OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES 1924 CHAMONIX, France
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OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES UPDATE – JANUARY 2008 1924 CHAMONIX, France Lighting of the Olympic cauldron: no ceremony Altitude and current population: Official opening by: President Edmund 1,035m,10,109 inhabitants Shulthess Dates: 25 January to 5 February Emblem: no emblem Other candidate cities: no other candidate Mascots: no mascot cities Olympic venues: the municipality, with Participation: 16 National Olympic Committees crosscountry skiing around the lake and some of (NOCs), 258 athletes (11 women, 247 men), 16 the skeleton and bobsleigh tracks in the events, 6 sports municipality of Celerina. Olympic oath (athletes): Camille Mandrillon (military patrol) Since the Netherlands, which were hosting the Olympic oath (officials): no oath Amsterdam Games, were unable to organize Lighting of the Olympic cauldron: no the Winter Games, Switzerland proposed three ceremony candidatures and the Games were awarded to Official opening by: Gaston Vidal (Under Saint Moritz. The Games were limited to eight Secretary of State) days, including two Sundays, and some events Emblem: no emblem were disrupted by bad weather. For the first Mascots: no mascot time, an Asian delegation (from Japan) Olympic venues: municipality of Chamonix, participated in the Winter Games. with cross-country skiing in the valley. This "International Winter Sports Week" was 1932 LAKE PLACID, United retroactively named the first Olympic Winter Games at the 24th IOC Session held in Lisbon States in 1926. The decision to create a separate cycle Altitude and current population: 568m, 2,638 for the Winter Games was taken at the 1925 inhabitants Session in Prague. Charles Jewtraw (USA) was Dates: 4 to 15 February the first Olympic champion in the history of the Other candidate cities: Montreal (CAN), the Winter Games. United States NOC put forward six other candidate cities: Bear Mountain, Yosemite Valley, Lake Tahoe, Duluth, Minneapolis and Denver. 1928 SAINT MORITZ, Participation: 17 NOCs, 252 athletes (21 Switzerland women, 231 men) 14 events, 4 sports Altitude and current population: 1,822m, Olympic oath (athletes): John Aimes Shea 5,029 inhabitants (speed skating) Dates: 11 to 19 February Olympic oath (officials): no oath Other candidate cities: Davos and Engelberg Lighting of the Olympic cauldron: no (SUI) ceremony Participation: 25 NOCs, 464 athletes (26 Official opening by: Franklin D. Roosevelt women, 438 men), 14 events, 4 sports Emblem: no emblem Olympic oath (athletes): Hans Eidenbenz Mascots: no mascot (Nordic combined) Olympic oath (officials): no oath Page 1/10 Olympic venues: ice events in Lake Placid and sidelines. This edition of the Winter Games was others on Mt. Van Hoevenberg (Nordic and sled the first to have its own official film. disciplines). These were the first Winter Games to be held in The 1940 and 1944 Olympic Winter Games did North America. Lake Placid, a small town in the not take place because of the Second World north-eastern United States, organised this third War. edition despite the economic depression. Formal ceremonies were held for the first time, with medals presented to athletes on a podium 1948 SAINT MORITZ, after the events. These Games were also Switzerland notable for some inclement weather and Altitude and current population: 1,822m, disagreements between Americans and 5,029 inhabitants Europeans concerning the rules of speed Dates: 30 January to 8 February skating. A female athlete carried her Other candidate cities: Lake Placid (USA) delegation's flag – that of Great Britain – at the Participation: 28 NOCs (nations), 669 athletes opening ceremony. (77 women, 592 men), 22 events, 4 sports Olympic oath (athletes) : Riccardo Torriani (ice hockey) 1936 GARMISCH- Olympic oath (officials): no oath PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany Lighting of the Olympic cauldron: no ceremony Altitude and current population: 708m, Official opening by: President Enrico Celio 26,732 inhabitants Emblem: rectangle with a sun (logo of the Dates: 6 to 16 February municipality) whose rays shine onto the Olympic Other candidate cities: Saint Moritz rings and the words "V Jeux Olympiques d’hiver Participation: 28 NOCs, 646 athletes (80 Saint Moritz 1948". women, 566 men), 17 events, 4 sports Mascots: no mascot Olympic oath (athletes): Wilhelm Bogner Olympic venues: the municipality, with (Nordic skiing and combined) crosscountry skiing around the lake and some of Olympic oath (officials): no oath the skeleton and bobsleigh tracks in the Lighting of the Olympic cauldron: no municipality of Celerina. ceremony Official opening by: Chancellor Adolf Hitler After a 12-year break caused by the Second Emblem: A circle containing the Olympic rings, World War, these V Games were called the beneath the Zugspitze mountain, with a ski track "Games of Renewal". Neither Japan nor leading up to it. Around, there is the inscription Germany were invited to Switzerland, the "IV. Olympische Winterspiele 1936, Garmisch- memories of the war being too fresh. By hosting Partenkirchen". this fifth edition, the resort in Haute Engadine Mascots: no mascot became the first city to organise the Winter Olympic venues: in the town, around the Games twice. As in 1928, the accommodation Riessersee lake, with cross-country skiing in the was spread between the two parts of the village: forest towards Mittenwald. Saint Moritz Dorf and Saint Moritz Bad. The resort of Garmisch-Partenkirchen was formed by the amalgamation one year before the Games of two towns situated either side of the River Partnach. 1952 OSLO, Norway Altitude and current population: 204m, For the first time, an Olympic flame burned in 507,467 inhabitants the city during the Games, although it was not lit Dates: 14 to 25 February by an athlete. This edition saw the introduction Other candidate cities: Cortina d'Ampezzo of Alpine skiing to the programme, as well as (ITA) and Lake Placid (USA) radio reporters who covered the events from the Participation: 30 NOCs, 694 athletes (109 women, 585 men), 22 events, 4 sports Olympic Winter Games /January 2008 Page 2/10 Olympic oath (athletes): Torbjorn Falkanger Pomagagnon), which overhangs the resort, is (ski jumping) pictured. Olympic oath (officials): no oath Mascots: no mascot Lighting of the Olympic cauldron: Eigil Olympic venues: The Trampolino Olimpico Nansen (ski-jumping stadium which can still be seen Official opening by: HRH Princess Ragnhild today) is at the resort entrance. The Emblem: A circle containing the Olympic rings crosscountry skiing tracks run alongside the and the silhouette of Oslo's new town hall. On river that flows across the resort and a the outside border, the inscription : "De VI. provisional "snow stadium"(?) was constructed Olympiske Vinterleker Oslo 1952". at the finishing lines two kilometres from the Mascots: no mascot village centre. The Stadio Appolonio and the Olympic venues: In the city of Oslo and to the Stadio Olimpico del Ghiaccio were the two north, around the Holmenkollen hill (Oslo is one open-air ice rinks. The latter, built especially for of the largest capitals in terms of surface area). the Games, has an original design, since the stands form a Ushape, with the fourth side The first edition of the Winter Games to be open, providing a view of the mountains which hosted in Scandinavia, birthplace of numerous dominate the resort. This ice stadium, a real winter disciplines, broke new ground in many open-air theatre, hosted the opening and closing ways. In particular, the Olympic flame lighting ceremonies of the Games. The Pista Olimpica ceremony, which took place in the hearth of the del bob finishes around 100m from the ice rink, home of Sondre Norheim, a pioneer of modern but on the opposite slope (in the shade). The skiing. The final torch bearer was the grandson Olimpia Run, the Canalone and the Col Druscié, of Nansen, the famous polar explorer. This three of the four Alpine skiing pistes, are still on edition was the first Winter Games to be held in the same slope, beneath the Tofane massif. The a capital and on the coast. It was also the first men's giant slalom piste (la Ilio Coli) is opposite, time the Olympic Games had been opened by a on the Sorapis massif above Cortina. The final woman. sports venue is the Misurina lake 13km away, in the municipality of Auronzo. This lake is at an altitude of 1752m and freezes over in winter, 1956 CORTINA d’AMPEZZO, which means that speed skating can be held at the foot of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, famous Italy Dolomite peaks. Altitude and current population: 1,210m, 6,570 inhabitants Four years before hosting the Summer Games Dates: 26 January to 5 February in Rome, Italy staged the Winter Games in Other candidate cities: Colorado Springs Cortina d’Ampezzo, a resort in the Dolomites. (USA), Lake Placid (USA) and Montreal (CAN) For the first time, the Games were televised live Participation: 32 NOCs, 821 athletes (134 and TV viewers were able to watch a female women, 687 men), 24 events, 4 sports athlete light the Olympic cauldron. The flame Olympic oath (athletes): Giuliana Chenal- had been lit at the Capitol in Rome. The 1956 Minuzzo (Alpine skiing) Winter Games were notable for the presence of Olympic oath (officials): no oath Soviet athletes, who enjoyed numerous Lighting of the Olympic cauldron: Guido successes and retained an air of mystery by Caroli (speed skating) choosing separate accommodation from that of Official opening by: President Giovanni the other delegations. They brought an end to Gronchi the Canadian domination of ice hockey and Emblem: It represents a stylised snowflake dominated the speed skating events, while containing the five Olympic rings surmounted by Pavel Kolchin became the first non- a star, representing the emblem of the Italian Scandinavian to win a cross-country skiing National Olympic Committee. Underneath this medal. Alpine skier Toni Sailer also achieved an emblem, a summit from the Dolomites (Monte outstanding feat by winning the downhill, giant slalom and slalom events.