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112-827: Christopher Grotheer (born 30 July 1992) is a German skeleton racer who has competed since 2007. His debut at the European Cup was in November 2010. Grotheer's best Skeleton World Cup finish was 3rd in season 2012–13. He won the Gold medal in Men's Skeleton Singles contest at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Germany's first ever in the event. All results are sourced from the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) . This biographical article relating to German winter sports

224-681: A British record of 73.5 metres. The 1992 Winter Games were the last to be held in the same year as the Summer Games . They were hosted in the French Savoie region, with 18 events held in the city of Albertville and the remaining events spread out over the Savoie. Political changes of the time were reflected in the composition of the Olympic teams competing in France: this was the first Games to be held after

336-813: A Junior World Championships (open to athletes aged 23 and under) which are held annually without regard to the Olympics. One race each World Cup season is also designated the European Championship. The IBSF cooperates with the International Olympic Committee to supervise the skeleton races at the Olympic Winter Games, and the IBSF ranking system is used to determine the National Olympic Committees' athlete quota allocations. On all of

448-474: A gateway sport to "train young, aspiring athletes…for their future career in bobsleigh." "The 'toboggans' used in Alpine countries at the end of the 19th century were inspired by Canadian/Indian sleds used for transport". Various additions and redesigning efforts by athletes have led to the skeleton sleds used today. In 1892, L. P. Child introduced the "America", a new metal sled that revolutionized skeleton as

560-466: A maximum of four. To be eligible to enter a World Cup race, athletes must have safely completed five races on two tracks in the previous two seasons. At the end of the World Cup season, the man and woman with the highest ranking, considering only points earned in World Cup races, are given a trophy known as the "Crystal Globe". One World Cup race a year may be designated as a continental championship for

672-651: A national federation volunteers to organize the (Senior) World Championships (for both bobsleigh and skeleton), which are open to all athletes meeting the experience requirements that apply to the World Cup and the ICC (including junior athletes). The quota system for the Senior World Championships is the same as for the World Cup, except that all national federations are entitled to send one athlete. The defending Junior World Champion in each discipline also receives an automatic entry. Unlike all other IBSF-sponsored races,

784-602: A phenomenon known as "sled head". Multiple suicides of former athletes have been linked to these sports. Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (French: Jeux olympiques d'hiver ) , also known as the Winter Olympics , is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics , were held in Chamonix , France. The modern Olympic Games were inspired by

896-526: A population of more than 2.5 million people Vancouver is the largest metropolitan area to ever host a Winter Olympic Games. Over 2,500 athletes from 82 countries participated in 86 events. The death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili in a training run on the day of the opening ceremonies resulted in the Whistler Sliding Centre changing the track layout on safety grounds. Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjørgen won five medals in

1008-516: A second medal ceremony held later in the Games. Australian Steven Bradbury became the first gold medallist from the southern hemisphere when he won the 1,000 metre short-track speed skating event. The Italian city of Turin hosted the 2006 Winter Olympics . It was the second time that Italy had hosted the Winter Olympic Games. South Korean athletes won 10 medals, including 6 gold in

1120-521: A series of games called Deutsche Kampfspiele , starting with the winter edition of 1922 (which predated the first Winter Olympics). In 1925 the IOC decided to create a separate winter event and the 1924 games in Chamonix were retroactively designated as the first Winter Olympics. St. Moritz , Switzerland, was appointed by the IOC to host the second Winter Games in 1928. Fluctuating weather conditions challenged

1232-580: A sport. The stripped-down design provided a compact sled with metal runners, and the design caught on quickly. In 1902, Arden Bott added a sliding seat to help athletes shift their weight forward and backward, a feature that is no longer included on modern sleds. In 2010, the FIBT restricted the materials with which skeleton sleds are permitted to be made. Sled frames must be made of steel and may not include steering or braking mechanisms. The base plate, however, may be made of plastics. The handles and bumpers found along

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1344-454: A steering or braking mechanism, though Cresta riders use rakes on their boots in addition to shifting body weight to help steer and brake . The sport of skeleton can be traced to 1882, when English soldiers constructed a toboggan track between the towns of Davos and Klosters in Switzerland . While toboggan tracks were not uncommon at the time, the added challenge of curves and bends in

1456-452: A support program for "emerging nations", which provides travel, coaching, and equipment funding assistance to countries which have neither a track nor three qualified pilots in three IBSF disciplines; in 2017, 20 national federations qualified for financial support in men's skeleton, and 11 qualified in women's skeleton. The IBSF organizes three competitive circuits for international skeleton competition, in two tiers: two Continental Cups, and

1568-487: A team must have placed at least one athlete in the top 70 (for men) of the overall ranking table (top 55 for women); quotas were loosened for the 2023–24 season to account for the discontinuation of the Intercontinental Cup. Each team receives a number of starting positions equal to the number of athletes from that team who were in the top 70 (for men) or top 55 (for women) in the previous season's overall rankings, to

1680-589: A two-year suspension, which she appealed. The Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld her suspension but a Swiss court ruled that she could compete for a spot on the 2010 German Olympic team . This ruling was brought to the Swiss Federal Tribunal, which overturned the lower court's ruling and precluded her from competing in Vancouver. In 2003, the IOC awarded the 2010 Winter Olympics to Vancouver , thus allowing Canada to host its second Winter Olympics. With

1792-427: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This biographical article relating to skeleton racing is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Skeleton (sport) Unlike other sliding sports of bobsleigh and luge , the race always involves single riders. Like bobsleigh, but unlike luge, the race begins with a running start from the opening gate at the top of the course. The skeleton sled

1904-423: Is due in part to the growth of winter sports programmes and the interest in winter sports in nations such as Kazakhstan, South Korea, Japan and China. These results increased the chances of an Asian city hosting the 2018 Winter Olympics that would be held the following year. Sochi , Russia, was selected as the host city for the 2014 Winter Olympics over Salzburg , Austria, and Pyeongchang , South Korea. This

2016-665: Is the United States. Norway leads the all-time medal record for the Winter Olympic Games. When including defunct states, Germany (comprising the former countries of West Germany and East Germany) leads, followed by Norway, Russia (including the former Soviet Union), and the United States. A predecessor, the Nordic Games , were organised by General Viktor Gustaf Balck in Stockholm , Sweden, in 1901 and were held again in 1903 and 1905 and then every fourth year thereafter until 1926. Balck

2128-465: Is thinner and heavier than the luge sled, and skeleton gives the rider more precise control of the sled. Skeleton is the slowest of the three sliding sports, as skeleton's face-down, head-first riding position is less aerodynamic than luge's face-up, feet-first ride. Previously, skeleton appeared in the Olympic program in St. Moritz , Switzerland , in 1928 and again in 1948 . It was added permanently to

2240-461: The 1924 Summer Olympics , France, would host a separate "International Winter Sports Week" under the patronage of the IOC. Chamonix was chosen to host this week (actually 11 days) of events. The 1924 games in Chamonix proved to be a success when more than 250 athletes from 16 nations competed in 16 events. Athletes from Finland and Norway won 28 medals, more than the rest of the participating nations combined. The first gold medal awarded

2352-509: The 1936 Winter Games , held from 6–16 February. This was the last time the Summer and Winter Olympics were held in the same country in the same year. Alpine skiing made its Olympic debut, but skiing teachers were barred from entering because they were considered to be professionals. Because of this decision the Swiss and Austrian skiers refused to compete at the games. World War II interrupted

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2464-524: The 1976 ice hockey tournaments in protest at not being able to use players from professional leagues. Canadian authorities also accused the Soviet Union of using state-sponsored athletes, who were de facto professionals. Francisco Fernández Ochoa became the first and, as of 2022, the only Spaniard to win a Winter Olympic gold medal when he triumphed in the slalom . The 1976 Winter Olympics had initially been awarded in 1970 to Denver , Colorado in

2576-782: The Northern Hemisphere . They have been held four times in the United States ( 1932 , 1960 , 1980 , and 2002 ), three times in France ( 1924 , 1968 , and 1992 ) and twice each in Switzerland ( 1928 and 1948 ), Austria ( 1964 and 1976 ), Norway ( 1952 and 1994 ), Japan ( 1972 and 1998 ), Italy ( 1956 and 2006 ) and Canada ( 1988 and 2010 ). Also, the Winter Olympic Games have been held just once each in Germany ( 1936 ), Yugoslavia ( 1984 ), Russia ( 2014 ), South Korea ( 2018 ), and China ( 2022 ). The IOC has selected

2688-542: The People's Republic of China as the only "China", and its request for the Republic of China to compete as " Chinese Taipei ". The PRC, on the other hand, returned to the Olympics for the first time since 1952 and made its Winter Olympic debut. American speed-skater Eric Heiden set either an Olympic or World record in every one of the five events in which he competed, winning a total of five individual gold medals and breaking

2800-563: The September 11 attacks of 2001, which meant a higher degree of security to avoid a terrorist attack. The opening ceremony saw signs of the aftermath of the events of that day , including the flag that flew at Ground Zero , and honour guards of NYPD and FDNY members. German Georg Hackl won a silver in the singles luge, becoming the first athlete in Olympic history to win medals in the same individual event in five consecutive Olympics. Canada achieved an unprecedented double by winning both

2912-509: The United States arrived, both claiming to be the legitimate U.S. Olympic hockey representative. The Olympic flag presented at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp was stolen, as was its replacement. There was unprecedented parity at these games, during which 10 countries won gold medals—more than any games to that point. The Olympic Flame tradition was introduced at the 1952 games in Oslo , when

3024-626: The Winter Olympic Games were held at St. Moritz in 1928 and 1948 , the Cresta Run was included in the program, marking the only two times skeleton was included as an Olympic event before its permanent addition in 2002 to the Winter Games. In the 1887 Grand National competition in St. Moritz, a Mr. Cornish introduced the now-traditional head-first position, a trend that was in full force by

3136-843: The ancient Olympic Games , which were held in Olympia, Greece, from 776 BCE to 394 CE. The Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) 1,500 years later in 1894, leading to the first modern Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece in 1896. The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement , with the Olympic Charter defining its structure and authority. The original five Winter Olympic Sports (consisting of nine disciplines) were bobsleigh , curling , ice hockey , Nordic skiing (consisting of

3248-686: The fall of Communism and the fall of the Berlin Wall , and Germany competed as a single nation for the first time since the 1964 Games. Former Yugoslavian republics Croatia and Slovenia made their debuts as independent nations; most of the former Soviet republics still competed as a single team known as the Unified Team , but the Baltic States made independent appearances for the first time since before World War II. At 16 years old, Finnish ski jumper Toni Nieminen made history by becoming

3360-495: The ladies' figure skating at the age of 15. She became the youngest Olympic champion in history, a distinction she held for 70 years, and went on to defend her title at the next two Winter Olympics. Gillis Grafström won his third consecutive figure skating gold and went on to win silver in 1932, becoming the most decorated men's figure skater to date. The next Winter Olympics , held in Lake Placid, New York, United States

3472-478: The speed skating competition. After not being able to host the games in 1944, Cortina d'Ampezzo was selected to organise the 1956 Winter Olympics . At the opening ceremonies the final torchbearer, Guido Caroli, entered the Olympic Stadium on ice skates. As he skated around the stadium his skate caught on a cable and he fell and burned his arm, nearly extinguishing the flame. He was able to recover and light

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3584-640: The 1890 Grand National. Skeleton was practiced mainly in Switzerland; however, in 1905, Styria held its first skeleton competition in Mürzzuschlag , Austria . This opened the door to other national skeleton competitions including the Austrian championship held the following year. In 1908 and 1910, skeleton competitions were held in the Semmering Pass . As the popularity of the sport grew, skeleton evolved into

3696-502: The 1916 Olympics was cancelled after the outbreak of World War I . The first Olympics after the war, the 1920 Summer Olympics , were held in Antwerp , Belgium, and featured figure skating and an ice hockey tournament. Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey were banned from competing in the games. At the IOC Congress held the following year it was decided that the host nation of

3808-646: The 1976 Games, as all the infrastructure used during the 1964 Games had been maintained. Despite only having half the usual time to prepare for the Games, Innsbruck accepted the invitation to replace Denver in February 1973. During the opening ceremonies, two cauldrons were lit because it was the second time that the Austrian town had hosted the Winter Games. The 1976 Games featured the first combination bobsleigh-and-luge track , in neighbouring Igls . The Soviet Union won its fourth consecutive ice hockey gold medal. In 1980

3920-484: The 2006 Games, a Soviet or Russian delegation had never been outside the top five medal-winning nations, but in 2010 they finished sixth in total medals and eleventh in gold medals. President Dmitry Medvedev called for the resignation of top sports officials immediately after the Games. Russia's disappointing performance at Vancouver is cited as the reason behind the enhancement of an already existing doping scheme alleged to have been in operation at major events such as

4032-640: The 2014 Games at Sochi. The success of Asian countries stood in stark contrast to the under-performing Russian team, with Vancouver marking a high point for medals won by Asian countries. At the Albertville Games in 1992 the Asian countries had won fifteen medals, three of which were gold. In Vancouver, the total number of medals won by athletes from Asia had increased to thirty-one, with eleven of them being gold. The rise of Asian nations in Winter Olympics sports

4144-576: The 2017/18 season. The Junior World Championships are held every year, but are scheduled to avoid conflict with the Olympics and the Senior World Championships. Junior athletes are those who are under 23 years of age, or who turn 23 at some point during the competitive season. All countries are entitled to send up to three athletes to the Junior World Championships, subject to the requirement that each entrant must have finished at least three IBSF sanctioned competitions on at least two tracks in

4256-465: The French town of Grenoble , the 1968 Winter Olympics were the first Olympic Games to be broadcast in colour. There were 1,158 athletes from 37 nations competing in 35 events. French alpine ski racer Jean-Claude Killy became only the second person to win all the men's alpine skiing events. Due the high interest around the world, the organising committee sold television rights for US$ 2 million, which

4368-493: The Games to Vancouver - Garibaldi , British Columbia in Canada , which had previously been a finalist bid for the 1976 Games. However, a change in the provincial government resulted in an administration that did not support the Olympic bid, so the IOC's offer was rejected. Salt Lake City , previously a candidate for the 1972 Winter Olympics, then put itself forward, but a tense political situation led IOC to invite Innsbruck to host

4480-483: The IBSF and using the IBSF ranking system to determine qualification; 20 women and 30 men competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Korea, with one automatic quota going to the host country (Korea) for each gender. For men, three countries received three quota spots each, six were allocated two spots, and five got one; for women, two countries received three spots, four got two, and two got one. The ranking of

4592-632: The IOC stage a week of winter sports included as part of the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. The organisers opposed this idea because they desired to protect the integrity of the Nordic Games and were concerned about a lack of facilities for winter sports. The idea was resurrected for the 1916 Games , which were to be held in Berlin, Germany. A winter sports week with speed skating , figure skating, ice hockey and Nordic skiing were planned, but

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4704-816: The Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo to host the 2026 Winter Olympics . The Winter Olympics are usually held in February, during the winter season of the Northern Hemisphere. As of 2024 , no city in the Southern Hemisphere has applied to host the Winter Olympic Games in the month of August (during the winter months of the Southern Hemisphere). As of 2022 , twelve countries have participated in every Winter Olympic Games – Austria, Canada, Finland , France, Great Britain , Hungary , Italy, Norway, Poland , Sweden , Switzerland, and

4816-567: The Japanese city of Nagano and were the first Games to host more than 2,000 athletes. The National Hockey League allowed its players to participate in the men's ice hockey tournament for the first time, and the Czech Republic won the tournament. Women's ice hockey made its debut, and the United States won the gold medal. Bjørn Dæhlie of Norway won three gold medals in Nordic skiing, becoming

4928-550: The Olympic program for the 2002 Winter Olympics , at which stage a women's race was added. During elite racing the rider experiences accelerations up to 5   g and reaches speeds over 130 km/h (81 mph). The skeleton originated in St. Moritz , Switzerland , as a spinoff of the tobogganing sport pioneered by the British on the Cresta Run . Although skeleton "sliders" use equipment similar to that of Cresta "riders",

5040-500: The Russians were awarded the gold. The French judge, Marie-Reine Le Gougne , awarded the gold to the Russians. An investigation revealed that she had been pressured to give the gold to the Russian pair regardless of how they skated; in return, the Russian judge would look favourably on the French entrants in the ice dancing competition. The IOC decided to award both pairs the gold medal in

5152-597: The St. Moritz run as the officially recognized Olympic rules. It was not until 2002, however, that skeleton returned to the Olympic Winter Games after a 54-year absence, with the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City , Utah . In 2015, the FIBT was renamed the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF), and the Congress of the IBSF adopted its current governing statutes in 2016. Popularity in

5264-680: The Summer and Winter Games and place them in alternating even-numbered years. Lillehammer is the northernmost city to ever host the Winter Games. It was the second time the Games were held in Norway, after the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo , and the first time the Olympic Truce was observed. As a result, after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, the Czech Republic and Slovakia made their Olympic debuts. The women's figure skating competition drew media attention when American skater Nancy Kerrigan

5376-491: The Swiss track distinguished it from those of Canada and the United States . The source of the word is debated; some speculate that it comes from the skeleton-like appearance of the original sleds, and others an incorrectly anglicized version of the Norwegian word for toboggan, "Kjelke". Approximately 30 km (20 mi) away in the winter sports town of St. Moritz, British men had long enjoyed racing one another down

5488-426: The United States. Also, Czechoslovakia participated in all Winter Olympic Games before its dissolution and its successors, Czech Republic and Slovakia have participated in all Winter Games thereafter. Six of these countries have won medals at every Winter Olympic Games – Austria, Canada, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and the United States. The only country to have won a gold medal at every Winter Olympic Games

5600-488: The United States. These Games would have coincided with the year of Colorado's centennial and the United States Bicentennial . However, the increasing costs of the event and the oil crisis led to a local plebiscite held in November 1972, that resulted in the city withdrawing from hosting the Games, as the people of Colorado voted against public funding of the Games by a 3:2 margin. The IOC responded by offering

5712-406: The United States; three days before the opening ceremony, IOC president Avery Brundage threatened to bar the skiers from competing in the Games as he insisted that they were no longer amateurs having benefited financially from their status as athletes. Eventually only Austrian Karl Schranz , who earned more than the other skiers, was excluded from the competition. Canada boycotted the 1972 and

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5824-399: The Winter Olympics returned to Lake Placid, which had hosted the 1932 Games.Unlike previous editions, Lake Placid had no competitors in this bid process. Cyprus made their Olympic debut at the games. People's Republic of China and the first tropical nation Costa Rica competed for the first at the Winter Games. The Republic of China boycoted the Games, in protest of the IOC's recognition of

5936-437: The Winter Olympics. The 1940 games had been awarded to Sapporo , Japan, but the decision was rescinded in 1938 because of the Japanese invasion of China. The games were then to be held at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, but the 1940 games were cancelled following the German invasion of Poland in 1939. Due to the ongoing war, the 1944 games , originally scheduled for Cortina D'Ampezzo , Italy, were cancelled. St. Moritz

6048-437: The World Championships and Winter Olympics) heat, the competitors start in reverse order of their ranking after the previous heat. (At four-heat races, start order in heats two and three is in ascending order of combined time from the prior heats.) In addition to the four race series, the IBSF also organizes World Championships, which are held at the end of every sliding season except when the Olympic Winter Games are held, and

6160-438: The World Championships use a two-day, four-heat format, with rankings determined by total time for all four heats. The 2016/17 World Championships were held at Königssee bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track in Bavaria , 24–26 February 2017. Martins Dukurs of Latvia won the men's competition and Jacqueline Lölling of Germany won the women's competition. Because 2018 was an Olympic year, no World Championships were held for

6272-421: The World Cup. In addition, teams are limited to four athletes on their home continent and two athletes on the other continent. (For the purposes of this restriction, African teams are considered to be home on the Europe Cup and Asian, Oceanian, and South American teams are home on the North American Cup.) As the bottom level of international skeleton competition, race results in the Continental Cups are assigned

6384-443: The advent of the state-sponsored "full-time amateur athlete". The USSR entered teams of athletes who were all nominally students, soldiers, or working in a profession, but many of whom were in reality paid by the state to train full-time. Chiharu Igaya won the first Winter Olympics medal for Japan and the continent of Asia when he placed second in the slalom. The IOC awarded the 1960 Olympics to Squaw Valley , United States.

6496-397: The announcement of its selection came as a shock as the resort was undeveloped and unknown outside the United States.About US$ 80,000,000 was spent over four years to build the completely non-existent infrastructure. The opening and closing ceremonies were the firsts produced by Walt Disney Company. The Squaw Valley Olympics was the first Winter Games to have a dedicated athletes' village,

6608-458: The busy, winding streets of the town, causing an uproar among citizens because of the danger to pedestrians and visiting tourists. In 1884, Major William Bulpett, with the backing of winter sports pioneer and Kulm hotel owner Caspar Badrutt , constructed the Cresta Run , the first tobogganing track of its kind in St. Moritz. The track ran three-quarters of a mile from St. Moritz to Celerina and contained ten turns still used today. When

6720-423: The catalyst for its upswing in popularity. Most notably, Nino Bibbia , a fruit and vegetable merchant from St. Moritz , Switzerland, took Olympic gold at the 1948 event. With the advent of the first artificially refrigerated track in 1969 at Königssee / Berchtesgaden , Germany , athletes are currently able to practice the sport regardless of weather conditions. The sport is also promoted by skeleton officials as

6832-476: The cauldron. These were the first Winter Games to be televised, and the first Olympics ever broadcast to an international audience, though no television rights were sold until the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome . The Cortina games were used to test the feasibility of televising large sporting events. The Soviet Union made its Olympic debut and had an immediate impact, winning more medals than any other nation. The Soviets' immediate success might be explained by

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6944-483: The continent on which it is held. This championship is a "paper" race, based only on the times in the regularly scheduled World Cup event, with the athletes representing a different continent excluded. Currently, this is done only in Europe; the 2017/18 European Championship races were the World Cup races held on 15 December 2017 at Innsbruck , Austria . The current European champions are Martins Dukurs of Latvia and Elena Nikitina of Russia. In non-Olympic years,

7056-399: The countries for quota assignment was based on their third-highest, second-highest, or highest ranked athlete in total IBSF ranking over the qualification period. In addition, three quota spots are reserved for countries whose continent did not receive any representation based on this assignment procedure. National Olympic Committees may send athletes other than the ones whose rankings earned

7168-522: The date, with a cost of £30 billion (US$ 51 billion). On the snow, Norwegian biathlete Ole Einar Bjørndalen took two golds to bring his total tally of Olympic medals to 13, overtaking his compatriot Bjørn Dæhlie to become the most decorated Winter Olympian of all time. Another Norwegian, cross-country skier Marit Bjørgen took three golds; her total of ten Olympic medals tied her as the female Winter Olympian with most medals, alongside Raisa Smetanina and Stefania Belmondo . Snowboarder Ayumu Hirano became

7280-410: The decades like internal scandals, the use of performance-enhancing drugs by Winter Olympians, as well as a political boycott of the Winter Olympic Games. Countries have used the Winter Olympic Games as well as the Summer Olympic Games to proclaim the superiority of their political systems. The Winter Olympic Games have been hosted on three continents by thirteen countries, all of whom are located in

7392-432: 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 to 1936, interrupted in 1940 and 1944 by World War II , and resumed in 1948 . Until 1992, the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games were held in the same year. A decision to change this

7504-502: The expense of the Norwegian team, who finished fourth. On winning the Super-G, Kjetil-Andre Aamodt of Norway became the most decorated ski racer of all time with 4 gold and 8 overall medals. He is also the only ski racer to have won the same event at three Olympics, winning the Super-G in 1992 , 2002 , and 2006 . Claudia Pechstein of Germany became the first speed skater to earn nine career medals. In February 2009, Pechstein tested positive for "blood manipulation" and received

7616-418: The first host nation—since Norway in 1952 —to lead the gold medal count, with 14 medals. In doing so, it also broke the record for the most gold medals won by a NOC at a single Winter Olympics (the previous was 13, set by the Soviet Union in 1976 and matched by Norway in 2002 ). The Vancouver Games were notable for the poor performance of the Russian athletes. From their first Winter Olympics in 1956 to

7728-484: The first skater to break the 100-point barrier in the short programme on the way to winning the gold medal. Among the sledding disciplines, luger Armin Zöggeler took a bronze, becoming the first Winter Olympian to secure a medal in six consecutive Games. Following their disappointing performance at the 2010 Games, and an investment of £600 million in elite sport, Russia initially topped the medal table , taking 13 gold and 33 total medals. However, Grigory Rodchenkov ,

7840-444: The first time, on the Olympic Oval . Dutch skater Yvonne van Gennip won three gold medals and set two world records, beating skaters from the favoured East German team in every race. Her medal total was equalled by Finnish ski jumper Matti Nykänen , who won all three events in his sport. Alberto Tomba , an Italian skier, made his Olympic debut by winning both the giant slalom and slalom. East German Christa Rothenburger won

7952-415: The first to use a computer (courtesy of IBM ) to tabulate results, and the first to feature female speed skating events. This edition is the only one to date to not have bobsleigh competitions, as the number of countries registered in the event was insufficient and the costs of building the track were too high for the Organizing Committee.To replace the event, an extra edition from the FIBT World Championship

8064-475: The flame was lit in the fireplace by Norwegian skiing pioneer Sondre Nordheim and the first Winter torch relay was conducted by 94 torchbearers entirely on their skis. Bandy , a popular sport in the Nordic countries, was featured as a demonstration sport, though only Norway , Sweden , and Finland fielded teams. Norwegian athletes won 17 medals, which outpaced all the other nations. They were led by Hjalmar Andersen who won three gold medals in four events in

8176-683: The giant slalom. Another sporting highlight was the free dance performance of British ice dancers Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean ; their Boléro routine received unanimous perfect scores for artistic impression, earning them the gold medal. In 1988, the Canadian city of Calgary hosted the first Winter Olympics to span three weekends, lasting for a total of 16 days. New events were added in ski-jumping and speed skating, while future Olympic sports curling, short track speed skating and freestyle skiing made their debut appearance as demonstration sports. The speed skating events were held indoors for

8288-483: The gold medal. Sapporo , Japan, and Gothenburg , Sweden, were front-runners to host the 1984 Winter Olympics . It was therefore a surprise when Sarajevo , Yugoslavia, was selected as host. The Games were well-organised and not affected by the run-up to the war that engulfed the country eight years later. A total of 49 nations and 1,272 athletes participated in 39 events. Host nation Yugoslavia won its first Olympic medal when alpine skier Jure Franko won silver in

8400-410: The hosts. The opening ceremony was held in a blizzard while warm weather conditions plagued sporting events throughout the rest of the games. Because of the weather the 10,000 metre speed-skating event had to be abandoned and officially cancelled. The weather was not the only noteworthy aspect of the 1928 games: Sonja Henie of Norway returned to the Winter Olympics to make history when she won

8512-451: The layout would incorporate the best possible venues for television broadcasts at the athletes' expense. The 1972 Winter Games , held in Sapporo , Japan, were the first to be hosted on a continent other than North America or Europe. The issue of professionalism was disputed during these Games when a number of alpine skiers were found to have participated in a ski camp at Mammoth Mountain in

8624-418: The list before an athlete's ordinal ranking is determined This had the effect of allowing continental representatives for Africa into the 2018 games, as they would otherwise have been too low on the ranking list to qualify (notably, Nigerian slider Simidele Adeagbo was ranked 74th before cleaning, but was in the top 45 after application of rule 4.1). The accessibility of skeleton to amateurs may have been

8736-510: The lowest point values for ranking, with a first-place finish being with 75 points (compared to 225 points for the World Cup). Only the top 30 athletes receive ranking points; 30th place is worth 1 point. However, two races are generally held in each discipline on a single race weekend, allowing consistently competitive athletes to earn a higher ranking than if they went to a single World Cup race and finished poorly. The Intercontinental Cup (ICC)

8848-413: The men's and women's ice hockey gold medals. Canada became embroiled with Russia in a controversy that involved the judging of the pairs figure skating competition. The Russian pair of Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze competed against the Canadian pair of Jamie Salé and David Pelletier for the gold medal. The Canadians appeared to have skated well enough to win the competition, yet

8960-563: The modern Winter Olympic sport of biathlon is descended from it. Still others, such as speed skiing , bandy and skijoring , were demonstration sports but never incorporated as Olympic sports. The rise of television as a global medium for communication enhanced the profile of the Games. It generated income via the sale of broadcast rights and advertising, which has become lucrative for the IOC. This allowed outside interests, such as television companies and corporate sponsors, to exert influence. The IOC has had to address numerous criticisms over

9072-503: The most decorated Winter Olympic athlete, with eight gold medals and twelve medals overall. Austrian Hermann Maier survived a crash during the downhill competition and returned to win gold in the super-G and the giant slalom. Tara Lipinski of the United States , aged just 15, became the youngest ever female gold medallist in an individual event when she won the Ladies' Singles , a record that had stood since Sonja Henie of Norway won

9184-539: The next were to be held in 1998 when the four-year Olympic Cycle resumed. The Winter Olympic Games have evolved since their inception. Sports and disciplines have been added and some of them, such as alpine skiing , luge , short track speed skating , freestyle skiing , skeleton , and snowboarding , have earned a permanent spot on the Olympic program. Some others, including curling and bobsleigh , have been discontinued and later reintroduced; others have been permanently discontinued, such as military patrol , though

9296-416: The overall rankings of their individual athletes during the previous season, but are free to send any qualified athlete to a competition in which they have available quota. However, individual athletes' discipline rankings are used to determine the start order for the first heat of each race: the track becomes less smooth after each successive run, so earlier starts are more desirable. In the second (fourth at

9408-537: The previous two years. The 2017–18 Junior World Championships were held on 25 January 2018 in St. Moritz , Switzerland , and the winners were Anna Fernstädt of Germany and Nikita Tregubov of Russia. The skeleton event in the Winter Olympics uses the same two-day, four-heat format as the World Championships, but team quotas are significantly smaller. The International Olympic Committee assigns athlete quotas to national Olympic committees in cooperation with

9520-403: The quota spot, but the athletes chosen must be ranked in the top 60 (for men) or top 45 (for women) on the IBSF list and meet similar experience requirements to those that apply to the World Cup. However, IBSF rule 4.1 provides that, for the purposes of determining the top 60 (or top 45) qualification, lower-ranking athletes from countries which have already received a full quota are "cleaned" from

9632-521: The record for most individual golds in a single Olympics (both Summer and Winter). Hanni Wenzel won both the slalom and giant slalom and her country, Liechtenstein , became the smallest nation to produce an Olympic gold medallist. In the " Miracle on Ice ", the American hockey team composed of college players beat the favoured seasoned professionals from the Soviet Union , and progressed to eventually win

9744-413: The regular competitive circuits, the race days are preceded by three or four days of pre-race training to allow athletes to learn the intricacies of each track, and each athlete must complete a certain number of successful training runs to be eligible to compete. Normally, if the same competition also includes bobsleigh races, the skeleton races will be held first, as the heavier bobsleighs do more damage to

9856-407: The same event, also aged 15, in St. Moritz in 1928 . New world records were set in speed skating largely due to the introduction of the clap skate . After a tumultuous host city process , the 2002 Winter Olympics were held in Salt Lake City , United States. 2,399 athletes from 77 National Olympic Committees participated in 78 events in 7 sports. These Games were the first to take place since

9968-409: The short-track speed skating events. Sun-Yu Jin won three gold medals while her teammate Hyun-Soo Ahn won three gold medals and a bronze. In the women's Cross-Country team pursuit Canadian Sara Renner broke one of her poles and, when he saw her dilemma, Norwegian coach Bjørnar Håkensmoen decided to lend her a pole. In so doing she was able to help her team win a silver medal in the event at

10080-1009: The sides of the sled help secure the athlete during a run. Further specifications are included in the FIBT ruling regarding sled dimensions: Some athletes opt to attach ballasts if the combined weight of athlete and sled falls below the maximum combined weight. These ballasts may only be added to the sled, not the rider. Current Olympic champion: [REDACTED] [REDACTED]   South Korea   (KOR) Yun Sung-bin [REDACTED] [REDACTED]   Olympic Athletes from Russia   (OAR) Nikita Tregubov [REDACTED] [REDACTED]   Great Britain   (GBR) Dominic Parsons Current Olympic champion: [REDACTED] [REDACTED]   Great Britain   (GBR) Lizzy Yarnold [REDACTED] [REDACTED]   Germany   (GER) Jacqueline Lölling [REDACTED] [REDACTED]   Great Britain   (GBR) Laura Deas Both skeleton and its sister sport, bobsledding, have been associated with traumatic brain injury,

10192-555: The six cross-country events on the women's programme. She finished the Olympics with three golds, a silver and a bronze. For the first time, Canada won a gold medal at an Olympic Games it hosted, having failed to do so at both the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary . In contrast to the lack of gold medals at these previous Olympics, the Canadian team finished first overall in gold medal wins, and became

10304-490: The sport has grown since the 2002 Winter Olympics and now includes participation by some countries that either do not or cannot have a track because of climate, terrain or monetary limitations. Athletes from such countries as Australia , New Zealand , Bermuda , South Africa , Argentina , Iraq , Israel , Mexico , Brazil , and even the Virgin Islands have become involved with the sport in recent years. The IBSF operates

10416-477: The sport recognized today. In 1892, the sled was transformed by L. P. Child, an Englishman, to incorporate a more bare-bones design. In 1923, the Federation Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT) was established as the governing body of the sport. Soon afterward, in 1926, the International Olympic Committee declared bobsleigh and skeleton as Olympic sports and adopted the rules of

10528-422: The top level World Cup . Each athlete receives points based on their results and the level of the competition, which are used to determine both their rankings on each circuit they race in and also an overall ranking across all circuits. An intermediate tier, the Intercontinental Cup, was discontinued after the 2022–23 season. National federations are assigned athlete quota spots in the higher levels according to

10640-598: The track. The two Continental Cup series are the Europe Cup (also called "Europa Cup" and "European Cup") and the North American Cup. Both series are open to athletes from all participating nations, but with some restrictions: the top 15 athletes in combined ranking are not permitted to race in the Continental Cups, and athletes are not permitted to race unless their team has filled all of its assigned quota sports in

10752-494: The two sports are different: while skeleton is run on the same tracks used by bobsleds and luge (which are sufficiently 'closed' that a participant is highly unlikely to be ejected from the track), the Cresta takes place only on the Cresta Run (which is more open, meaning a rider can fall out of the run if he is out of control). Skeleton sleds are steered using torque provided by the head and shoulders. The Cresta toboggan does not have

10864-618: The women's 1,000 metre speed skating event. Seven months later she would earn a silver in track cycling at the Summer Games in Seoul , to become the only athlete to win medals in both a Summer and Winter Olympics in the same year. The 1988 games are well remembered in popular culture from two films based on its events: Cool Runnings about the Jamaican bobsled team; and Eddie the Eagle about British ski jumper Michael Edwards , who finished last but set

10976-548: The youngest male Winter Olympic champion. New Zealand skier Annelise Coberger became the first Winter Olympic medallist from the southern hemisphere when she won a silver medal in the women's slalom. The 1994 Winter Olympics , held in Lillehammer , Norway, were the first Winter Games to be held in a different year from the Summer Games. This change resulted from the decision reached in the 91st IOC Session (1986) to separate

11088-495: The youngest medallist on snow at the Winter Games when he took a silver in the halfpipe competition at the age of fifteen. On the ice, the Netherlands team dominated the speed skating events, taking 23 medals, four clean sweeps of the podium places and at least one medal in each of the twelve medal events. Ireen Wüst was their most successful competitor, taking two golds and three silvers. In figure skating, Yuzuru Hanyu became

11200-550: The youngest-ever Olympic gold medallist when South Korea won the women's 3,000-metre speed skating relay. Bjørn Dæhli of Norway won a medal in four out of five cross-country events, becoming the most decorated Winter Olympian until then. Russia won the most events, with eleven gold medals, while Norway achieved 26 podium finishes, collecting the most medals overall on home ground. Juan Antonio Samaranch described Lillehammer as "the best Olympic Winter Games ever" in his closing ceremony speech. The 1998 Winter Olympics were held in

11312-579: Was a charter member of the IOC and a close friend of Olympic Games founder Pierre de Coubertin . He attempted to have winter sports, specifically figure skating , added to the Olympic programme but was unsuccessful until the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. Four figure skating events were contested, at which Ulrich Salchow (10-time world champion) and Madge Syers won the individual titles. Three years later, Italian count Eugenio Brunetta d'Usseaux proposed that

11424-430: Was enlisted to transport snow and ice from other places to the sports venues. Soviet speed-skater Lidia Skoblikova made history by winning all four-speed skating events. Her career total of six gold medals set a record for Winter Olympics athletes. Also, for the first time Luge was added to the Olympic program, but the sport received bad publicity when a competitor was killed in a pre-Olympic training run. Held in

11536-404: Was held . The Austrian city of Innsbruck was the host in 1964 . For the first time, the Olympic torch of the Winter Olympic Games was lit at the traditional ritual held in the temple of Olympia.Although Innsbruck was a traditional winter sports resort, unprojected warm weather caused a lack of snow and organisers were unable to save enough snow to be used during the Games, and the Austrian army

11648-424: Was injured on 6 January 1994, in an assault planned by the ex-husband of opponent Tonya Harding . Both skaters competed in the Games, but the gold medal was narrowly won by Oksana Baiul who became Ukraine 's first Olympic champion, while Kerrigan won the silver medal. Johann Olav Koss of Norway won three gold medals, coming first in all of the distance speed skating events. 13-year-old Kim Yoon-Mi became

11760-475: Was introduced as an intermediate level between the Continental Cups and the World Cup; a first-place finish was worth 120 points in the IBSF ranking (vs. 225 points for a World Cup win). The ICC was discontinued after the 2022–23 season to increase the number of athletes participating on the World Cup. The World Cup is the top level of international skeleton competition, and has the most stringent team quotas, with no teams receiving an automatic entry. To qualify,

11872-576: Was made in 1986, when during the 91st International Olympic Committee session , IOC members decided to alternate the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games on separate four-year cycles in even-numbered years. Also, at that same congress it was decided that 1992 Winter Olympics would be the last to be held in the same year as the Summer Games and that to change the rotation, the games that would be held in 1996 would be brought forward by two years, being scheduled to 1994 . After those games,

11984-490: Was more than twice the cost of the broadcast rights for the Innsbruck Games. For the first time, the organizers chose to decentralize the Games to save costs and the events were spread across three long distances clusters, which led to the need to build three Olympic Villages.Along the high costs, the organisers claimed that this was necessary to accommodate technological advances, however, critics disputed this, alleging that

12096-594: Was not enough snow to hold all the events until mid-January. Sonja Henie defended her Olympic title, and Eddie Eagan of the United States, who had been an Olympic champion in boxing in 1920, won the gold medal in the men's bobsleigh event to join Gillis Grafström as the only athletes to have won gold medals in both the Summer and Winter Olympics. Eagan has the distinction as the only Olympian as of 2020 to accomplish this feat in different sports. The German towns of Garmisch and Partenkirchen joined to organise

12208-430: Was selected to host the first post-war games, in 1948 . Switzerland's neutrality had protected the town during World War II, and most venues from the 1928 games remained in place, which made St. Moritz a logical choice. It became the first city to host a Winter Olympics twice. Twenty-eight countries competed in Switzerland, but athletes from Germany and Japan were not invited. Controversy erupted when two hockey teams from

12320-461: Was the first time that Russia had hosted a Winter Olympics. The Games took place from 7 to 23 February 2014. A record 2,800 athletes from 88 countries competed in 98 events. The Olympic Village and Olympic Stadium were located on the Black Sea coast. All of the mountain venues were 50 kilometres (31 mi) away in the alpine region known as Krasnaya Polyana . The Games were the most expensive until

12432-466: Was the first to be hosted outside of Europe. Seventeen nations and 252 athletes participated. This was less than in 1928, as the journey to Lake Placid was too long and expensive for some European nations that encountered financial problems in the midst of the Great Depression . The athletes competed in fourteen events in four sports. Virtually no snow fell for two months before the Games, and there

12544-445: Was won by Charles Jewtraw of the United States in the 500-meter speed skate. Sonja Henie of Norway, at just 11 years old, competed in the ladies' figure skating and, although finishing last, became popular with fans. Gillis Grafström of Sweden defended his 1920 gold medal in men's figure skating, becoming the first Olympian to win gold medals in both Summer and Winter Olympics. Germany remained banned until 1925, and instead hosted

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