1936 Winter Olympics

The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games (French: Les IVes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) (German: Olympische Winterspiele 1936), was a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in 1936 in the market town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria, Germany. The country also hosted the 1936 Summer Olympics, which were held in Berlin. It was the last year in which the Summer and Winter Games both took place in the same country (the cancelled Olympics of 1940 would have been held in Japan, with Tokyo hosting the Summer Games and Sapporo hosting the Winter Games).

IV Olympic Winter Games
Logo of the 1936 Winter Olympics[lower-alpha 1]
Host cityGarmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
Nations28
Athletes646 (566 men, 80 women)
Events17 in 4 sports (8 disciplines)
Opening6 February
Closing16 February
Opened by
StadiumGroße Olympiaschanze
Winter
Lake Placid 1932 St. Moritz 1948
Garmisch 1940
Summer
Los Angeles 1932 Berlin 1936

The 1936 Winter Olympics were organized on behalf of the German League of the Reich for Physical Exercise (DRL) by Karl Ritter von Halt, who had been named president of the committee for the organization of the Fourth Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen by Reichssportführer Hans von Tschammer und Osten.

Highlights

Advertising poster by Ludwig Hohlwein (1935)
  • German skier Willy Bogner took the Olympic oath during the opening ceremonies.
  • Alpine skiing made its first appearance in the winter Olympics as the combined, which added a skier's results in both the downhill and slalom. German athletes Franz Pfnür won men's alpine and Christl Cranz won women's alpine events.
  • Ivar Ballangrud won three out of the four speed skating races.
  • Sonja Henie won her third consecutive gold medal in woman's figure skating.
  • Switzerland won the 4 man bobsled in a time of 5:19.85.
  • Great Britain upset 1932 gold medalists Canada in ice hockey when Edgar Brenchley scored the winning goal within the last ninety seconds.
  • The country who won the overall games was Norway with a total of 7 gold medals, 5 silver medals and 3 bronze medals.
  • These games had the largest and heaviest medals ever awarded to athletes: 100 mm (3.9 in) diameter, 4 mm (0.16 in) thick, weighing 324 g (11.4 oz).

Sports

Medals were awarded in 17 events contested in 4 sports (8 disciplines).

Demonstration sports

Venues

  • Große Olympiaschanze – Cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and Ski Jumping.
  • Gudiberg – Alpine skiing (combined – slalom)
  • Kreuzjoch – Alpine skiing (combined – downhill)
  • Kreuzeck – Alpine skiing (downhill finish line)
  • Olympia-Kunsteisstadion – Figure skating and Ice hockey
  • Riessersee and surrounding areas – Bobsleigh, Ice hockey, and Speed skating

Participating nations

28 nations sent athletes to compete in Germany. Australia, Bulgaria, Greece, Liechtenstein, Spain, and Turkey all made their Winter Olympic debut in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and Estonia, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Yugoslavia all returned to the Games after having missed the 1932 Winter Olympics.

Participating National Olympic Committees

Number of athletes by National Olympic Committees (from highest to lowest)

Medal count

  *   Host nation (Germany)

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Norway75315
2 Germany*3306
3 Sweden2237
4 Finland1236
5 Switzerland1203
6 Austria1124
7 Great Britain1113
8 United States1034
9 Canada0101
10 France0011
 Hungary0011
Totals (11 nations)17171751

Podium sweeps

Date Sport Event NOC Gold Silver Bronze
13 February Nordic combined Individual  Norway Oddbjørn Hagen Olaf Hoffsbakken Sverre Brodahl
15 February Cross-country skiing Men's 50 kilometre  Sweden Elis Wiklund Axel Wikström Nils-Joel Englund

See also

References

Notes

  1. The 1936 Olympic Logo comprises the Olympic rings in the foreground and the summit of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen Alps with a ski track leading to the mountains in the background. Around, there is the inscription "IV. OLYMPISCHE WINTERSPIELE 1936
    GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN"

Citations

    • "Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936". Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee.
    • "Results and Medalists—1936 Winter Olympics". Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee.
    • Complete official IOC report. In German
    • The program of the 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Winter Olympics

    Further reading

    • Berlin Games – How Hitler Stole the Olympic Dream, by Guy Walters ISBN 0-7195-6783-1 (UK) 0060874120 (USA)
    Preceded by
    Lake Placid
    Winter Olympics
    Garmisch-Partenkirchen

    IV Olympic Winter Games (1936)
    Succeeded by
    Sapporo
    cancelled due to World War II
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