision, he said he would carefully review the reasoning of the court's decision when available and "discuss next steps, including filing an appeal with the Swiss Federal Court." According to Swiss law, the IOC has the right to appeal to the Federal Court within 30 days after the publication of the reasoning part of the verdict. After this period, the CAS decision becomes effective.
Sports competitions called "Olympic Games" were held in Ancient Greece, in Olympia (a city in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese, which in the past was the most important religious and sports center of Greece).
The year of the beginning of the Olympic Games is considered to be 776 BC. e., this date is carved on a plate found by archaeologists along with the name of the Olympic winner in the Koreb run. The date is also confirmed by the ancient authors Paraballon, Hippias, Aristotle and others. The Greek historian Timaeus (about 352-256 BC) and the mathematician Eratosthenes (about 276-196 BC) developed the chronology from the first Games , according to which until 394 AD. e., when the competition was banned by the Roman emperor Theodosius I, 293 Olympiads took place.
The idea of reviving the Olympic Games was proposed at the end of the 19th century by the French public figure Pierre de Coubertin in connection with public interest in the archaeological discoveries in Olympia. The project for the revival of the Olympic Games de Coubertin outlined in his report on November 25, 1892 at the Sorbonne.
The principles, rules and regulations of the games were determined by the Olympic Charter, approved in June 1894 by the International Sports Congress in Paris. According to the charter, the Olympic Games bring together amateur athletes from all countries in fair and equal competition; countries and individuals should not be discriminated against on racial, religious or political grounds. At the same congress, it was decided to hold the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens. For this, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was created.
At the first Games in Athens on April 6-15, 1896, 43 sets of medals were played in 9 sports. 241 athletes from 14 countries took part in the competition. At these Games, such traditions as the performance of the Olympic anthem, participation in the opening ceremony of the head of state hosting the games, and awarding the winners on the last day of the competition were laid. The Athens Olympics became the biggest sporting event of its time. Since international competitions, known as the Summer Olympic Games, are held every four years (with the exception of the periods of the First and Second World Wars). The location of the Games is chosen by the IOC, and the right to organize them is granted to the city, not the country.
Women have been participating in the Games since 1900.
In 1908 in London for the first time in the history of the Olympics were held qualifying competitions, and the tradition of the procession of participating teams under national flags was born. At the same time, an unofficial team standings became widespread - determining the place occupied by teams by the number of medals received and points scored in competitions.
In 1912, the photo finish was used for the first time at the Stockholm Olympics.
In 1920, at the Olympics in Antwerp / Belgium / for the first time in the history of the games, the Olympic flag was raised, and the participants in the competition took the Olympic oath.
The Winter Olympics have been held since 1924. Prior to this, some winter sports were included in the programs of the Summer Olympics. Yes, the championship figure skating skating as part of the Olympics was first played in London in 1908, and the first Olympic ice hockey tournament took place in 1920 in Antwerp. Initially, the Winter Olympics were held in the same year as the Summer ones, but in 1992, the timing of their holding was shifted by two years. The Winter Olympics have their own numbering.
During the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam, the tradition of lighting a fire was laid.
At the 1932 games in Los Angeles, for the first time, an "Olympic village" was built specifically for the participants.
Since 1936, the world has been watching the Olympic torch relay.
In 1960, during the Summer Olympics in Rome, for the first time, an athlete, a cyclist from Denmark, Knud Jensen, died due to doping.
In 1960, at the Winter Games in the American Squaw Valley, the opening ceremony was for the first time accompanied by a large-scale theatrical performance (Walt Disney was responsible for its organization).
At the 1972 Games in Munich, members of the terrorist Palestinian organization Black September took hostage athletes and coaches of the Israeli team. During the operation to free them, 11 members of the Israeli team and one West German policeman were killed.
In 2004, during the Olympics in Athens, for the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, the IOC insured itself (for $ 170 million) in case of cancellation of the competition due to the threat of terrorism or natural disasters.
The longest were the Games of 1900 in Paris and 1904 in St. Louis (USA). They were combined with the World Exhibitions and lasted several months (May-October 1900, July-November 1904). The St. Louis Olympics also went down in history as "American": out of 625 participants, 533 were Americans, because many European athletes could not come to the competition due to the high cost of travel.
The largest Olympic team ever fielded by a single nation was the Great Britain team at the 1908 London Olympics with 710 athletes.
Several times certain countries did not take part in the Games for political reasons. Thus, Germany and its allies in the world wars were excluded from participation in the games of 1920 and 1948. In 1920, athletes from Soviet Russia were not invited to the Olympics in Antwerp (Belgium). 65 countries boycotted Summer Olympics 1980 in Moscow in connection with the commissioning Soviet troops to Afghanistan in December 1979. In response to the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, the teams of 13 countries of the socialist camp did not come. The official reason for the boycott was the refusal of the organizers of the 1984 Olympics to provide security guarantees to athletes from the USSR and other Warsaw Pact countries.
In the history of the Games, there were several cases when competitions in some sports were held both before the opening of the games and after they closed. So, the Antwerp Olympics of 1920 was officially held on August 14-29, however, the competitions of figure skaters and hockey players were held in April, yachtsmen and shooters - in July, football players - in August and September. In 1956, at the Games in Melbourne, due to quarantine rules, equestrian competitions were held not only six months earlier than the Olympics itself, but also in another country, and on another continent - in Stockholm.
The Olympics first appeared on television at the Berlin Games in 1936. So that athletes can see the competition as much as possible more people, screens were installed throughout the city. Games were first broadcast on home televisions to Londoners in 1948. In 1956, the Olympic Games were already transmitted to all European countries, and since 1964 - to all continents. /TASS-DOSIER/
MOSCOW, February 9 - RIA Novosti. The XXIII Winter Olympic Games will start in Pyeongchang (South Korea) on Friday and will last until February 25.
Below is background information on the history of the Winter Games.
The Winter Olympic Games are complex winter sports competitions held by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) once every four years.
For the first time winter sports (figure skating) appeared at the 1908 Games in London. The issue of holding the Winter Olympic Games was discussed at the IOC session in Budapest in 1911. It was proposed to organize a special Winter Sports Week within the framework of the next Olympic Games in Stockholm, but the organizers of the Games opposed such a proposal. The program of the Summer Games in Antwerp (1920) included figure skating and ice hockey.
I Winter Olympic Games were held from January 25 to February 5, 1924 in Chamonix (France). Their program included cross-country skiing (18 and 50 km races, ski jumping, biathlon), speed skating (distances of 500, 1500, 5000 and 10,000 m), figure skating (single male and female, pair skating), and also hockey and bobsleigh. In addition, demonstration competitions were held - military patrol ski races and curling matches. In total, 16 sets of medals were played, for which 258 athletes from 16 countries competed. In the medal standings (hereinafter - the team standings by the number of gold medals) won the team of Norway, which won 17 awards: 4 gold, 7 silver and 6 bronze medals. The second place was taken by the Finnish team - 11 awards (4 gold and silver, 3 bronze medals each), the third - the Austrian team (2-1-0). The Games in Chamonix were originally called "Winter Sports Week" and did not have the status of an Olympic Games. Following their success, the IOC decided to hold the Winter Olympics regularly (every four years), and the Chamonix competitions were given the official status of the first Olympic Winter Games.
The II Winter Olympic Games were held in St. Moritz (Switzerland) from February 11 to 19, 1928. 464 athletes from 25 countries took part in the Games, 14 sets of medals were awarded. Skeleton entered the program for the first time. For the first time, athletes from Asia - Japanese athletes - participated in the competition. In the medal standings, the first place was taken by the Norwegian team - 15 medals (6 gold, 4 silver and 5 bronze), the second place was taken by the US team, which won 6 medals (2 gold, silver and bronze each), the third place was taken by the Swedish team with 5 medals ( 2 gold and silver, 1 bronze).
The III Winter Olympic Games were held in the American Lake Placid from February 4 to February 15, 1932. 252 athletes from 17 countries participated in them, 14 sets of awards were played. At these competitions, for the only time in the history of the Olympic Games, speed skating races were held according to the rules adopted in the USA, that is, with a general start. In the medal standings, the USA team won the first place - 12 awards (6 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze medals), the Norwegian team was the second - 10 awards (3 gold, 4 silver and 3 bronze medals), the Swedish team took the third place - 3 awards (1 gold, 2 silver medals).
IV Winter Olympic Games were held in German Garmisch-Partenkirchen from 6 to 16 February 1936. 646 athletes from 28 countries participated, 17 sets of awards were played. The competition program included a ski relay race and competitions in a ski combination (downhill plus slalom). In the medal standings, the Norwegian team was the first - 15 awards (7 gold, 5 silver and 3 bronze), the German team took the second place - 6 awards (3 gold and silver each), the Swedish team was third - 7 awards (2 gold and silver each). and 3 bronze).
The 1940 Winter Olympics were originally supposed to be held from February 3 to 12 in Sapporo (Japan), but were canceled due to the outbreak of World War II in 1939. The Winter Games of 1944 were to be held in the Italian city of Cortina d'Ampezzo, but were also cancelled.
The V Winter Olympic Games were held in Swiss St. Moritz from January 30 to February 8, 1948 and received a special name - "Renaissance Games". 669 athletes from 28 countries participated, 22 sets of medals were played. Skeleton was again included in the program of the Games, which next appeared in it only in 2002. Athletes from Germany and Japan were not allowed to participate in the Games as representatives of the countries that unleashed the Second World War. In the medal standings, the first place was shared by the teams of Sweden and Norway - 10 awards (4 gold, 3 silver and bronze each). The second was the Swiss team, which also won 10 awards (3 gold and bronze and 4 silver medals each). Third place went to the US team - 9 awards (3 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze medals).
The VI Winter Olympic Games were held in Oslo (Norway) from February 14 to 25, 1952. 694 athletes from 30 countries participated, 22 sets of medals were played. For the first time, competitions were held among skiers (a race of 10 kilometers), and in alpine skiing competitions, the combination was replaced by a giant slalom. The hosts of the competition, the Norwegians again excelled in the medal standings, winning 16 awards (7 gold, 3 silver and 6 bronze). The second place was taken by the Americans - 11 medals (4 gold, 6 silver and 1 bronze). The third place was taken by the Finnish team - 9 awards (3 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze medals).
The VII Winter Olympic Games were held in the Italian Cortina d "Ampezzo from January 26 to February 5, 1956. 821 athletes from 32 countries participated, 24 sets of awards were played. The USSR team became the debutant of the Games. In the medal standings, she became the first, having won 16 awards ( 7 gold, 3 silver and 6 bronze medals. The second place was taken by the Austrian team with 11 medals (4 gold and bronze, 3 silver each), the third place was taken by the Finnish team with 7 medals (3 gold and 3 silver, 1 bronze medal).
The VIII Winter Olympic Games were held in Squaw Valley (USA) from February 18 to 28, 1960. 665 athletes from 30 countries participated in the Games, 27 sets of medals were played. Biathlon, formerly known as ski patrol competitions, was officially included in the program of the Olympics; women competed in speed skating. Due to the lack of a track, bobsleigh left the program of the Games for the first time. The USSR team won the medal standings, winning 21 awards (7 gold, 5 silver and 9 bronze medals). The second place was taken by the united German team - 8 awards (4 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze medal). The USA team was third with 10 awards (3 gold and bronze medals each and 4 silver medals).
The IX Winter Olympic Games were held in Innsbruck (Austria) from January 29 to February 9, 1964. 1091 athletes from 36 countries took part in them, 34 sets of medals were played. Mongolia, India and North Korea took part in the Olympics for the first time. The USSR team won the medal standings - 25 awards (11 gold, 8 silver and 6 bronze medals). The second was the Austrian team - 12 awards (4 gold, 5 silver and 3 bronze medals), the third - the Norwegian team with 15 awards (3 gold, 6 silver and bronze medals each).
The 10th Winter Olympic Games were held in French Grenoble from 6 to 18 February 1968. 1158 athletes from 37 countries participated, 35 sets of awards were played. For the first time, medals featured a pictogram for each sport. In addition, the Games had their own mascot, but it was unofficial. The first place in the medal standings was taken by the Norwegian team - 14 awards (6 gold and silver medals, 2 bronze), the second place was taken by the USSR team with 13 awards (5 gold and silver medals, 3 bronze), the third was the French team - 9 awards (4 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals).
The XI Winter Olympic Games were held in Sapporo (Japan) from February 3 to 13, 1972. 1006 athletes from 35 countries participated in the Games, 35 sets of medals were played. For the first time, the Winter Olympics took place on the Asian continent. In the medal standings, the first were the athletes of the USSR, who won 16 awards (8 gold, 5 silver and 3 bronze medals), the second was the GDR team - 14 awards (4 gold, 3 silver and 7 bronze medals). In third place is the Swiss team with 10 awards (4 gold, 3 silver and bronze medals each).
The XII Winter Olympic Games were held in Innsbruck (Austria) from February 4 to 15, 1976. 1123 athletes from 37 countries took part in the competition, 37 sets of medals were played. Initially, the XII Winter Olympic Games were to be held in Denver (USA), but the inhabitants of the city voted in a referendum against the construction of Olympic facilities for environmental reasons. As a result, the competition was moved to Innsbruck. At this Olympics, ice dancing was included in the program. For the first time, the organizers chose the official mascot of the Games, it was a snowman. The first in the medal standings was again the USSR team, which won 27 awards (13 gold, 6 silver and 8 bronze medals), the second place was taken by the GDR team - 19 awards (7 gold and bronze, 5 silver medals each). Third place went to the US team, which won 10 medals (3 gold and 3 silver, 4 bronze).
The XIII Winter Olympic Games were held in Lake Placid (USA) from February 13 to 24, 1980. 1072 athletes from 37 countries participated in them, 38 sets of awards were played. For the first time in the history of the Olympics, artificial snow was used. The first place in the medal standings was taken by the USSR team, which won 22 awards (10 gold, 6 silver and bronze medals each). The second place belongs to the GDR team - 23 awards (9 gold, 7 silver and bronze medals each). Third place went to the USA team with 12 medals (6 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze medals).
The XIV Winter Olympic Games were held in Sarajevo (Yugoslavia, now the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina) from February 8 to 19, 1984. 1272 athletes from 49 countries participated in them, 39 sets of awards were played. In the medal standings, the first place was taken by the GDR team - 24 awards (9 gold and silver, 6 bronze medals), the second was the USSR team - 25 awards (6 gold, 10 silver, 9 bronze medals). The third place was taken by the US team - 8 awards (4 gold and 4 silver medals).
The XV Winter Olympic Games were held in Calgary (Canada) from February 13 to 28, 1988. 1423 athletes from 57 countries took part in the Games, 46 sets of awards were played. The competition program included super giant slalom, curling, freestyle, and speed skating. The first place in the medal standings was again taken by the USSR team, which won 29 medals (11 gold, 9 silver and bronze medals each), the GDR team was in second place - 25 awards (9 gold, 10 silver, 6 bronze). The third place was taken by Switzerland - 15 awards (5 gold, silver and bronze medals each).
The XVI Winter Olympic Games were held in Albertville (France) from 8 to 23 February 1992. 1801 athletes from 64 countries participated in them, 57 sets of awards were played. The Winter Games were last held in the same year as the Summer Games. Women's biathlon, short track and freestyle debuted in the program of the Games. The competition was attended by the United Team of Athletes of the Former Soviet Republics, performing under the Olympic flag ("Joint Team of Independent National Olympic Committees of Sovereign Countries"). For the first time since 1936, a unified German team participated in the Games. The German team won the medal standings with 26 medals (10 gold, 10 silver and 6 bronze medals). The second place was taken by the Joint Team - 23 awards (9 gold, 6 silver and 8 bronze medals), the third place was taken by the Norwegian team, which won 20 medals (9 gold, 6 silver, 5 bronze).
The XVII Winter Olympic Games were held in Lillehammer (Norway) from February 12 to 27, 1994. 1737 athletes from 67 countries took part in the Games, 61 sets of awards were played. Due to the change in the schedule of the Olympic Games so that the Winter Games do not coincide with the Summer Games, the Games in Lillehammer were held two years after the Winter Olympics in Albertville. The Russian team won the medal standings - 23 medals (11 gold, 8 silver and 4 bronze medals). In second place is the Norwegian team - 26 awards (10 gold, 11 silver and 5 bronze medals). The third place was taken by the German team - 24 awards (9 gold, 7 silver and 8 bronze medals).
The XVIII Winter Olympic Games were held in Nagano (Japan) from February 7 to 22, 1998. 2176 athletes from 72 countries took part in them, 68 sets of awards were played. Snowboard made its debut in the program of the Games, medals were played for the first time in women's hockey. A high-profile event was the first arrival at the Winter Olympics of players from the NHL. For the first time, athletes from Azerbaijan, Venezuela, Kenya, Macedonia and Uruguay took part in the Winter Games. In the medal standings, the German team took the first place - 29 awards (12 gold, 9 silver and 8 bronze medals), the Norwegian team took the second place - 25 awards (10 gold and silver and 5 bronze medals each). The third place was taken by the Russian team, which won 18 awards (9 gold, 6 silver and 3 bronze medals).
XIX Winter Olympic Games were held from 8 to 24 February 2002 in Salt Lake City (USA). 2399 athletes from 77 countries took part in them, 78 sets of awards were played. The program of the Olympics included competitions in the women's bobsleigh in deuces, for the first time since 1928 the skeleton returned. In the medal standings, the Norwegian team took first place - 25 awards (13 gold, 5 silver and 7 bronze medals). In second place is the German team - 36 awards (12 gold, 16 silver, 8 bronze medals), the third place was taken by the US team - 34 awards (10 gold, 13 silver and 11 bronze medals).
The XX Winter Olympic Games were held in Turin (Italy) from 10 to 26 February 2006. 2508 athletes from 80 countries competed at the Olympics. 84 sets of awards were played. For the first time, athletes from Albania, Madagascar and Ethiopia participated in the competition. For the first time, video broadcasts of the Games could be watched using mobile phones. The organizers built the highest bowl for the Olympic flame with a height of 57 meters. The first place in the medal standings was taken by the German team - 29 awards (11 gold, 12 silver and 6 bronze medals), the second was the US team - 25 awards (9 gold and silver, 7 bronze medals each). The Austrian team took the third position - 23 awards (9 gold and 7 silver and bronze medals each).
XXI Winter Olympic Games were held from 12 to 28 February 2010 in Vancouver, Canada. 2566 athletes from 82 countries took part in them, 86 sets of awards were played. Canadian athletes took first place in the medal standings - 26 awards (14 gold, 7 silver and 5 bronze medals), the German team took second place - 30 awards (10 gold, 13 silver and 7 bronze medals), the USA team took third place - 37 awards (9 gold, 15 silver and 13 bronze medals).
The XXII Winter Olympic Games were held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi. 2780 athletes from 88 countries participated in the Games, 98 sets of awards were played. Athletes from Malta, Paraguay, East Timor, Togo, Tonga and Zimbabwe made their debut at the Olympics. For the first time, the competition began the day before the opening of the Olympics - February 6, 2014. These were qualifying starts in such sports as slopestyle in snowboarding, mogul in freestyle, team figure skating tournament. A number of sports were included in the Olympic program only in 2011, and if they were held after the opening of the Games, this could significantly disrupt the schedule.
In the medal standings, the first place was taken by the Russian team - 33 awards (13 gold, 11 silver and 9 bronze medals). The second was Norway - 26 awards (11 gold, 5 silver and 10 bronze medals), the third place went to the Canadian team - 25 awards (10 gold, 10 silver and 5 bronze medals).
In 2016, the ex-head of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory, Grigory Rodchenkov, that at least 15 Russian medalists of the 2014 Olympics in Sochi were allegedly part of the Russian "doping program" aimed at dominating the home Games.
Following an independent commission (WADA)-led investigation into doping in Russian sports, the IOC established two commissions. One of them - led by - double-checked doping tests from the Games in Sochi. The second commission, headed by the ex-president of Switzerland, checked the data on the possible interference of the authorities in the Russian anti-doping system.
As a result of the work of the Oswald Commission, 43 Russian athletes were banned for life from the Olympics, Russia lost 13 medals (4 gold, 8 silver and one bronze) and lost first place in the medal standings of the Games in Sochi.
On December 5, 2017, the IOC Executive Board made a decision on disqualification (ROC). Russian athletes were admitted to the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang in a neutral status - "Olympic athletes from Russia". The fate of each future Olympian was to be decided by an IOC commission led by Valerie Furneuron. It was she who was responsible for invitations to athletes to the Olympics, which were issued only after a thorough study of the doping "background".
On February 1, 2017 (CAS) satisfied the appeals of 28 Russian athletes against the decision (IOC), which suspended them for life from participation in the Olympics and annulled their results at the Sochi Games. As a result of the CAS decision, nine medals from the 2014 Olympics will be returned. Thus, the Russian national team will have 11 gold, 9 silver and 9 bronze medals, Russia will return to first place in the medal standings.
Also, CAS partially granted the appeals of 11 more athletes. The court found that they were guilty of an anti-doping rule violation, but replaced the life ban from the Olympics with a ban only from the 2018 Games. At the same time, their results at the Sochi Olympics were cancelled. The cases of three biathletes -, and - will be considered later.
Reacting to the decision, he said he would carefully review the reasoning of the court's decision when available and "discuss next steps, including filing an appeal with the Swiss Federal Court." According to Swiss law, the IOC has the right to appeal to the Federal Court within 30 days after the publication of the reasoning part of the verdict. After this period, the CAS decision becomes effective.