80 Fun Facts About Winter Sports

The first Winter Olympics were held in 1924 in which French resort?

It was billed as 'International Winter Sports Week' and only declared the first Winter Olympics retroactively in 1925.

Until which year were the Summer and Winter Olympics held in the same year?

The IOC brought the next Winter Games forward to 1994 to start the alternating cycle.

How many times has the United States hosted the Winter Olympics, more than any other country?

Lake Placid 1932 and 1980, Squaw Valley 1960 and Salt Lake City 2002; France and Italy have three each.

Norway set the record for most gold medals at a single Winter Olympics in 2026 with how many?

It took 41 medals in total, another record.

Sapporo 1972 was the first Winter Olympics held outside which two continents?

Canada boycotted the 1972 and 1976 hockey tournaments over the ban on its professional players.

Which US city was awarded the 1976 Winter Olympics but gave them back after voters refused to fund them?

Innsbruck stepped in with half the usual preparation time, reusing its 1964 venues.

Innsbruck 1964 was so short of snow that which organisation was called in to haul it to the venues?

Soviet skater Lidia Skoblikova won all four women's speed-skating events there.

Squaw Valley 1960 was the first Winter Olympics to feature which of these?

IBM also supplied the first computer to tabulate results, and women's speed skating debuted.

In which sport did Eddie Eagan, one of two athletes with Summer and Winter golds, win his 1920 title?

He added a bobsleigh gold at Lake Placid in 1932.

Which host city was chosen for the 1984 Winter Olympics ahead of favourites Sapporo and Gothenburg?

It remains the only Winter Games held in Yugoslavia.

Which film about a last-placed British ski jumper at Calgary 1988 joined Cool Runnings as an underdog classic?

Michael Edwards finished last but set a British record of 73.5 metres.

How long did Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards hold the British ski jumping record?

He also set a stunt record by jumping over six buses.

What happened to Jamaica's four-man bobsleigh on its third run at Calgary 1988?

They came back in 1994 and finished 14th, ahead of the United States.

Nagano 1998 was the first Winter Games with more than how many athletes?

Women's ice hockey also debuted there, with the Americans taking gold.

Snowboarding joined the Olympics at Nagano 1998; what happened to first gold medallist Ross Rebagliati?

The IOC reinstated the Canadian after an appeal.

Shaun White won how many Olympic gold medals in halfpipe snowboarding?

He also holds the record for the most X Games golds and now plays guitar in a band called the Bad Things.

Chloe Kim became the youngest woman to win Olympic snowboarding gold at PyeongChang 2018 at what age?

In Beijing 2022 she became the first woman to win two halfpipe golds.

Sonja Henie won three straight Olympic figure skating titles; in which years?

She then became one of Hollywood's highest-paid stars in films like Sun Valley Serenade.

Torvill and Dean's gold-medal ice dance at the 1984 Winter Olympics was skated to which piece of music?

They received twelve perfect 6.0s, and more than 24 million Britons watched.

Figure skating was the first winter sport at any Olympics; where did it debut?

Ice hockey followed at the 1920 Summer Games in Antwerp.

Figure skating replaced its 6.0 scoring with a new judging system after a scandal at which Games?

The ISU Judging System became mandatory in 2006.

Tonya Harding was the first American woman to land which jump in international competition, in 1991?

Only Japan's Midori Ito had done it before; Harding was banned for life in 1994 over the Kerrigan attack.

Eric Heiden won how many individual gold medals in speed skating at Lake Placid 1980?

That was more than any nation except the Soviet Union and East Germany, and the record still stands.

American speed skater Bonnie Blair won how many Olympic gold medals across four Games?

She added one bronze after finishing eighth in the 500 metres on her 1984 debut.

Short-track star Apolo Ohno won eight Olympic medals and which TV dance competition in 2007?

His tally was two golds, two silvers and four bronzes.

A long-track speed skating oval is how long?

Short track uses a 111-metre oval on an ice-hockey-sized rink.

Sven Kramer won the Olympic 5000 metres at three consecutive Games; which?

He was born in Heerenveen, home of the Thialf ice hall.

The Dutch Elfstedentocht is a skating race linking the eleven cities of which province?

It was first held as a competition in 1909 and only runs when the ice is thick enough.

What was the score in the 1980 'Miracle on Ice' game?

The Americans still had to beat Finland two days later to take the gold.

Which ABC broadcaster asked 'Do you believe in miracles?' as the 1980 US hockey game ended?

Coach Herb Brooks's team was almost entirely amateur; four had minor-league experience at most.

From which year were NHL professionals allowed to play Olympic ice hockey?

Canada had boycotted the 1972 and 1976 tournaments over the earlier ban.

The Stanley Cup was first awarded in 1893 and is named after a governor general of which country?

Names have been engraved on its bands since 1924, and full bands are retired to the Hall of Fame in Toronto every 13 years.

Curling stones are made of what?

Scots call it 'the roaring game' for the noise the stones make over the pebbled ice.

The first written record of a curling contest, from 1541, comes from an abbey in which country?

Stones dated 1511 and 1551 were found when a pond in Dunblane was drained.

In 2006 the IOC retroactively awarded curling medals for which earlier Winter Games?

Great Britain took that first gold, played outdoors in Chamonix.

Biathlon combines cross-country skiing with what?

It descends from the military patrol event and 19th-century Scandinavian ski warfare.

Whom did biathlete Ole Einar Bjørndalen overtake in 2014 as the most decorated male Winter Olympian?

His mixed-relay gold at Sochi took him past his compatriot's 12 medals.

Marit Bjørgen retired as the most decorated Winter Olympian ever with how many medals?

Five of them came at PyeongChang 2018 alone.

Ski jumpers are scored on distance relative to which target line on the hill?

For a K-120 hill it sits 120 metres down the landing slope; the V-style has replaced parallel skis.

Women's ski jumping made its Olympic debut at which Games?

Ski flying began at Planica, Slovenia in 1935.

In Nordic combined, what system converts jumping results into staggered ski start times?

The jump winner starts the cross-country race first, and everyone else chases.

Frenchman Jean-Claude Killy swept all three alpine events at which home Olympics?

He also won the first two overall World Cup titles in 1967 and 1968.

How many World Cup crystal globes did Lindsey Vonn end her career with, a record?

That passed Ingemar Stenmark's 19, won between 1975 and 1984.

The all-time leader in alpine World Cup wins is the only skier to reach how many victories?

She broke Ingemar Stenmark's 86 in 2023 and became the youngest Olympic slalom champion in 2014.

Ingemar Stenmark's record of 86 World Cup wins stood from 1989 until it was broken by whom in 2023?

His mark remains unbroken among men.

Which of the three sliding sports is ridden face-down and head-first?

It grew out of tobogganing on the Cresta Run at St. Moritz and returned to the Olympics for good in 2002.

Which sliding sport is the fastest, with speeds over 140 km/h?

Riders lie face-up and feet-first; it joined the Olympics at Innsbruck 1964.

Bobsleigh was invented in the late 1800s by wealthy British tourists at which Swiss resort?

The first club formed in 1897 and a purpose-built track opened outside the town in 1902.

Which new women's bobsleigh event was introduced at Beijing 2022?

The two-woman event had arrived in 2002; the four-man has run since 1924.

The Iditarod sled-dog race, first run in 1973, travels from Anchorage to which town?

Contrary to legend, its origins had nothing to do with the 1925 serum run or the dog Balto.

Who became the first woman to win the Iditarod, in 1985?

Susan Butcher, favoured that year, was stopped by a pregnant moose and won the next year instead.

A Georgian luger died in training on the day of the opening ceremony at which Winter Olympics?

Nodar Kumaritashvili's death led to changes at the Whistler Sliding Centre.

Which country's teams first won both men's and women's ice hockey gold at the same Games?

They did it on home ice at Vancouver 2010.

Yuna Kim, the 2010 Olympic champion, was the first figure skater from which country to medal?

'Queen Yuna' never finished off the podium in her entire competitive career.

Alpine ski racing joined the Winter Olympics at which Games?

A slalom-style competition had been held in Oslo as early as 1886.

In which year did Cortina d'Ampezzo first host the Winter Olympics, after its 1944 Games were cancelled?

Those Games were used to test televising a big sporting event, and the Soviet Union debuted by topping the medal table.

Why is the head-first sliding sport the slowest of the three?

It was contested at St. Moritz in 1928 and 1948 before its permanent return in 2002.

In which year did the IOC retroactively designate 1924 Chamonix the first Winter Olympics?

At the time it was billed as International Winter Sports Week, held under IOC patronage.

Which country leads the all-time Winter Olympic medal table?

The US and Germany follow; Norway has topped the table at four straight Games from 2018 to 2026.

How many countries have competed at every Winter Olympics through 2026?

They include Austria, Canada, Finland, France, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States.

Which two Winter Olympics were cancelled because of the Second World War?

Sapporo had been awarded 1940 and Cortina d'Ampezzo 1944; both hosted later.

Every Winter Olympics host country has been located in which hemisphere?

Thirteen countries on three continents have hosted, and none south of the equator.

Roughly how many athletes competed at the first Winter Olympics in 1924?

They came from 16 nations and contested 16 events, including the now-defunct military patrol.

Which 1986 IOC decision moved the Winter Games onto a separate cycle from the Summer Games?

Lillehammer 1994 came just two years after Albertville, and the Games have alternated ever since.

Beijing 2022 made history as the first city to do what?

It relied almost entirely on artificial snow, and ten countries staged a diplomatic boycott.

Under what three-letter designation did Russian athletes compete at Beijing 2022?

It stood for Russian Olympic Committee, a consequence of the doping sanctions; in 2018 they had been Olympic Athletes from Russia.

Sochi 2014's final cost, a record for any Olympics, was roughly how much?

Sochi is also the warmest city ever to host a Winter Games, with a humid subtropical climate.

How many medals did the IOC strip from Russian athletes in 2017 over Sochi doping?

The Court of Arbitration for Sport handed nine of them back.

Which future US politician was hired in 1999 to rescue the scandal-hit Salt Lake City 2002 Games?

Several IOC members were expelled over gifts from the bid team.

Australian speed skater Steven Bradbury won 2002 short-track gold from 15 metres back when what happened?

He became the first Southern Hemisphere athlete to win a Winter Olympic event, and 'doing a Bradbury' entered Australian slang.

Which Canadian pair got a second set of gold medals after the 2002 pairs skating judging scandal?

Russians Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze kept theirs; the affair ended the 6.0 scoring system.

A judge from which country admitted to being pressured in the 2002 pairs skating scandal?

Marie-Reine Le Gougne said her federation had leaned on her; she was later suspended.

Canada in 2010 was the first host to lead the gold count since which country in 1952?

Canada's 14 golds set a single-Games record that stood until Norway broke it in 2022.

At PyeongChang 2018, North and South Korea fielded a unified team in which sport?

The two countries also marched together under the Unification Flag at the opening ceremony.

Ester Ledecká won 2018 gold in snowboard parallel giant slalom and which alpine skiing event?

She was the first person to win golds using two different types of equipment at the same Winter Games, reportedly on skis borrowed from Mikaela Shiffrin.

Which sport made its Winter Olympic debut at Milan-Cortina 2026?

The 2026 Games were also the first officially co-hosted by two cities.

How many National Olympic Committees qualified athletes for the 2026 Winter Olympics?

Women made up a record 47 percent of competitors.

Mogul skiing became an official Olympic medal event at which Winter Games?

Aerials followed two years later at Lillehammer, while the older ski ballet discipline was dropped from formal competition after 2000.

How many players per side take the ice in a traditional game of bandy?

Like football, it is played in two 45-minute halves; a smaller 'rink bandy' variant is also recognised by the IOC.

In 2024 Ryoyu Kobayashi unofficially flew 291 metres on a specially built hill in which country?

The Red Bull event at Hlidarfjall saw him jump 256, 259, 282 and finally 291 m over two days, beyond any official world record.