 |
CHAMONIX, FRANCE
1st WINTER GAMES |
January 25 - February
5, 1924 |
Mascot - none |
16 countries, 258
athletes (13 women) |
6 sports, 16 events |
Opening -
Under Secretary for Physical Education Gaston Vidal |
Torch lit by - none |
Held here in
conjunction with Paris 1924's Games of the Olympiad |
Originally skating and ice hockey events
took place as part of the Summer Games of 1908 and 1920, however it was
decided to hold a separate Winter Games. The Chamonix Games were
originally known as an "International Winter Sports Week," due
to objections by Scandinavian countries that felt a Winter Olympics
would detract from their Nordic Games. It was not until 1926 during the
25th Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lisbon,
Portugal that the Chamonix Sports Week was retroactively given the name of Olympic Winter
Games.
Chamonix, the famous international
tourist resort at the foot of picturesque Mont Blanc, was the host of
the first ever Winter Olympic Games. The first Winter Games, or
"White Olympics" as it was called then, consisted of 14 events
in five sports (Nordic skiing, figure skating, speedskating, hockey and
bobsledding). Norwegian athletes medalled in 12 of the 14 events, the
most by any nation. The only sports Norway did not win a medal were in
ice hockey, where Canada took the gold, and bobsledding, which saw a
Swiss team finish first in the four-man team event.
American Charles Jewtraw won the men's
500m speed skating event to become the first ever official Olympic
Winter Games gold medalist. However it was Clas Thunberg, a Finnish
speed skater, who dazzled the crowd with five medals, an achievement
that was not equaled for 56 years. Canada won the men's ice hockey
competition with an aggregate score against their opponents of 110-3.
Anders Haugen (USA) waited 50 years to
receive his bronze ski jumping medal. Deprived of his third place
because of a marking error, Haugen won his case and obtained his medal
aged 83! The official medal ceremony was not held until 5 February,
shortly before the closing speech by Pierre de Coubertin. As some
athletes had already gone home, Frantz Reichel presented their medals to
other members of their teams.
The organization was faulty but the
success was nonetheless great despite the huge absence of Germany and
the then Soviet Union.
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