1988 Winter Olympics medal table

Close-up of a golden medal with a stylized embossed design of two overlaping faces in profile. One is wearing a laurel wreath and the other a native American headdress, whose feathers are represented by several winter sports equipments and gear. The medal is suspended in a red and light blue ribbon.
Gold medal awarded at the Calgary 1988 Winter Olympics

The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event held in Calgary, Canada, from 13 to 28 February 1988. A total of 1,423 athletes representing 57 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in 46 events from 10 different sports and disciplines.[1] Five new events were contested at these Games—men's and women's Super G in alpine skiing, team events in Nordic combined and ski jumping, and women's 5000 metres in speed skating[1]—and two events returned to the program—men's and women's combined in alpine skiing.[2]

As in the 1984 Winter Olympics, 17 NOCs won at least one medal and 11 of them secured at least one gold medal. The Soviet Union returned to the top of the gold medal count with 11, relegating East Germany—which took first place four years earlier—to second place with nine. The Soviet Union also collected the most overall medals (29), including the most bronzes (9). In a repeat of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and mimicking Yugoslavia at the 1984 Winter Games, Canada, as host nation, did not win any gold medal, totalling two silver and three bronze medals. Canadian hopes for a gold rested on the shoulders of figure skater Brian Orser, the reigning World champion and silver medalist at the Sarajevo Games.[3] A tight contest with Brian Boitano of the United States ended with the American taking the Olympic title.[4] Athletes from Norway failed to win any event in Calgary, making this the first and so far only time that the country ended the Winter Olympics without a single gold medal.[5] Italy's two gold medals were won by the same athlete: Alberto Tomba, a first-time Olympian who was crowned Olympic champion in the alpine skiing's slalom and giant slalom events.[6] Ski jumper Matti Nykänen of Finland contributed to three of his nation's four gold medals by winning both individual events (first time by an Olympic ski jumper) and helping his team to win the collective title.[7] The performance of the Swiss athletes ensured their nation's best result at the Winter Games, securing a record number of 15 medals, including a then-record of five gold medals that took 18 years to be improved.[8]

Five NOCs participated for the first time in the Winter Olympics—Fiji, Guam, Guatemala, Jamaica, and Netherlands Antilles[9]—but none of them won a medal. Nonetheless, the participation of a Jamaican bobsled team inspired the making of the 1993 movie Cool Runnings.[10]

Contents

Medal table

Italian alpine skier Alberto Tomba won his country's two gold medals in his first Olympic participation.
Ski jumper Matti Nykänen won three of Finland's four gold medals.

The medal table is based on information provided by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and is consistent with IOC convention in its published medal tables. By default, the table is ordered by the number of gold medals the athletes from a NOC have won. The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze medals. If nations are still tied, equal ranking is given and they are listed alphabetically.

To sort this table by nation, total medal count, or any other column, click on the icon next to the column title.

      Host country (Canada)

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  Soviet Union (URS) 11 9 9 29
2  East Germany (GDR) 9 10 6 25
3  Switzerland (SUI) 5 5 5 15
4  Finland (FIN) 4 1 2 7
5  Sweden (SWE) 4 0 2 6
6  Austria (AUT) 3 5 2 10
7  Netherlands (NED) 3 2 2 7
8  West Germany (FRG) 2 4 2 8
9  United States (USA) 2 1 3 6
10  Italy (ITA) 2 1 2 5
11  France (FRA) 1 0 1 2
12  Norway (NOR) 0 3 2 5
13  Canada (CAN) 0 2 3 5
14  Yugoslavia (YUG) 0 2 1 3
15  Czechoslovakia (TCH) 0 1 2 3
16  Japan (JPN) 0 0 1 1
16  Liechtenstein (LIE) 0 0 1 1
Total 46 46 46 138

See also

References

General
Specific
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Calgary 1988 Winter Olympics". Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee. http://www.olympic.org/en/content/Olympic-Games/All-Past-Olympic-Games/Winter/Calgary-1988/. Retrieved 22 July 2010. 
  2. ↑ Kubatko, Justin. "Speed skating at the 1988 Calgary Winter Games". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/winter/1988/SSK/. Retrieved 22 July 2010. 
  3. ↑ Orr, Frank (14 February 1988). "Orser cheerfully carries country's hopes". Toronto Star (Star Media Group): p. G.4. 
  4. ↑ Jill Smolowe; Ellie McGrath (29 February 1988). "Brian Boitano: This Soldier's No Toy". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,966825,00.html. Retrieved 23 July 2010. 
  5. ↑ Toronto Globe & Mail (28 February 1988). "Despite Big '88 Losses, ABC Wants '92 Games". Chicago Tribune: p. 6. 
  6. ↑ Alfano, Peter (28 February 1988). "88 Winter Olympics; Tomba Captures 2d Gold". The New York Times (New York: The New York Times Company). http://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/28/sports/88-winter-olympics-tomba-captures-2d-gold.html. Retrieved 23 July 2010. 
  7. ↑ "Matti Nykänen". Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee. http://www.olympic.org/en/content/Olympic-Athletes/All-Athletes/Athletes-NN-to-NZ/-Matti-NYKANEN-/. Retrieved 23 July 2010. 
  8. ↑ Kubatko, Justin. "Switzerland". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/countries/SUI/. Retrieved 23 July 2010. 
  9. ↑ Janofsky, Michael (7 February 1988). "'88 Winter Olympics; Calgary Has It Down Cold". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). http://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/07/sports/88-winter-olympics-calgary-has-it-down-cold.html. Retrieved 23 July 2010. 
  10. ↑ Lamont, Tom (7 February 2010). "Frozen in Time: Jamaica's bobsled team, Calgary Winter Olympics, 13 Feb 1988". The Guardian (Guardian Media Group). http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010/feb/07/jamaica-bobsled-calgary-olympics. Retrieved 23 July 2010. 
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