Winter Olympics: History and Sports

The Winter Olympics is a competition of athletes from all over the world in regulated winter sports disciplines. Similar to the Summer Games, these competitions are held under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee https://rsabet.co.za/soccer/prva-liga-montenegro/.

History of Development

The history of the Winter Olympics is not straightforward, but let's delve into it in more detail.

Winter sports diversity existed long before the first Winter Olympics, and indeed before the idea of such large-scale competitions. However, there are sports that were included in the Olympic program much later. For example, "ice" disciplines were not part of the first three Olympics, even though figure skating was included in the Olympic program in 1894, the same year when the International Olympic Committee was established.

I Olympic Winter Games: How It All Started

The first Winter Games were held in Chamonix, a small French town, in early 1924 – an event that historians and lawyers have been debating to this day. "The Games held then were something else, but not the Games of the Olympiad," say world historians. 90 years ago, the event that took place in the alpine town of Chamonix was called the "Winter Sports Week dedicated to the upcoming Olympics in Paris." That was the true name of the 1924 competition. In the French Alps, 293 athletes from 16 countries gathered. However, many historical records state: "Athletes had the option to participate or not. There were many reasons for this."

One of the main reasons was the lack of organizational efforts. The authorities of Chamonix were hesitant about whether to participate in such "unimpressive" competitions. Pierre de Coubertin (the second President of the IOC) wrote a letter to his best friend Henri Baillet-Latour (the future third President of the IOC): "The city council assures us that the city is completely ready to host the competitions, but the smiles of these people are insincere, and their arguments are weak. I have no confidence in these people, and I have the impression that the authorities of Chamonix are making fun of us."

The second, no less significant reason was the strong opposition from the Scandinavian region. Scandinavians always considered winter sports their calling https://coub.com/5d408b5db72b62dc514d, an idyll of sorts. By the way, the Scandinavian peoples held individual competitions called "Nordic" events. There is an explanation for this – the people of the Scandinavian region cultivated winter sports since the 19th century. Moreover, people from Scandinavian countries did not believe that such sports could become common and claimed that nothing could be better than the Nordic competitions.

The "sports authorities" also did not want to recognize "cold" sports as official Olympic disciplines. Most Scandinavian nations declared in unison, "Our sports disciplines are not Olympic! Ancient Greek competitions did not include skiing or skating! Can you call this sport Olympic???" Moreover, many sports union leaders did not accept winter sports as such, considering them not as competitions but rather as advertising for resorts where the Games were held.

Nevertheless, not only Scandinavians were "eager" not to give away their sports to the IOC. Many Alpine countries, cultivating alpine skiing and bobsleigh, also refused to delegate their sports to the coveted Olympics.

Originally, the Olympic Games were held every four years, alternating between the Summer and Winter Games. However, in 1994, it was decided to shift the interval between the Games to two years.

As of today, the Winter Olympics program offers a wide range of sports. The number of country representatives at modern Games is on par with the Summer Olympics. Notably, athletes from tropical countries also participate in "cold" sports. While in the distant past, the "white" Games were dominated by Scandinavians, the leadership trend has radically changed over the years. Today, athletes from different corners of the planet are among the leaders.

The Great Figure in the History of the Winter Olympics

Perhaps the "white" Olympics would not have become as great as they are today without the person to whom the sports history of the planet owes so much. This person is Pierre de Coubertin, the man who founded the Olympic Games on Earth.

In 1922, this great Frenchman succeeded in creating a special commission for the organization of the Winter Games. Thanks to his extraordinary diplomatic charm, he managed to include representatives from Sweden, France, Canada, Switzerland, and Norway in the commission. He then "persuaded" the delegates to organize the "Winter Sports Week" in 1924 as a promotion for the Summer Olympics. The decision was made despite disagreements among the commission members.

Coubertin asserted: "The tournament should be symbolic. Non-Olympic sports should be introduced to the public..." To fill the program for the Paris Olympics, figure skating and hockey were removed. Then, friction and endless negotiations among the participating countries began. After uncertain deliberations in Chamonix, athletes from 16 nations finally gathered. It was the post-war era, and as a result, Germany, the initiator of World War I, was not invited to the competition. However, Germany's allies, Hungary and Austria, sent their athletes (for reference, Austrian athletes won three medals).

The "Sports Week" was opened by the Prime Minister of France, Vidal, an exceptionally cunning politician. The official hastened to declare that "these competitions are held under the complete auspices of the IOC." The Olympic flag was not raised in the stadium, but it was indeed displayed at the bobsleigh and ski jumping events. Moreover, the flag stood directly next to the pedestal during the award ceremonies. These and many other moments became decisive arguments in officially recognizing the Games in Chamonix, France, as the I Winter Olympics.

The I Olympics were disastrous for the organizers

The "Sports Week" went relatively smoothly. The program included the following sports:

• Bobsleigh


• Skiing (sprint, ski jumping)


• Skating


• Ice hockey


• Figure skating

Women only participated in the last discipline (for reference, there were only 13 women).

However, these Games were quite disastrous for their organizers. Yes, Coubertin assured the public that the competitions in skiing and speed skating alone would bring in profits from 30,000 spectators, as back then, the only source of income could be ticket sales. The Games took place, but according to statistics, the number of spectators reached only 10,044 – a financial catastrophe.

But a miracle did happen: people embraced the idea of the "white" Games, and already in 1926, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, they decided to hold the II Winter Games. The past "Sports Week" was named the I Winter Olympics, and Pierre de Coubertin was hailed as a genius who gave the planet a winter sports holiday.

Sports Included in the Modern Winter Olympics Program

The modern Winter Olympics include a wide variety of sports and their disciplines:

• 22 disciplines of skiing


• 6 biathlon disciplines


• 4 figure skating disciplines


• 4 snowboarding disciplines


• 7 speed skating disciplines


• Bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton


• Hockey


• Curling

Sports Excluded from the Competitions

There are also sports that are no longer part of the program:

• Military patrol (the precursor to biathlon)


• Ice stock sport


• Ski ballet


• Ski joring with dogs and horses


• Nordic combined


• Winter pentathlon