1956 Winter Olympics

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VII Olympic Winter Games
VII Olympic Winter Games

The emblem is a stylized snowflake with
the Olympic rings and a star, the emblem of the
Italian National Olympic Committee.
Host city Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy
Nations participating 32
Athletes participating 821 (687 men, 134 women)
Events 24 in 4 sports
Opening ceremony January 26
Closing ceremony February 5
Officially opened by President Giovanni Gronchi
Athlete's Oath Giuliana Chenal-Minuzzo
Olympic Torch Guido Caroli
Stadium Stadio Olympica

The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1956 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. The Soviet Union made its Winter Olympic debut and immediately showed its strength by winning more medals than any other nation. These were the first televised Winter Olympics.

Contents

Host city selection

Cortina d'Ampezzo bid against three cities for the 1956 Winter Olympics. The vote was staged at the 43rd IOC Session in Rome, Italy, on April 28, 1949.

1956 Winter Olympics Bidding Results
City NOC Name Round 1
Cortina d'Ampezzo  Italy 31
Montreal, Quebec  Canada 7
Colorado Springs, Colorado  United States 2
Lake Placid, New York  United States 1

Highlights of the Games

  • In the Alpine Skiing Toni Sailer won all the events (Downhill, Slalom and the Giant Slalom).
  • The USSR won the most medals of the Games, winning seven gold, three silver and six bronze medals.
  • Speed skater Guido Caroli was the final torchbearer of the games. While skating onto the stadium, he tripped and fell over a television cable. Fortunately he was not hurt and the torch's flame didn't go out. He was able to get back on his feet and light the cauldron.

Medal winners

Participating nations

A total of 32 nations sent athletes to Cortina d'Ampezzo. Bolivia, Iran, and the USSR competed at the Winter Games for the first time. Korea, Liechtenstein, and Turkey returned after having missed the 1952 Winter Olympics. Argentina, Denmark, New Zealand, and Portugal did not compete at these Games, after having participated in 1952.

Athletes from West Germany (FRG) and East Germany (GDR) competed together as the United Team of Germany at these Games, an arrangement that would continue for the following two Olympiads.

Medal count

Main article: 1956 Winter Olympics medal count

These are the top ten nations that won medals at these Games:

 Rank  Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Soviet Union 7 3 6 16
2 Austria 4 3 4 11
3 Finland 3 3 1 7
4 Switzerland 3 2 1 6
5 Sweden 2 4 4 10
6 United States 2 3 2 7
7 Norway 2 1 1 4
8 Italy (host nation) 1 2 0 3
9 Germany 1 0 1 2
10 Canada 0 1 2 3

References

Sister project Wikimedia Commons has media related to: 1956 Winter Olympics


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Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1956_Winter_Olympics"

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