Olympic Winter Games

Short history

As the International Skating Union (ISU, then the IEV) was among the first international sport governing bodies, they were recognized at the congress in the Sorbonne, Paris in 1894 when the IOC was founded, and skating was on the list of Olympic sports. However, the inclusion of speed skating was seriously discussed only before the 1908 Games in London, though no speed skating events were eventually held. However, figure skating competitions were held in London. For the 1916 Berlin Olympics, an allround competition over three distances (500 m, 1500 m and 5000 m) was scheduled, But these Games never took place due to World War I.

In 1924, an International Winter Sports Week was held in Chamonix, France. This event was later called the 1st Olympic Winter Games. As speed skating races were held, speed skating made its appearance on the Olympic scene.

At those first Olympic Games, an allround competition was held, but medals for individual distances (500 m, 1500 m, 5000 m and 10000 m ) were awarded as well. The allround event made its first and last appearance on the Olympic program, in spite of the fact that this was (and is) the format in which the World Championships are held. The Olympic program was extended with four events for women in 1960 (500 m, 1000 m, 1500 m and 3000 m), although these events were already programmed for the 1940 Winter Olympics, which were cancelled due to World War II. In 1976, a fifth event for men, the 1000 m was added and in 1988 the inaugural women's 5000 m was contested.

Editions


Olympic Winter Games 1924 Chamonix 25 January—4 February 1924
Olympic Winter Games 1928 Sankt Moritz 11—19 February 1928
Olympic Winter Games 1932 Lake Placid 4—15 February 1932
Olympic Winter Games 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen 6—16 February 1936
Olympic Winter Games 1948 Sankt Moritz 30 January—8 February 1948
Olympic Winter Games 1952 Oslo 14—25 February 1952
Olympic Winter Games 1956 Misurina 26 January—5 February 1956
Olympic Winter Games 1960 Squaw Valley 18—28 February 1960
Olympic Winter Games 1964 Innsbruck 29 January—9 February 1964
Olympic Winter Games 1968 Grenoble 6—18 February 1968
Olympic Winter Games 1972 Sapporo 3—13 February 1972
Olympic Winter Games 1976 Innsbruck 4—15 February 1976
Olympic Winter Games 1980 Lake Placid 13—24 February 1980
Olympic Winter Games 1984 Sarajevo 8—19 February 1984
Olympic Winter Games 1988 Calgary 13—28 February 1988
Olympic Winter Games 1992 Albertville 8—23 February 1992
Olympic Winter Games 1994 Hamar 12—27 February 1994
Olympic Winter Games 1998 Nagano 7—22 February 1998
Olympic Winter Games 2002 Salt Lake City-Kearns 8—24 February 2002
Olympic Winter Games 2006 Torino 10—26 February 2006

All-time medal results