Winter Olympiad (1924)

In 1921, the International Olympic Committee voted to stage “International Sports Week 1924” in Chamonix, France. This event was a complete success and was retroactively named the First Olympic Winter Games. This event went on for 11 days in the French Alps, 60 miles northeast of Grenoble. The first event to be decided in Chamonix was the men’s 500m speed skating. The first gold medal went to Charles Jewtraw of the United States. However, the most remarkable U.S. medal was the bronze won by Anders Haugen in the ski jump. A. Clas Thunberg of Finland earned medals in all five speed skating events: three gold, one silver and one bronze. Norway’s Thorleif Haug dominated Nordic skiing, winning both cross-country races and the Nordic combined. The Canadian ice hockey team won all five of their matches, outscoring their opponents 110 to 3. The Scandinavians dominated the 16–nation field. In its first four hockey games, Canada beat Switzerland 33–0, Czechoslovakia 30–0, Sweden 22–0 and Great Britain 19–2, before winning the tournament with a 6–1 victory over the U.S. in the final.

Opening date
25 January 1924

Closing date
05 February 1924

Ceremonies

Official opening of the Games by: Under Secretary for Physical Education, Gaston Vidal

Lighting the Olympic Flame by: For the Winter Games, the flame was lit for the first time in 1952 in Oslo.

Olympic Oath by: Camille Mandrillon (skiing)

Official Oath by: The first officials' oath was sworn at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.

Participations

16 NOCs (Nations)
258 athletes (11 women, 247 men)
16 events

Country of the host city: France (FRA)

Sports

• Biathlon
• Bobsleigh
• Curling
• Ice Hockey
• Skating
• Skiing

Venues

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

Highlights

• Norway’s Thorleif Haug won three gold medals: two in cross-country (18 and 50km) and one in Nordic combined.

• Charles Jewtraw (USA) was the first Winter Olympic champion. He won the gold medal in the first event, the 500m speed skating. He was born on 5 May 1900.

• In speed skating, Finland’s Clas Thunberg took five medals, including three gold. He dominated the 1,500m and 3,000m events and the combined ranking of the four events. He finished in third place in the 500m and second in the 10,000m.

Facts

• Bobsleigh competition was held on the Pelerines track, named after the glacier which dominates it. The equipment was transported to the top of the track using the old cable car of the Aiguille du Midi.

• In ice hockey, over the course of its three first matches in the tournament, the Canadian team managed to score 85 times without conceding any goals. Canada won the tournament by scoring 122 goals, with only three scored against them!

• For the parade of the delegations during the Opening Ceremony, many athletes marched with their equipment on their shoulder (skis, hockey stick, etc.). Indeed, according to the rules in place at the time, the athletes had to march in sportswear, and the skis or hockey sticks were part of their equipment. Today, the delegations no longer wear their sportswear, but they try to outdo each other in terms of imagination to appear in all their finery.

• In cross-country skiing, in the 50km event, held in a violent and icy cold wind, the last ranked competitor finished 2:30 hours after Norway’s Thorleif Haug, who won the event in 3:44 hours.