Winter Olympic Games
History
The Winter Olympic Games are a major international multi-sport event held once every four years. The first Winter Olympics, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in Chamonix, France. The original five sports (broken into nine disciplines) were bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, Nordic skiing (consisting of the disciplines military patrol, cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, and ski jumping), and skating (consisting of the disciplines figure skating and speed skating). The Games were held every four years from 1924 until 1936, after which they were interrupted by World War II.
The Winter Games resumed in 1948 and was celebrated every four years. The Winter and Summer Olympic Games were held in the same years until 1992, after a 1986 decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to place the Summer and Winter Games on separate four-year cycles in alternating even-numbered years.
Sports
The Winter Olympics includes 7 sports and 15 disciplines. These games were expanded from the original 5 sports to include more events, making it more inclusive for athletes from around the world. The sports included in the Winter Olympics are Alpine skiing, Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Cross-country skiing, Curling, Figure skating, Freestyle skiing, Ice hockey, Luge, Nordic combined, Short track speed skating, Skeleton, Ski jumping, Snowboarding, and Speed skating.
Participating Nations
The Winter Olympics has been hosted on three continents by twelve different countries. The Games have been held in the United States four times (1932, 1960, 1980, 2002); in France three times (1924, 1968, 1992); and in Austria (1964, 1976), Canada (1988, 2010), Japan (1972, 1998), Italy (1956, 2006), Norway (1952, 1994) and Switzerland (1928, 1948) twice. Also, the Games have been held in Germany (1936), Yugoslavia (1984), Russia (2014) and South Korea (2018) once.
Medal Presentation
Medals are awarded in each event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that started in 1904. The Winter Olympic Games have evolved over time with changes in the medal design, the introduction of new sports and the phasing out of old ones. The current Olympic sports are governed by international sports federations, as recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the global supervisors of their respective sports.