INNSBRUCK 1976 XII Olympic Winter Games

The 1976 Winter Olympics were awarded to the U.S. city of Denver, but the people of the state of Colorado voted to prohibit public funds from being used to support the Games. Innsbruck stepped in and hosted the Games only 12 years after its last Olympics. Rosi Mittermaier won two of the three Alpine skiing events and almost became the first woman to sweep all three events. But in the final race, Kathy Kreiner beat her by 12 hundredths of a second.

The ice hockey team from the USSR won its fourth straight gold medal. A new figure skating event, ice dancing, was added to the programme and, like the pairs, it was dominated by Russian couples. The most memorable image of the Games was Franz Klammer flying wildly down the downhill course, barely keeping control, on his way to a gold medal.

Dates : February 4 to 15
Participating N.O.C.: 37
Number of Sports : 6
Number of Events : 37
Number of Athletes : 1354
Men : 1123
Women : 231
Opening : Dr Rudolf Kirchshläger, Président de la République
Oath : Werner Delle-Karth
Oath for officials : Willy Köstinger
Final Torch Bearers : Christl Haas et Josef Feistmantl
Candidates cities : Denver (USA), Sion (SUI), Tampere/Are (FIN) et Vancouver (CAN)

MUNICH 1972 Games of the XX Olympiad

The 1972 Munich Games were the largest yet, setting records in all categories, with 195 events and 7,173 athletes from 121 nations. They were supposed to celebrate peace and, for the first ten days, all did indeed go well. But in the early morning of 5 September, eight Palestinian terrorists broke into the Olympic Village, killed two members of the Israeli team and took nine more hostage. In an ensuing battle, all nine Israeli hostages were killed, as were five of the terrorists and one policeman. The Olympics were suspended and a memorial service was held in the main stadium. In defiance of the terrorists, the International Olympic Committee ordered the competitions to resume after a pause of 34 hours. All other details about the Munich Games paled in significance, but it did have its highlights. Archery was reintroduced to the Olympic programme after a 52-year absence and handball after a 36-year absence. Whitewater (or slalom) canoeing was included for the first time. The 1972 Games were also the first to have a named mascot: Waldi the dachshund.

U.S. swimmer Mark Spitz won an incredible seven gold medals to go with the two he had earned in 1968. Lasse Viren of Finland fell midway through the 10,000m final, but rose and set a world record to win the first of his four career gold medals. Freestyle wrestler Ivan Yarygin of Russia pinned all seven of his opponents en route to his first Olympic championship in the heavyweight division. West German, Liselott Linsenhoff, competing in the dressage event, became the first female equestrian to win a gold medal in an individual event. The media star of the Munich Games was the tiny Soviet gymnast, Olga Korbut, whose dramatic cycle of success in the team competition, failure in the individual competition and renewed success in the apparatus finals captured the attention of fans worldwide.


Dates: August 26 to September 10
Participating N.O.C.: 121
Number of Sports: 21
Number of Events: 195
Number of Athletes: 7123
Men's : 6065
Women's : 1058
Opening: Gustav Heineman, Republic President
Oath : Heidi Schueller
Oath for official : Heinz Pollay
Number of torch bearer: 6 000
Final Torch Bearer: Günter Zahn
Candidates cities: Detroit (USA), Madrid (ESP) and Montreal (CAN)

AMSTERDAM 1928 Games of the IX Summer Olympiad

The Amsterdam Olympics of 1928 were held in an atmosphere of peace and harmony that preceded twenty years of economic uncertainty and war. Perhaps the Games were best exemplified by the experience of Australian rower Henry Pearce. Midway through his quarterfinal race, he stopped rowing to allow a family of ducks to pass single file in front of his boat. Pearce won the race anyway and, later, the gold medal as well. At the Opening Ceremony, the team from Greece led the Parade of Nations and the host Dutch team marched in last. Greece first, hosts last would become a permanent part of the Olympic protocol. Athletes from 28 different nations won gold medals in Amsterdam, a record that would last for 40 years. The number of female athletes more than doubled as women were finally allowed to compete in gymnastics and athletics. For the first time, Asian athletes won gold medals. Mikio Oda of Japan won the triple jump, while his teammate, Yoshiyuki Tsuruta, won the 200m breaststroke. Meanwhile the team from India swept to victory in field hockey. Between 1928 and 1960, Indian teams won six straight gold medals. Another winning streak began in 1928. Hungary earned the first of seven consecutive gold medals in team sabre fencing.



Dates: July 29- August 12
Participating N.O.C.: 46
Number of Sports: 14
Number of Events: 109
Number of Athletes: 3014
Men's : 2724
Women's : 290
Opening: HRH Prince Hendrik
Oath : Henry Denis
Final Torch Bearer: Unknow
Candidates cities: Los Angeles (USA)

ST. MORITZ 1928 II Olympic Winter Games

The 1928 Winter Games, hosted by St. Moritz, Switzerland, were the first to be held in a different nation than the Summer Games of the same year. A new event was contested: the skeleton, which is like luge except that the athletes descend headfirst. Speed skater A. Clas Thunberg added two more gold medals to the three he had won in 1924. Johan Grøttumbråten of Norway won the 18km cross-country event and the Nordic combined. Another Norwegian, Sonja Henie, caused a sensation by winning the women’s figure skating at the age of fifteen. Her record as the youngest winner of an individual event stood for 74 years. In men’s figure skating, Gillis Grafström of Sweden won his third straight gold medal. Canada again dominated the ice hockey tournament, winning their three matches 11-0, 14-0 and 13-0.

Dates : February 11 - 19
Participating N.O.C.: 25
Number of Sports : 6
Number of Events : 14
Number of Athletes : 464
Men : 438
Women : 26
Opening : President of the Helvetic Confederation Edmund Schulthess
Oath : Hans Eidenbenz
Candidates cities: Davos and Engelberg (SUI)

PARIS 1924 Games of the VIII Summer Olympiad

At the 1924 Paris Games, the Olympic motto, "Citius, Altius, Fortius", (Swifter, Higher, Stronger) was introduced, as was the Closing Ceremony ritual of raising three flags: the flag of the International Olympic Committee, the flag of the host nation and the flag of the next host nation. The number of participating nations jumped from 29 to 44, signaling widespread acceptance of the Olympics as a major event, as did the presence of 1,000 journalists. Women’s fencing made its debut as Ellen Osiier of Denmark earned the gold medal without losing a single bout. Johnny Weissmuller of the United States won two gold medals in swimming on 20 July alone. That same day he earned a bronze medal in water polo. He later went to Hollywood and starred as Tarzan in twelve movies. American swimmer Gertrude Ederle won a bronze medal in the 100m freestyle. Two years later she caused a sensation by becoming the first woman to swim across the English Channel (La Manche) - and in a time almost two hours faster than any man had ever achieved. Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi, won five gold medals to add to the three he had won in 1920. His most spectacular performance occurred on 10 July. First he easily won the 1,500m. Then, a mere 55 minutes later, he returned to the track and won the 5,000m. Nurmi’s teammate, Ville Ritola, did not do badly either in 1924: he won four gold medals and two silver.

Dates: May 4 - July 27
Participating N.O.C.: 44
Number of Sports: 18
Number of Events: 126
Number of Athletes: 3092
Men's : 2956
Women's : 136
Opening: Gaston Doumergue, Republic President
Oath : Georges André
Candidates cities: Amsterdam (NED), Barcelone (ESP), Los Angeles (USA), Prague (CZE) and Rome (ITA)

CHAMONIX 1924 Ist Olympic Winter Games

Chamonix 1924
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In 1921, the International Olympic Committee voted to stage “International Sports Week 1924” in Chamonix, France. This event was a complete success and was retroactively named the First Olympic Winter Games. The first event to be decided in Chamonix was the men’s 500m speed skating. The first gold medal went to Charles Jewtraw of the United States. A. Clas Thunberg of Finland earned medals in all five speed skating events: three gold, one silver and one bronze. Norway’s Thorleif Haug dominated Nordic skiing, winning both cross-country races and the Nordic combined. The Canadian ice hockey team won all five of their matches, outscoring their opponents 110 to 3.


Dates : January 24- February 5
Participating N.O.C.: 16
Number of Sports : 5
Number of Events : 14
Number of Athletes : 258
Men : 245
Women : 13
Opening : lUnder Secretary for Physical Education, Gaston Vidal
Oath : Camille Mandrillon

ANTWERP 1920 Games of the VII Olympiad

The 1916 Olympics were scheduled to be held in Berlin, but were canceled because of what came to be known as World War I. The 1920 Games were awarded to Antwerp to honor the suffering that had been inflicted on the Belgian people during the war. The Opening Ceremony was notable for the introduction of the Olympic flag and the presentation of the Athletes’ Oath. In a performance unequaled in Olympic history, Nedo Nadi of Italy earned gold medals in five of the six fencing events. Ethelda Bleibtrey of the United States won gold medals in all three women’s swimming contests. Including preliminary heats, she swam in five races and broke the world record in every one. France’s Suzanne Lenglen dominated women’s tennis singles so completely that she lost only four games in the ten sets she played. At age 72, Swedish shooter Oscar Swahn earned a silver medal in the team double-shot running deer event to become the oldest medalist ever. The 1920 12-foot dinghy sailing event was the only event in Olympic history to be held in two countries. The first race was staged in Belgium, but the last two races took place in the Netherlands because both entrants were Dutch.



Dates: april 20 - september 12
Participating N.O.C.: 29
Number of Sports: 22
Number of Events: 154
Number of Athletes: 2 669
Men's : 2 591
Women's : 78
Opening: His majesty, King Albert
Oath : Victor Boin
Candidates cities: Amsterdam (NED), Lyon (FRA)