Winter Olympic Games

The Winter Olympics were initiated in 1924 and were held in Chamonix, Paris for the first time.
However, it wasn't until 1926 at the 24th International Olympic Committee Session in Lisbon,
that the 1924 events in Chamonix were retroactively designated as the first Winter Olympics.
The Winter Games since then have been successfully conducted after a gap of every four years.
The Winter Olympic Games in contrast to Summer Olympic Games witnesses less participation
by the countries. This is owing to the fact that the nations close to the equator do not enjoy
popularity of the Winter Games and access to winter sport training facilities are relatively limited
and non-existent. The most recent winter Games were held in 2006 at Turin, Italy and the next
Winter Olympiad will be held in Vancouver, Canada in 2010. Given below is chronology of the
Winter Olympic Games.
• Chamonix, 1924 - Initially called the 'International Sports Week 1924', it was
retroactively named the First Olympic Winter Games.
• St. Moritz, 1928 - The Games held in Switzerland witnessed the introduction of a new
event 'Skeleton' and at the same time 10,000 m speed skating was cancelled owing to the
condition of the ice.
• Lake Placid, 1932 - Athletes from 17 nations participated at the III Winter Olympiad
unlike 25 nations in the II Winter Olympiad.
• Garmisch-Partenkirchen, 1936 - Alpine Skiing events were introduced for the first time
at the Games hosted by twin Bavarian towns. 28 nations participated at the games
sending representation for seventeen events.
• St. Moritz, 1948 - The Games were held after a gap of twelve years owing to the II world
War. Chile, Denmark, Lebanon, Korea and Island made their debut at these Winter
Olympic Games.
• Oslo, 1952 - A total of thirty nations participated at the Games, with New Zealand and
Portugal participating in the Games for the first time.
• Cortina d'Ampezzo, 1956 - The 1956 Winter Olympic Games witnessed soviets sending
their team for the first time. The Soviets in their very first winter Olympics put up a
spectacular show and won more medals than any other nations.
• Squaw Valley, 1960 - Women participated in speed skating for the first time during these
games.
• Innsbruck, 1964 - 36 nations participated in the IX Olympic Winter Games and a total of
34 events were held. The Games were also threatened by a lack of snow. It was the
Austrian Army that came to the rescue getting ice mountain tops at the site of the Games.
• Grenoble, 1968 - The Grenoble Winter Olympic Games were the first Games to be
broadcast in color on television.
• Sapporo, 1972 - Held in Japan, it was for the first time that the Winter Olympics were
held outside USA or Europe.
• Innsbruck, 1976 - These Games witnessed Olympic debut for ice dancing. Also for the
first time, two Olympic Flames were lit.
• Lake Placid, 1980 - During and prior to the games many snow machines were used to
ensure that the competitions took place in the best possible snow conditions.
 • Sarajevo, 1984 - For the first and only time so far, the Winter Olympic Games took place
in a socialist country. 49 nations participated in the XIV Winter Olympic Games.
• Calgary, 1988 - Canada hosted the Winter Olympic Games for the first time. These were
also the first smoke-free games, with signs of No-Smoking placed everywhere around at
the venue.
• Albertville, 1992 - During these games, Croatia and Slovenia participated as independent
nations for the first time. Also this was the last time, when both the summer and winter
Olympic Games were held together in the same year.
• Lillehammer, 1994 - The winter games for the first time were held two years apart. The
summer Olympics and Winter Olympics are hence as a result are held alternately every
two years.
• Nagano, 1998 - The Games were officially opened by His Majesty the emperor Akihito.
Women took part in ice Hockey for the first time in Olympic history.
• Salt Lake City, 2002 - The judges put to use technology in the games as they used
instant video replay in figure skating. China and Australia also made history at the games
as they earned their first gold medals in Winter Olympics.
• Turin, 2006 - At the XX Winter Olympic Games, 80 nations participated. These games
also witnessed the most stringent anti-doping controls ever as a record 1,219 tests were
administered.
• Vancouver, 2010 - the XXI Winter Olympic Games are sue to held in Canada for the
second time in February 2010.
• Sochi, 2014 - The International Olympic committee has granted the XXII Winter
Olympic Games to Sochi, Russia. The Russian city won votes against Salzburg, Austria
and PyeongChang, Republic of Korea.

The Winter Olympic Games are a winter multi-sport event held every four years. They feature
winter sports held on snow or ice, such as Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, figure skating,
bobsledding and ice hockey. Cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined,
ski jumping, and speed skating have been competed at every Winter Olympics since 1924. Other
athletic events have been added as the Games have progressed. Some of these events, such as
luge, short track speed skating, and freestyle skiing have earned a permanent spot on the
Olympic programme. Others, like speed skiing, bandy, and skijöring have been demonstration
sports but never incorporated officially as an Olympic sport.
Fewer countries participate in the Winter Olympics than the Summer Olympics. The first Winter
Olympics were held in Chamonix, France in 1924. Prior to this, figure skating and ice hockey
had been events at the Summer Olympics. The Games were held every four years from 1924
until 1940 when they were interrupted by World War II. The Winter and Summer Games
resumed in 1948 and were celebrated on the same year until 1992. At that time the Winter
Games split from the Summer Games, and were begun to be celebrated on alternating even
years. The first Winter Olympic Games to be held on this new schedule was in 1994 in
Lillehammer, Norway.
The Winter Games have undergone significant changes since their inception. The rise of
television as a global medium for communication has greatly enhanced the profile of the Games.
It has also created an income stream in the form of the sale of broadcast rights and advertising,
which has become very lucrative for the International Olympic Committee (IOC). This has
allowed outside interests, such as television companies and corporate sponsors, to influence
various aspects of the Games. The IOC has had to address several internal scandals, and the use
of performance enhancing drugs by Winter Olympic athletes. One country has boycotted the
Winter Olympics. The Winter Games have also been used by countries to demonstrate the
claimed superiority of their political systems.
The Winter Olympics have been hosted in three continents, but never in a country in the southern
hemisphere. The United States has hosted the Games four times, more than any other country.
France has been host three times. Austria, Canada, Italy, Japan, Norway, and Switzerland have
hosted the Games twice. The next Games will be hosted by Sochi, Russia in 2014. This will be
the first time that Russia will host the Winter Olympic Games.

Contents
[hide]
• 1 History
○ 1.1 Early years
○ 1.2 World War II
○ 1.3 1948 to 1960
○ 1.4 1964 to 1980
○ 1.5 1984 to 1998
○ 1.6 2002 to present
○ 1.7 Future
• 2 Commercialization
• 3 Controversy
○ 3.1 Doping
• 4 Politics
○ 4.1 Cold War
○ 4.2 Boycott
• 5 Sports
○ 5.1 Current sport disciplines
○ 5.2 Discontinued sports or disciplines
○ 5.3 Demonstration events
• 6 List of Games
• 7 See also
• 8 References
○ 8.1 Notes
○ 8.2 Bibliography
 • 9 External links

History
Early years
The first international multi-sport event specifically for winter sports were the Nordic Games,
held in 1901 in Sweden. The Nordic Games were organized by General Viktor Gustaf Balck.[1]
They were held again in 1903, a third event was held in 1905, and then every four years there
after until 1926.[1] Balck was a charter member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
and a close personal friend of Olympic Games founder Pierre de Coubertin. He attempted to
have winter sports, specifically figure skating, added to the Olympic program.[1] Balck was
unsuccessful until the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, which featured four figure skating
events.[2] Ulrich Salchow (10 time World champion) and Madge Syers won the individual titles.[3]
Three years later, Italian count Eugenio Brunetta d'Usseaux proposed that the IOC stage a week
with winter sports as part of the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm. The organizers opposed
this idea, their reasoning was two-fold: they desired to protect the integrity of the Nordic Games;
and they were concerned about a lack of facilities that could accommodate winter sports.[4][5] The
idea was resurrected for the 1916 Games, which were to be held in Berlin. A winter sports week
with speed skating, figure skating, ice hockey and Nordic skiing was planned, but the 1916
Olympics were cancelled after the outbreak of World War I.[4]
The first Olympics after the war, the 1920 Games in Antwerp featured figure skating and ice
hockey.[4] At the IOC Congress held the following year, it was decided that the organizers of the
1924 Summer Olympics, France, would also host a separate "International Winter Sports Week",
under the patronage of the IOC. This "week" (it actually lasted 11 days) of events in Chamonix
proved to be a great success. More than 200 athletes from 16 nations, competed in 16 events.[6]
Fewer than 15 of the athletes were women and they were only allowed to compete in figure
skating events.[4] Finnish and Norwegian athletes dominated the events.[7] In 1925 the IOC
decided to create a separate Olympic Winter Games,[4] and the 1924 Games in Chamonix were
retroactively designated as the first Winter Olympics.[4][8]

Statue of Sonja Henie in Oslo

St. Moritz was appointed by the IOC to host the second Olympic Winter Games in 1928.[9]
Fluctuating weather conditions made these Olympics memorable. The opening ceremony was
held in a blizzard.[10] In contrast, warm weather conditions plagued the Olympics for the
remainder of the Games. Due to the weather the 10,000 metre (6.2 miles) speed skating event
had to be abandoned and officially cancelled with no winner.[11] The 50 km (31 miles) cross-
country event was officially contested but ended with a temperature of 25 °C (77 °F), which
caused significant problems with snow and waxing conditions.[11] The weather was not the only
note-worthy aspect of the 1928 Games; Sonja Henie of Norway created a sensation when she
won the figure skating competition at the age of 15. She became the youngest Olympic champion
in history, a distinction she would hold for 74 years.[12]
The next Winter Olympics was the first to be hosted outside of Europe. Fewer athletes
participated than in 1928, as the journey to Lake Placid, United States, was a long and expensive
one for most competitors, and there was little money for sports in the midst of the Great
Depression. These Games were also marred by warm weather. Virtually no snow fell for two
months preceding the Games. It was not until mid-January that there was enough snow to hold
all the events.[13] Sonja Henie defended her Olympic title.[14] Eddie Eagan, who had been an
Olympic champion in boxing in 1920, won the gold in the men's bobsled event to become the
first, and so far only, Olympian to have won gold medals in both the Summer and Winter
Olympics.[14]
The Bavarian towns of Garmisch and Partenkirchen joined to organize the 1936 edition of the
Winter Games, held from February 6–16.[15] 1936 marked the last year that the Summer and
Winter Olympics were held in the same country. Alpine skiing made its Olympic debut in
Germany, but skiing teachers were barred from entering because they were considered to be
professionals.[16] This decision caused the Swiss and Austrian skiers to refuse to compete in the
Olympics.[17]
World War II
The Second World War interrupted the celebration of the Winter Olympics. The 1940 Winter
Olympics had originally been awarded to Sapporo, Japan, but was rescinded in 1938, because of
the Japanese invasion of China in the Sino-Japanese War. Subsequently, St. Moritz, Switzerland,
was chosen by the IOC to host the Games, but three months later the IOC withdrew St. Moritz
from the Games, because of quarrels with the Swiss organizing team. Garmisch-Partenkirchen,
the hosts of the previous Olympics, stepped in to host the Winter Games again, but both Summer
and Winter Olympics were cancelled in their entirety in November 1939 following Germany's
invasion of Poland.[18] The 1944 Winter Olympics, scheduled to take place in Cortina
d'Ampezzo, Italy, were cancelled in the Summer of 1941, due to the continuing World War.[19]
1948 to 1960

View down into Cortina from Monte Faloria, site of the Giant Slalom events at the
1956 Winter Olympics[20]

The IOC selected the Swiss town of St. Moritz to host the first post-war Games in 1948. St.
Moritz was untouched by World War II because of Switzerland's neutrality. Since most of the
venues were already constructed for the 1928 Games it was a logical choice to become the first
city to host a Winter Olympics twice.[21] Twenty-eight countries competed in Switzerland.
Athletes from Germany and Japan were not invited.[22] The Games were marred by controversy,
and theft. Two hockey teams from the United States arrived. Both teams claimed to be the
legitimate U.S. Olympic hockey representative. The Olympic flag presented at the 1920 Summer
Olympics in Antwerp was stolen. Its replacement was also stolen. There was an unprecedented
degree of parity in these Games. Ten countries won gold medals, more than any Games to that
point.[23]
The city of Oslo, Norway, was selected to host the 1952 Winter Olympics. The Olympic Flame
was lit in the fireplace of the home of skiing pioneer Sondre Nordheim.[24] The torch relay was
conducted by 94 participants and held entirely on skis.[24][25] Bandy, a popular sport in the Nordic
countries, was held as a demonstration sport though only Norway, Sweden, and Finland fielded
teams.[25]
After not being able to host the Games in 1944 due to the War, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, was
selected to organize the 1956 Winter Olympics. At the opening ceremonies the final torch bearer,
Guido Caroli, entered the Olympic Stadium on ice skates. As he skated around the stadium rink
his skate caught on a cable and he fell, nearly extinguishing the flame. He was able to recover
and lit the cauldron.[26] These were the first Winter Games to be televised, though no television
rights would be sold until the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.[27][28] The Cortina Games were
used as an experiment on the feasibility of televising sporting events on such a large scale.[28]
These Games marked the debut of the Soviet Union at the Winter Olympics. The Soviet team
had an immediate impact, winning more medals than any other nation.[29] The IOC awarded the
1960 Olympics to Squaw Valley, United States. Since the village was underdeveloped, there was
a rush to construct roads, hotels, restaurants, and bridges, as well as the ice arena, the speed
skating track, ski lifts, and the ski jump hill.[30][31] The opening and closing ceremonies were
produced by Walt Disney.[32] These Games were the first to have a dedicated athlete's village, and
the first to use a computer (courtesy of IBM) to tabulate results.[32] The bobsled events were
absent for the first and only time because the organizing committee found it too expensive to
build the bobsled run. Women first took part in speed skating at these Games.[32]
1964 to 1980
The Tyrolean city of Innsbruck was the host in 1964. Despite being a traditional winter sports
resort, warm weather caused a lack of snow during the Games and the Austrian army was called
in to bring snow and ice to the sport venues.[32] Soviet speed skating star Lidia Skoblikova made
history by sweeping all four speed skating events. Her career total of six gold medals set a record
for the most medals by a Winter Olympics athlete.[32] Luge was first contested in these Olympics,
although the sport received bad publicity when a competitor was killed in a pre-Olympic training
run.[33][34]
Held in the French town of Grenoble, the 1968 Winter Olympics was the first Olympic Games to
be broadcast in color.[35] Frenchman Jean-Claude Killy became only the second person to sweep
all the men's alpine skiing events.[36] The effects of television began to show at the Grenoble
Games. The organizing committee sold the television rights for $2 million, a significant increase
over the price of the broadcast rights for the Innsbruck Games, which totaled $936,667.[37]
Venues were spread over long distances requiring three athletes' villages at these Games. The
organizers claimed this was required to accommodate technological advances. Critics disputed
this, alleging the layout was necessary to provide the best possible venues for television
broadcasts at the expense of the athletes.[37]
The 1972 Winter Games, held in Sapporo, Japan, were the first to be hosted outside North
America or Europe. The issue of professionalism became very contentious during these Games.
Three days before the Olympics, IOC president Avery Brundage threatened to bar a large
number of alpine skiers from competing because they participated in a ski camp at Mammoth
Mountain in the United States. Brundage reasoned that the skiers had financially benefited from
their status as athletes and were therefore no longer amateurs.[38] Eventually, only Austrian Karl
Schranz, who earned more than all the other skiers, was not allowed to compete.[39] Canada did
not send teams to the 1972 or 1976 ice hockey tournaments in protest of their inability to use
players from professional leagues.[40] Francisco Ochoa became the only Spaniard to ever win a
Winter Olympic gold medal, when he triumphed in the slalom.[41]

The Herb Brooks Arena, site of the "Miracle on Ice", photo taken ca. 2007
Originally, the 1976 Winter Games had been awarded to Denver, United States, but in 1972 the
voters of Colorado expressed unwillingness to host the Games through a state referendum.[42]
Innsbruck, which still had maintained the infrastructure from the 1964 Games, was chosen in
1973 to replace Denver.[43] Two Olympic flames were lit because it was the second time the
Austrian town had hosted the Games.[43] The 1976 Games also featured the first combination
bobsled and luge track in neighbouring Igls.[41] The Soviet Union won its fourth straight ice
hockey gold medal at these Games.[43]
The Olympic Winter Games returned to Lake Placid, which had hosted the 1932 Games.
Rumours of a boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics by the United States and its allies clouded
these Olympics.[44] American speed skater Eric Heiden set either an Olympic or world record
winning each of the five events he competed in.[45] Hanni Wenzel won both the Slalom and Giant
Slalom. Her country, Liechtenstein, became the smallest nation to produce an Olympic gold
medallist.[14] In the "Miracle on Ice", the American hockey team beat the favoured Soviets and
went on to win the gold medal.[46] The Republic of China boycotted the 1980 Olympics due to a
conflict with China over the use of the name "Republic of China".[47]
1984 to 1998

Alberto Tomba, winner of five Olympic medals in Calgary, Albertville, and

Lillehammer

The cities of Sapporo, Japan, and Gothenburg, Sweden, were front-runners to host the 1984
Winter Olympics. It was therefore a surprise when Sarajevo, Yugoslavia was chosen to host the
Games.[48] The Games were well-organized and displayed no indication of the war that would
soon engulf the country.[49] Yugoslavia also won its first Olympic medal when alpine skier Jure
Franko won a silver medal in the giant slalom.[49] Another sporting highlight was the free dance
performance of British ice dancers Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean. Their performance to
Ravel's Bolero earned the pair unanimous perfect scores in artistic impression, and the gold
medal.[49]
In 1988 the Canadian city of Calgary, hosted the first Winter Olympics to span 16 days.[50] New
events were added in ski jumping and speed skating, while future Olympic sports curling, short
track speed skating and freestyle skiing made their appearance as demonstration sports. For the
first time, the speed skating events were held indoors, on the Olympic Oval. Dutch skater
Yvonne van Gennip won three gold medals, and set two world records, in speed skating, beating
the skaters from the favoured East German team in every race.[51] Her total was equalled by
Finnish ski jumper Matti Nykänen, who won all the events in his sport.[50] Alberto Tomba, an
Italian skier made his Olympic debut at these Games winning both the Giant Slalom and Slalom.
[52]
East German Christa Rothenburger won the women's 1000 metre speed skating event. Seven
months later, she would earn a silver in track cycling at the Summer Games in Seoul.[50] She
became the first and only athlete to win medals in both a Summer and Winter Olympics in the
same year.[50]
The 1992 Games were the last to be held in the same year as the Summer Games.[53] They were
hosted in the French Savoie region. The town of Albertville was the host city though only 18
events were competed in the city. The rest of the events were spread out over the Savoie.[53]
Political changes of the time were reflected in the Olympic teams appearing in France. This was
the first Games to be held after the fall of Communism and the dismantling of the Berlin Wall.[54]
Germany competed as a single nation for the first time since the 1964 Games, and former
Yugoslavian republics Croatia and Slovenia made their debut.[54] Most of 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.[54] At 16 years old, Finnish
ski jumper Toni Nieminen made history by becoming the youngest male Winter Olympic
champion.[55] 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.[55]
In 1986, the IOC voted to separate the Summer and Winter Games and place them in alternating
even-numbered years starting in 1994. The Lillehammer Games were the first Winter Olympics
to be held without the Summer Games in the same year.[56] After the division of Czechoslovakia
in 1993, the Czech Republic and Slovakia made their Olympic debut in Lillehammer, Norway.[57]
[58]
The women's figure skating competition garnered significant media attention. American
skater Nancy Kerrigan had been injured on January 6 in an assault planned by the ex-husband of
opponent Tonya Harding.[59] Both skaters competed in the Games, but neither of them won the
gold medal, which went to Oksana Baiul, who won Ukraine's first Olympic title.[60][61]
The 1998 Winter Olympics was the first Games to host more than 2,000 athletes.[62] The Games
were held in the Japanese city of Nagano. The men's ice hockey tournament was open to all
professionals for the first time. Canada and the United States, with their many NHL players,
were favoured for the gold .[62] However, neither nation won any medals, as the Czech Republic
prevailed.[62] Women's ice hockey made its debut at these Games, with the United States winning
the gold medal.[63] Bjørn Dæhlie of Norway won three gold medals in Nordic skiing. He became
the most decorated Winter Olympic athlete with eight gold medals and twelve medals overall.[62]
Austrian Hermann Maier survived a crash during the downhill competition and returned to win
gold in the Super-G and the Giant Slalom[62] A wave of new world records were set in speed
skating due to the use of the clap skate.[64]
2002 to present

Olympic flame during the Opening Ceremony of the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City

The 19th Olympic Winter Games were held in Salt Lake City, United States. German Georg
Hackl won a silver in the singles luge, becoming the first athlete in Olympic history to medal in
the same individual event in five consecutive Olympics.[65] Canada achieved an unprecedented
double by winning both the men's and women's Ice Hockey gold medals.[65] 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 the Russians were awarded the gold. The
judging broke along Cold War lines with the exception of the French judge, Marie-Reine Le
Gougne, who 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.[66]
The IOC decided to award both pairs the gold medal in a second medal ceremony held later in
the Games.[67] Australian Steven Bradbury became the first gold medallist from the Southern
Hemisphere when he won the 1,000 metre short-track speed skating event.[68]
The Italian city of Turin hosted the 2006 Winter Olympics. It was the second time that Italy held
the Winter Olympic Games. South Korean athletes dominated the short-track speed skating
events at these Games. Sun-Yu Jin won three gold medals while her teammate Hyun-Soo Ahn
won three gold medals and a bronze.[69] In the women's Cross-Country team pursuit Canadian
Sara Renner broke one of her poles. 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. Norway finished fourth.[69][70] Duff Gibson of Canada became the oldest
athlete to win a Winter Olympic gold medal in an individual event. He won the skeleton event at
39 years of age.[71]
In 2003 the IOC awarded the 2010 Winter Olympics to Vancouver, thus allowing Canada to host
its second Winter Olympics. With a population of more than 2.5 million people, Vancouver is
the largest metropolitan area to ever host a Winter Olympic Games.[72] Vancouver is a low-
altitude, seaport city with a relatively mild oceanic climate. Most of the venues are located in the
Vancouver metropolitan area, with the exception of the alpine, Nordic, and sliding events, which
are being held in Whistler.[73]
Future
The decision for the location of the 2014 Winter Olympics was made on 4 July 2007. Sochi,
Russia, was elected as the host city over the other two finalists: Salzburg, Austria, and
Pyeongchang, South Korea. Sochi will be the first city with a subtropical climate to host the
Winter Games.[74] The Olympic Village and Olympic Stadium will be located on the Black Sea
coast. All of the mountain venues will be 50 kilometres (30 mi) away in the alpine region known
as Krasnaya Polyana.[74] The host city for the 2018 Winter Olympics has yet to be determined.
Pyeongchang, Munich, Germany and Annecy, France have all indicated an interest in hosting the
Games. A final vote by the IOC on the location of the 2018 Games will be held in July, 2011.[75]

Commercialization
As president of the IOC from 1952 to 1972, Avery Brundage rejected all attempts to link the
Olympics with commercial interests. He felt that the Olympic movement should be completely
separate from financial influence.[76] The 1960 Winter Olympics marked the beginning of
corporate sponsorship of the Games. Brundage saw this as an unwelcome development.[76] He
resisted any efforts to commercialize the Games, but as the decade of the 1960s continued the
revenue generated by corporate sponsorship swelled.[77] By the Grenoble Games, Brundage had
become so concerned about the direction of the Winter Olympic Games towards
commercialization that if they could not be corrected, then he felt the Winter Olympics should be
abolished.[78] Brundage's resistance to this revenue stream meant the IOC was slow to seek a
share of the financial windfall that was coming to host cities, and also slow to control how
sponsorship deals would be structured.[76] When Brundage retired, the IOC had $2 million in
assets, eight years later the IOC coffers had swelled to $45 million.[76] This was primarily due to
a shift in ideology among IOC members toward expansion of the Games through corporate
sponsorship and the sale of television rights.[76] Brundage's concerns did prove to be prophetic to
a degree. The power and influence of the television lobby has expanded as the cost of the
broadcast rights for each successive Games has increased. At the 1998 Nagano Games, CBS paid
$375 million, whereas the 2006 Turin Games cost NBC $613 million to broadcast.[79] The more
television companies have paid the greater their persuasive power with the IOC has been. For
example, the television lobby has influenced the Olympic programme by dictating when event
finals were held so that they would appear in prime time for television audiences.[80]
In 1986, the IOC decided to stagger the Summer and Winter Games on separate years. Instead of
holding both Games in the same calendar year, it was decided to alternate them every two years.
Both Games would still be held on four-year cycles. The rationale given by the IOC for this
change was in order to give more prominence to the Winter Olympic Games.[81] It was decided
that 1992 would be the last year to have both a Winter and Summer Olympic Games.[56]
There were two groups pushing for this change. One was the television lobby, who had applied
pressure to reschedule the Games due to the difficulty in raising advertising revenue for two
Games in the same year.[81] Television studios would now be able to emphasize story-lines and
generate interest for each separate Games, thereby maximizing viewership and consequently
profit.[82] The second was the IOC's desire to gain more control over the revenue generated by the
Games. The financial success of the 1984 Summer Olympics, which created a surplus of
$227 million, exposed the importance of maximizing television rights and corporate
sponsorships. The IOC also realized that under the current structure they had little access to the
corporate sponsorship funds raised by individual host cities. They determined that by staggering
the Games, corporations would be more likely to sponsor individual Olympic Games thereby
maximizing revenue potential. The IOC also sought to directly organize sponsorship contracts so
that they had more control over the Olympic "brand".[83] The first Winter Olympics to be hosted
in this new format was the 1994 Games in Lillehammer.[53]

Controversy

Juan Antonio Samaranch, former IOC president, was implicated in a bidding scandal
for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

The Winter Olympics have not been immune to improprieties. One recent scandal occurred
around the 2002 Winter Olympics. After Salt Lake City had been awarded the right to host the
2002 Games it was discovered that the organizers had engaged in an elaborate bribery scheme to
curry favour with IOC officials in order to win the bid to host the Games. Gifts and other
financial considerations were given to IOC officials. These gifts included medical treatment for
relatives, a college scholarship for one member's son, and a land deal in Utah. Even IOC
president Juan Antonio Samaranch received two rifles valued at $2,000. Samaranch defended the
gift as inconsequential since as president he was a non-voting member.[84] He also indicated that
the rifles would go on display at the Olympic museum.[85] The subsequent investigation resulted
in the expulsion of ten members of the IOC and the sanctioning of another ten members.[86] The
investigation also uncovered inconsistencies in the bids for every Games (both summer and
winter) since 1988.[87] For example, the gifts received by IOC members from the Japanese
Organizing Committee in exchange for their support of the bid for the 1998 Winter Olympics,
were described by the investigation committee as "astronomical".[88] Although nothing strictly
illegal had been done, the fear was that corporate sponsors would lose faith in the integrity of the
IOC, and that the Olympic brand would be tarnished to such an extent that advertisers would
begin to pull their support.[89] The results of the investigation were stricter rules for future bids.
Ceilings were also put into place for how much IOC members could accept from bid cities.
Additionally new term and age limits were established for IOC membership, and fifteen former
Olympic athletes were added to the committee.[90][91]
Doping
In 1967 the IOC began enacting drug testing protocols. They started randomly testing athletes at
the 1968 Winter Olympics.[92] The first Winter Games athlete to test positive for a banned
substance was Alois Schloder, a West German hockey player who had ephedrine in his system.
He was disqualified from the rest of the tournament but his team was still allowed to compete.[93]
[94]
During the 1970s, testing out of competition was escalated and found to be a useful deterrent
to athletes.[95] The problem with testing during this time was a lack of standardization of test
procedures, which undermined the credibility of the test process. It was not until the late 1980s
that international sporting federations, of which the IOC was a member, began to coordinate
efforts to standardize the drug testing protocols.[96] The IOC decided to take a leadership role in
the fight against steroids when they established an independent World Anti-Doping Agency
(WADA) in November 1999.[97][98] The 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, became notable for a
scandal involving the emerging trend of blood doping, which is the use of blood transfusions or
synthetic hormones like Erythropoietin (EPO), to improve oxygen flow in order to reduce
fatigue.[99] The Italian police conducted a raid during the Games on the Austrian cross-country
ski team's residence. They seized blood doping specimens and equipment.[99][100] This event
followed the pre-Olympics suspension of 12 cross-country skiers who tested positive for
unusually high levels of hemoglobin, which is evidence of blood doping.[99] This particular
method of cheating has been used by cross-country athletes before. At the 2002 Games three
skiers were stripped of their medals after they tested positive for blood doping.[99]

Politics
Cold War
The Winter Olympics have been an ideological front in the Cold War since the Soviet Union first
participated at the 1956 Winter Games. It did not take long for the Cold War combatants to
discover what a powerful propaganda tool the Olympic Games could be. Soviet and American
politicians used the Olympics, and other international sporting events, as an opportunity to prove
the advantages of their respective political systems.[101] The successful Soviet athlete was feted
and honoured. Irina Rodnina, three-time Olympic gold medallist in figure skating, was awarded
the Order of Lenin after her victory at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck.[102] With the
award would come monetary compensation anywhere from $4,000–$8,000 depending on the
prestige of the sport. A world record was worth an additional $1,500.[103] The United States
responded to the propaganda pressure of the Soviet Union. In 1978, the U.S. Congress passed
legislation completely reorganizing the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). This sort of
political intrusion in a sports federation was unheard of in a democratic country. It was a direct
response to the increasing international profile that television gave to the Olympic Games.[104]
The USOC also pays its athletes for Olympic medals won. Currently payment to athletes
amounts to $25,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze. Multiple medals garner
multiple amounts of money.[105]
The Cold War also created tensions among countries allied to the two super powers. A
particularly thorny issue for the IOC to navigate was the question of how to recognize both East
and West Germany. Germany was not allowed to compete at the 1948 Winter Olympics because
of its role in World War II.[106] In 1950, the IOC recognized the West German Olympic
Committee.[107] It was a West German team who represented Germany at the 1952 Winter
Olympics in Oslo. The East Germans were invited to cooperate as a unified team in 1952 but
they declined this offer.[108] In 1955 the Soviet Union recognized East Germany as a sovereign
state, thereby giving more credibility to East Germany's campaign to become an independent
participant at the Olympics. The IOC agreed to provisionally accept the East German National
Olympic Committee with the condition that they compete as a unified team with the West
Germans. This was done because the West Germans had adopted the Hallstein Doctrine, which
forbade West Germany from entering into diplomatic relations with any country that recognized
East Germany.[109] The situation became tenuous when the Berlin Wall was constructed in 1962.
Many western countries, including France and the United States, refused visas to East German
athletes competing in world championships in their countries.[110] The uneasy compromise of a
unified team held until the 1968 Grenoble Games when the IOC officially split both teams and
threatened to reject the host city bids of any country that refused entry visas to East German
athletes.[111]
Boycott

The Olympic flag of Chinese Taipei, formerly known as Taiwan

While their Summer counterpart has experienced several boycotts, the Winter Games have had
only one national team boycott. The Republic of China, also known as Taiwan, decided to
boycott the 1980 Winter Olympics held in Lake Placid. The reason for the boycott was due to the
fact that the IOC had agreed to allow China to compete in the Olympics for the first time since
1952. They were allowed to compete as the People's Republic of China and to use the Chinese
flag and anthem. Until 1980, the island of Taiwan had been competing under the name,
"Republic of China" and had been using the Chinese flag and anthem.[47] As part of their
decision, the IOC demanded that Taiwan cease to call itself the "Republic of China".[112] As part
of their decision the IOC renamed the island "Chinese Taipei and forced it to adopt a different
flag and national anthem. The IOC initially attempted to have the countries compete together, but
this proved to be unacceptable.[113] Taiwan would not concede to the IOC's demand that it be
renamed and use different national symbols. Despite numerous appeals and court hearings the
IOC's decision stood. When the Taiwanese athletes arrived at the Olympic village with their
Republic of China identification cards they were not admitted. They subsequently left the
Olympics in protest just before the opening ceremonies.[47] Taiwan returned to Olympic
competition at the 1984 Winter Games in Sarajevo as Chinese Taipei. The country agreed to
compete under a flag bearing the emblem of the National Olympic Committee, and to play the
anthem of the National Olympic Committee should one of their athletes win a gold medal.
Chinese Taipei continues to participate under the same compromise to this day.[114]

Sports
Chapter 1, article 6 of the 2007 edition of the Olympic Charter defines winter sports as "sports
which are practised on snow or ice."[115] Through the years, the number of sports and events
conducted at the Winter Olympic Games has increased. There have also been Demonstration
sports, which are contested during the Games but no medals are awarded.
Current sport disciplines
# of
Sport Years even Medal events scheduled for 2010[116]
ts

Since Men's and women's downhill, super giant slalom, giant

Alpine skiing 10
1936 slalom, slalom and Alpine combined.[117]

The Sprint (men: 10 km; women: 7.5 km), the individual

(men: 20 km; women: 15 km), the pursuit (men:
Since
Biathlon 10 12.5 km; women: 10 km), the relay (men: 4x7.5 km;
1960
women: 4x6 km), and the mass start (men: 15 km;
women: 12.5 km).[118]

1924–
1956
Bobsled 3 Four-man race, two-man race and two-woman race.[119]
1964–
present

Men's sprint, team sprint, 30 km pursuit, 15 km, 50 km

Cross-country Since
12 and 4x10 km relay; women's sprint, team sprint, 15 km
skiing 1924
pursuit, 10 km, 30 km (women) and 4x5 km relay.[120]

1924
Curling 1998– 2 Men's and women's tournaments.[121]
present

Since
Figure skating 1924Note 4 Men's and women's singles; pairs; and ice dancing.[122]
1

Freestyle Since
6 Men's and women's moguls, aerials and skicross.[123]
skiing 1992

Since
Ice hockey 1924Note 2 Men's and women's tournaments.[124]
2
 Since
Luge 3 Men's and women's singles, men's doubles.[125]
1964

Nordic Since Men's 10 km individual normal hill, 10 km individual

3
combined 1924 large hill and team.[126]

Men's and women's 500 metres, 1000 metres, 1500

Short track Since
8 metres; women's 3000 metre relay; and men's 5000
speed skating 1992
metre relay.[127]

1924;
1948
Skeleton 2 Men's and women's events.[128]
Since
2002

Since Men's individual large hill, individual small hill and team
Ski jumping 3
1924 large hill.[129]

Snowboardin Since Men's and women's parallel giant slalom, half-pipe and
6
g 1998 snowboard cross.[130]

Men's and women's 500 metres, 1000 metres, 1500

Since
Speed skating 12 metres, 5000 metres and team pursuit; women's 3000
1924
metres; men's 10000 metres.[131]

^ Note 1. Figure skating events were also held at the 1908 and 1920 Summer Olympics.
^ Note 2. A men's ice hockey tournament was also held at the 1920 Summer Olympics.
Discontinued sports or disciplines
• Military patrol, a precursor to the biathlon, was a medal sport in 1924. It was
also demonstrated in 1928, 1936 and 1948, and in 1960 biathlon became an
official sport.[132]
• The special figures figure skating event was only contested at the 1908
Summer Olympics.[133]

Demonstration events
Main article: Demonstration sport

• Bandy, a sport described as ice hockey with a ball, very popular in the Nordic
countries, was demonstrated at the Oslo Games.[134]
• Ice stock sport, a German variant to curling, was demonstrated in 1936 in
Germany and in 1964 in Austria.[16]
• The ski ballet event, later known as ski-acro, was demonstrated in 1988 and
1992. The sport has significantly declined in popularity in recent years. The
International Ski Federation ceased all formal competition of this sport after
2000.[134]
 • Skijöring, skiing behind dogs, was a demonstration sport in St. Moritz in 1928.
[134]

• Sled-dog racing contests were displayed at Lake Placid in 1932.[134]

• Speed skiing was demonstrated in Albertville at the 1992 Winter Olympics.[135]
• Winter pentathlon, a variant to the modern pentathlon, was included as a
demonstration event at the 1948 Games in Switzerland. It was composed of
cross country skiing, shooting, downhill skiing, fencing, and horse riding.[136]

List of participating nations at the Winter

Olympic Games
This is a list of nations, as represented by National Olympic Committees (NOCs), that have
participated in the Winter Olympic Games between 1924 and 2010. The Winter Olympic
Games have been held every four years (once during each Olympiad) since 1924, except for the
cancelled Games of 1940 and 1944, and in 1994 when the Winter Games were moved to the
middle of the Olympiad, two years after the previous Games. 103 of the current 205 NOCs have
participated in at least one Winter Games, and twelve nations (Austria, Canada, Finland, France,
Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States)
have participated in all twenty-one Winter Games to date. Including continuity from
Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have also been represented in every edition.

Contents
[hide]
• 1 History
○ 1.1 Origin and early Games
○ 1.2 Post-war years and Cold War era
○ 1.3 Recent Games
• 2 List of nations
○ 2.1 Description
 2.1.1 Table legend
○ 2.2 Alphabetical list
 2.2.1 A
 2.2.2 B
 2.2.3 C
 2.2.4 D
 2.2.5 E
 2.2.6 F
  2.2.7 G
 2.2.8 H
 2.2.9 I
 2.2.10 J
 2.2.11 K
 2.2.12 L
 2.2.13 M
 2.2.14 N
 2.2.15 P
 2.2.16 R
 2.2.17 S
 2.2.18 T
 2.2.19 U
 2.2.20 V
 2.2.21 Y
• 3 Notes
○ 3.1 Name changes
○ 3.2 Participation notes
• 4 References
• 5 See also
• 6 External links

[edit] History
[edit] Origin and early Games
The first winter sport to be contested at the modern Olympic Games was figure skating at the
1908 Games in London. A total of 21 skaters from six countries (Argentina, Germany, Great
Britain, Sweden, Russia, and the United States) competed in four events on October 28–29.[1]
Skating was not in the program of the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, but returned for the
1920 Games in Antwerp. Ice hockey was also part of the 1920 program of events, with seven
teams competing.[2]
The first Winter Games were held in 1924, in Chamonix, France. They were originally called
International Winter Sports Week and held in association with the 1924 Summer Olympics, but
were in retrospect designated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the I Olympic
Winter Games.[3] Sixteen nations participated in these Games: fourteen from Europe and two
from North America.[4] Four years later, 25 nations were represented at the 1928 Winter
Olympics, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, including Argentina (the first nation from the Southern
Hemisphere), Japan (the first Asian nation), and Mexico.[5] Participation in the 1932 Games, held
in Lake Placid, United States, during the Great Depression, was reduced to 17 nations.[6] The
1936 Winter Games, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, had 28 participating nations, the
largest number to that date.[7] These would be the last Winter Games for twelve years, as the
planned 1940 Games and 1944 Games were cancelled due to World War II.[8]
[edit] Post-war years and Cold War era
After the war, 28 nations would return to St. Moritz for the 1948 Winter Olympics, but not
Germany or Japan, who were not invited because of their roles in the war.[9] The 1952 Winter
Games in Oslo, Norway, featured 30 participating nations.[10] The 1956 Games in Cortina
d'Ampezzo, Italy, marked the Winter Games debut of the Soviet Union, along with 31 other
nations.[11] The NOCs of East Germany and West Germany would be represented by a single
German team, an arrangement that would continue until 1964.[12] Thirty nations would participate
at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, United States,[13] including South Africa, the first
African nation to participate in the Winter Games. Thirty-six nations were represented in
Innsbruck, Austria, in 1964.[14]
The 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France, marked the first time that East Germany and
West Germany competed as independent teams, two of the 37 nations that took part.[15] The
Games of 1972 were held in Sapporo, Japan, the first time the Winter Games were held outside
of Europe or the United States. A total of 35 nations were represented, including the Philippines,
the first appearance by a southeast Asian nation.[16] The Winter Games returned to Innsbruck, in
1976, with 37 participating nations.[17]
Lake Placid was once again the site of the Winter Games, in 1980, with 37 competing nations.[18]
The People's Republic of China made their Olympic debut but, in response, the Republic of
China boycotted the Games, after participating in 1972 and 1976. Sarajevo, SFR Yugoslavia was
host to the 1984 Winter Olympics, which welcomed 49 nations.[19] Puerto Rico and the Virgin
Islands were the first two Caribbean NOCs to compete in the Winter Games. Several more
tropical nations would participate at the 1988 Winter Olympics, in Calgary, Canada, including
the famed Jamaican Bobsled Team.[20]
[edit] Recent Games
The post-Cold War events of the early 1990s led to a large increase in participating nations at the
Olympics. At the 1992 Games, in Albertville, France, a total of 64 NOCs were represented,
including a single Germany team—following the German reunification in 1990—and a Unified
Team composed of six of the ex-republics of the Soviet Union.[21] The Baltic states competed
independently for the first time since 1936, and some of the ex-Yugoslav nations started to
compete independently in 1992.
In October 1986, the IOC had voted to hold the Olympic Winter Games half-way through the
four-year Olympiad, rather than in the same year as the summer Games,[22] and this change
started with the XVIIth Olympic Winter Games in 1994 in Lillehammer, Norway. A total of 67
nations took part, including the Czech Republic and Slovakia as independent teams, and each of
the ex-Soviet nations.[23]
The Winter Games have continued to grow in the recent past, with 72 nations at the 1998 Winter
Olympics, in Nagano, Japan,[24] 77 nations at the 2002 Winter Olympics, in Salt Lake City,
United States,[25] and 80 nations at the 2006 Winter Olympics, in Turin, Italy.[26][27] A total of 82
nations are expected to compete at the 2010 Games in Vancouver, Canada.[28]
[edit] List of nations
[edit] Description
This list includes 103 of the 205 current NOCs,[29] arranged alphabetically. The three-letter
country code is also listed for each NOC. Since the 1960s, these codes have been frequently used
by the IOC and each Games organizing committee to identify NOCs, such as within the official
report of each Games.[30]
Several nations have changed during their Olympic history; these are explained by footnotes
linked within the table itself. A select number of historical nations are also included in the table
to more clearly illustrate past Olympic appearances for their successor nations:
• Soviet Union — now represented by fifteen successor NOCs, fourteen of
which have competed in the Winter Games
• East Germany and West Germany — participated as two distinct teams for six
Olympiads, but also together as a united team for three Olympiads
• Czechoslovakia — now represented by two successor NOCs
• Yugoslavia — now represented by six successor NOCs, all of which have
competed in the Winter Games
• Serbia and Montenegro — now represented by two separate NOCs
[edit] Table legend
2 In the table headings, indicates the Games year, from 1924
4 through 2010

• Participated in the specified Games

H Host nation for the specified Games

[A]
Additional explanatory comments at the linked footnote

The planned Games of 1940 and 1944 were cancelled due

to World War II

NOC superseded or preceded by other NOC(s) during these

years

[edit] Alphabetical list

Conten A B C D E F G H I J K L M N P R
ts: STUVY

[edit] A
Cod 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 0 0 1
Nation
e 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 4 8 2 6 0

ALB • •
Albania
 ALG • • •
Algeria

American Samoa ASA •

AND • • • • • • • • • •
Andorra

Argentina ARG • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

[B]
Armenia ARM see Soviet Union • • • • •

Australia AUS • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

AUT • • • • • • • • H • • H • • • • • • • • •
Austria

Azerbaijan AZE see Soviet Union • • • •

[edit] B
Cod 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 0 0 1
Nation
e 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 4 8 2 6 0

[B]
Belarus BLR see Soviet Union • • • • •

BEL • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Belgium

Bermuda BER • • • • • •

BOL • • • • •
Bolivia

Bosnia and BIH see Yugoslavia • • • • •

Herzegovina

BRA • • • • • •
Brazil

Bulgaria BUL • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

[edit] C
Nation Cod 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 0 0 1
 e 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 4 8 2 6 0

CMR •
Cameroon

Canada CAN • • • • • • • • • • • • • • H • • • • • H

Cayman Islands CAY •

CHI • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Chile

China, People's CHN • • • • • • • • •

Republic of

Chinese TPE • • • • • • • • • •
TaipeiROC[›]

COL •
Colombia

Costa Rica CRC • • • • •

Croatia CRO see Yugoslavia • • • • • •

Cyprus CYP • • • • • • • • •

CZE see Czechoslovakia • • • • •

Czech Republic

TCH • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Czechoslovakia

[edit] D
Cod 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 0 0 1
Nation
e 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 4 8 2 6 0

DEN • • • • • • • • • • • •
Denmark

[edit] E
Cod 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 0 0 1
Nation
e 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 4 8 2 6 0
 EGY •
Egypt

[C]
Estonia EST • • see Soviet Union • • • • • •

Ethiopia ETH • •

[edit] F
Cod 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 0 0 1
Nation
e 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 4 8 2 6 0

Fiji FIJ • • •

Finland FIN • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

FRA H • • • • • • • • H • • • • • H • • • • •
France

[edit] G
Cod 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 0 0 1
Nation
e 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 4 8 2 6 0

GEO see Soviet Union • • • • •

Georgia

Germany GER • • H • • • • • • •

East Germany GDR • • • • • •

[A] [A] [A]

West Germany FRG • • • • • •

GHA •
Ghana

Great Britain GBR • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

GRE • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Greece

Guam GUM •

Guatemala GUA •
[edit] H
Cod 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 0 0 1
Nation
e 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 4 8 2 6 0

Honduras HON •

HKG • • •
Hong Kong

Hungary HUN • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

[edit] I
Cod 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 0 0 1
Nation
e 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 4 8 2 6 0

ISL • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Iceland

IND • • • • • • • •
India

Iran IRI • • • • • • • • •

Ireland IRL • • • • •

ISR • • • • •
Israel

ITA • • • • • • H • • • • • • • • • • • • H •
Italy

[edit] J
Cod 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 0 0 1
Nation
e 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 4 8 2 6 0

Jamaica JAM • • • • • •

JPN • • • • • • • • H • • • • • • H • • •
Japan

[edit] K
Cod 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 0 0 1
Nation
e 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 4 8 2 6 0
 [B]
Kazakhstan KAZ see Soviet Union • • • • •

KEN • • •
Kenya

North Korea PRK • • • • • • • •

KOR • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
South Korea

Kyrgyzstan KGZ see Soviet Union • • • • •

[edit] L
Cod 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 0 0 1
Nation
e 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 4 8 2 6 0

Latvia LAT • • • see Soviet Union • • • • • •

LIB • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Lebanon

Liechtenstein LIE • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Lithuania LTU • see Soviet Union • • • • • •

Luxembourg LUX • • • • • • •

[edit] M
Cod 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 0 0 1
Nation
e 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 4 8 2 6 0

Macedonia MKD see Yugoslavia • • • •

MAD •
Madagascar

Mexico MEX • • • • • • •

Moldova MDA see Soviet Union • • • • •

MON • • • • • • • •
Monaco
 Mongolia MGL • • • • • • • • • • • •

Montenegro MNE see Yugoslavia see SCG •

MAR • • • • •
Morocco

[edit] N
Cod 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 0 0 1
Nation
e 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 4 8 2 6 0

NEP • • •
Nepal

NED • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Netherlands

Netherlands AHO • •
Antilles

New Zealand NZL • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

NOR • • • • • H • • • • • • • • • • H • • • •
Norway

[edit] P
Cod 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 0 0 1
Nation
e 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 4 8 2 6 0

PAK •
Pakistan

PER •
Peru

Philippines PHI • • •

Poland POL • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

POR • • • • • •
Portugal

PUR • • • • • •
Puerto Rico

[edit] R
 Cod 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 0 0 1
Nation
e 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 4 8 2 6 0

ROU • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Romania

[B]
RUS see Soviet Union • • • • •
Russia

[edit] S
Cod 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 0 0 1
Nation
e 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 4 8 2 6 0

SMR • • • • • • • •
San Marino

SEN • • • • •
Senegal

SRB see Yugoslavia see SCG •

Serbia

Serbia and SCG see Yugoslavia • • •

MontenegroSCG[›]

SVK see Czechoslovakia • • • • •

Slovakia

Slovenia SLO see Yugoslavia • • • • • •

RSA • • • • • •
South Africa

[B]
Soviet Union URS • • • • • • • • •

ESP • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Spain

SWZ •
Swaziland

Sweden SWE • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

SUI • H • • H • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Switzerland

[edit] T
Nation Cod 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 0 0 1
 e 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 4 8 2 6 0

Tajikistan TJK see Soviet Union • • •

THA • •
Thailand

Trinidad and TRI • • •

Tobago

TUR • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Turkey

[edit] U
Cod 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 0 0 1
Nation
e 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 4 8 2 6 0

[B]
UKR see Soviet Union • • • • •
Ukraine

United States USA • • H • • • • H • • • • H • • • • • H • •

URU •
Uruguay

[B]
Uzbekistan UZB see Soviet Union • • • • •

[edit] V
Cod 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 0 0 1
Nation
e 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 4 8 2 6 0

VEN • • •
Venezuela

[D]
ISV • • • • • •
Virgin Islands

[edit] Y
Cod 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 0 0 1
Nation
e 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 6 0 4 8 2 4 8 2 6 0

YugoslaviaYUG[›] YUG • • • • • • • • • • • H • •
[edit] Notes
[edit] Name changes
^ ROC: Designated as Republic of China (ROC) in 1972[16] and 1976.[17] In 1979, the IOC
started to use Chinese Taipei to refer to this NOC, a compromise that was acceptable for the
People's Republic of China to start participating in the Olympic Games.[31][32]
^ SCG: The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, consisting of the Republic of Serbia and the
Republic of Montenegro, was reconstituted as the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro in
2003. At the 1998[24] and 2002[25] Games, the nation was still designated Yugoslavia (YUG). The
Serbia and Montenegro designation and SCG code were first used at the Winter Games in 2006.
[27]

^ YUG: The Kingdom of Yugoslavia (officially the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
until 1929) participated as Yugoslavia in three Games before the Second World War. The
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia also participated using the Yugoslavia designation, for
all but one Games between 1948–1992, and hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo.[19] For
participation by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, see Serbia and Montenegro (SCG).
[edit] Participation notes
^
A. Germany participated as a United Team, representing the National Olympic
Committees of both West Germany and East Germany, for the Games of
1956–1964.[12] Retrospectively, the IOC uses the country code EUA for this
team.[33]
a b c d e f g
B. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, nine of the fifteen
ex-republics of the Soviet Union were represented at the 1992 Winter
Olympics. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania participated as independent teams,
and Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan
participated as a combined Unified Team (EUN).[21]
^
C. A single speed skater from Estonia registered for the 1924 Winter Olympics
and carried the flag in the opening ceremonies, but did not compete.[4]
^
D. Anne Abernathy was the lone competitor from the Virgin Islands at the 2006
Winter Olympics, but withdrew from the women's luge event after injuring
herself during a practice run.[34]