1924 Winter Olympics

The 1924 Winter Olympics, officially known as the I Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was held in 1924 in Chamonix, France. Originally called Semaine Internationale des Sports d'Hiver ("International Winter Sports Week") and held in association with the 1924 Summer Olympics, the sports competitions held at the foot of Mont Blanc in Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, France between 25 January and 5 February 1924, organized by the French Olympic Committee, were in retrospect designated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the I Olympic Winter Games.

Beginning with the 1924 Games, the Winter Olympics would continue to be held in the same year as the Summer Games until 1992.

Highlights

Prologue

Although Figure Skating had been an Olympic event in both London and Antwerp, and Ice Hockey had been an event in Antwerp, the winter sports had always been rather limited by the season. In 1921, on the convention of the IOC in Lausanne, there was a call for equality for winter sports, and after much discussion it is decided to organize an "international week of winter sport" in 1924 in Chamonix.

Day 2

The very first gold medal awarded in the Olympic Winter games was won by Charles Jewtraw, in the opening event, the 500 meter speedskating. The rest of the speed skating events were won by Julius Skutnabb and Clas Thunberg.

Day 4

Sonja Henie, at just eleven years old, skates in the ladies' figure skating competition. Although she finishes last, she becomes popular with fans, and will take the gold at the next three Winter Olympics.

Day 6

Finding himself in a unique situation, the figure skater Gillis Grafström is the first one ever to successfully defend his Summer Olympics title at the Winter Olympics.

Day 8

The Canadian ice-hockey team finished their qualifying round with 4 wins, and had a total score of 110-3 against Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Sweden, and Great Britain.

Day 10

Finding themselves in the same situation as Gillis Grafström, the Canadian ice-hockey team is the last ever to successfully defend its Summer Olympics title at the Winter Olympics. Canada would dominate ice hockey in early Olympic competition, winning six of the first seven gold medals awarded.

Epilogue

At the closing of the games a prize was awarded for a sport that didn't lend itself very well for tournaments: Pierre de Coubertin presented a prize for alpinisme to Charles Granville Bruce, the leader of the expedition that tried to climb Mount Everest in 1922.

In 1925, the IOC decided to organize Olympic Winter Games every four years, independent of the Olympic Games proper, and recognized the International Winter Sports Week as the first Olympic Winter games in retrospect.

In 1974 the final medal of Chamonix 1924 was presented. Anders Haugen, who until then had been recorded as finishing fourth in the ski jumping event, received a bronze medal. After fifty years an error had been discovered in the score of Thorleif Haug, winner of the bronze, which caused the two men to change places.

In 2006, the IOC retroactively awarded medals to the 1924 curling teams. The IOC decided that curling was officially part of the program, after the Glasgow Herald newspaper filed a claim on behalf of the families of the team. [1]

Events

Medals were awarded in 16 events, and 7 sports. Many sources do not list curling and the military patrol, or list them as demonstration events. However, no such designation was made in 1924. In February 2006 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) ruled that curling was a full part of the olympic program, and have included the medals awarded in the official count.

• Bobsleigh
• Curling
• Figure skating
• Ice hockey
• Military patrol
• Nordic skiing
  • Cross-country skiing
  • Nordic combined
  • Ski jumping
• Speed skating

Venues

• La Piste de Bobsleigh des Pellerins
• Stade Olympique de Chamonix

Participating nations

Athletes from 16 nations competed in the first Winter Olympic Games.

One athlete from Estonia had entered the speed skating competition but did not compete.

Medal count

Main article: 1924 Winter Olympics medal count

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Norway	5	7	6	18
2	Finland	4	4	3	11
3	Austria	2	1	0	3
4	Switzerland	2	0	1	3
5	United States	1	2	1	4
6	Great Britain	1	1	2	4
7	Sweden	1	1	0	2
8	Canada	1	0	0	1
9	France (host nation)	0	0	3	3
10	Belgium	0	0	1	1

See also

• Olympic Games
• Winter Olympic Games
• International Olympic Committee

External links

• IOC Chamonix 1924 page
• Official Report
• 1924 Olympic Curling Medals Count: CBC News February 8, 2006
• Olympic Games in Chamonix 1.924
• The program of the 1924 Chamonix Winter Olympics