The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Sarajevo '84, was a winter multi-sport event held between 8 and 19 February 1984 in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. It was the first Winter Olympic Games held in a Slavic language-speaking country, as well as the only Winter Olympics held in a communist country before the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. It was the second consecutive Olympic Games to be so held, after the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union.
The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Oslo 1952, was a winter multi-sport event held from 14 to 25 February 1952 in Oslo, the capital of Norway.
The 1960 Winter Olympics were a winter multi-sport event held from February 18 to 28, 1960, at the Squaw Valley Resort in Squaw Valley, California, United States. The resort was chosen to host the Games at the 1956 meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Squaw Valley was an undeveloped resort in 1955, so the infrastructure and all of the venues were built between 1956 and 1960 at a cost of US$80,000,000. The layout was designed to be intimate, allowing spectators and competitors to reach most of the venues on foot.
The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956, was a multi-sport event held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from 26 January to 5 February 1956.
The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Innsbruck 1964, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964. The city was already an Olympic candidate, unsuccessfully bidding to host the 1960 Games. Innsbruck won the 1964 Games bid, defeating the cities of Calgary in Canada and Lahti in Finland. The sports venues, many of which were built for the Games, were located within a radius of 20 km (12 mi) around Innsbruck. The Games included 1,091 athletes from 36 nations, which was a record for the Winter Games at the time. Athletes participated in six sports and ten disciplines which bring together a total of thirty-four official events, seven more than the 1960 Winter Olympic Games. The luge made its debut on the Olympic program. Three Asian nations made their Winter Games debut: North Korea, India and Mongolia.
Super giant slalom, or super-G, is a racing discipline of alpine skiing. Along with the faster downhill, it is regarded as a "speed" event, in contrast to the technical events giant slalom and slalom. It debuted as an official World Cup event during the 1983 season and was added to the official schedule of the World Championships in 1987 and the Winter Olympics in 1988.
Jan Ingemar Stenmark is a Swedish former World Cup alpine ski racer. He is regarded as one of the most prominent Swedish athletes ever, and as the greatest slalom and giant slalom specialist of all time. He competed for Tärna IK Fjällvinden.
Lasse Kjus is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Norway. He won the overall World Cup title twice, an Olympic gold medal, and several World Championships. His combined career total of 16 Olympic and World Championship medals ranks second all-time behind fellow Norwegian Kjetil André Aamodt.
India sent a delegation to compete at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy from 10–26 February 2006. This was the nation's seventh appearance in a Winter Olympic Games. The Indian delegation consisted of four athletes, two in alpine skiing, one in cross-country skiing, and one in luge. Their best performance in any event was 25th by luger Shiva Keshavan in the men's singles.
Ireland sent a delegation to compete at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy from 10–26 February 2006. This was Ireland's fourth appearance at a Winter Olympic Games. The Irish delegation to Turin consisted of four athletes, two alpine skiers, one cross-country skier, and one skeleton racer. The best performance by any Irish competitor at these Olympics was 20th, by David Connolly in the men's skeleton race.
Luxembourg sent a delegation to compete at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France from 8–23 February 1992. This was Luxembourg's fourth appearance at a Winter Olympic Games. The Luxembourgian delegation to Albertville consisted of a single athlete, alpine skier Marc Girardelli. He won two silver medals at these Olympics, which placed Luxembourg 17th on the medal table.
Luxembourg sent a delegation to compete at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway from 12–27 February 1994. The nation was making its fifth appearance at a Winter Olympic Games. The Luxembourgian delegation to Lillehammer consisted of a single athlete, alpine skier Marc Girardelli. His best performance in any event was fourth in the Super-G; he also finished fifth in the downhill and ninth in the combined. As well, he failed to finish the giant slalom, and was disqualified from the slalom.
Bolivia sent a delegation to compete in the Winter Olympic Games for the first time at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy from 26 January to 5 February 1956. The only competitor in the delegation was alpine skier René Farwig. In the men's giant slalom he came in 75th place, and he was disqualified from the men's slalom. It would be 24 years before Bolivia returned to the Winter Olympics, at the 1980 Winter Olympics.
Andorra sent a delegation to compete at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, United States from 8–24 February 2002. This was Andorra's seventh consecutive appearance at a Winter Olympic Games. The Andorran delegation consisted of three alpine skiers; Victor Gómez, Alex Antor, and Vicky Grau. Their best performance in any event was 24th place by Grau in the women's slalom.
The men's combined event was part of the alpine skiing programme at the 1936 Winter Olympics. It was the debut of alpine skiing at the Winter Olympics, and was the only men's event. The competition consisted of a downhill race on Friday, 7 February and two slalom heats on Sunday, 9 February.
Chiharu Igaya, is a former Olympic alpine ski racer and silver medalist from Japan. He competed in three Winter Olympics.
The women's slalom at the 1956 Winter Olympics was held on 30 January. It was run on the Col Druscie. The course was 456 metres (1,496 ft) in length with a 175 m (574 ft) vertical drop. There were forty-one gates on the first run and forty-five gates for the second run. Forty-eight women from sixteen countries entered in the race. Twelve women were disqualified during the two runs. Swiss skier Renée Colliard won gold over Austrian Regina Schöpf, who placed second, and Russian Yevgeniya Sidorova who won the bronze.
The men's slalom at the 1952 Winter Olympics was held on Tuesday 19 February at Rødkleiva ski run. The course was very difficult to maintain as the weather was not favorable. The men's course had 52 gates. Since the men's race was scheduled the day before the women's, and there was concern about the condition of the hill, the number of racers was reduced after the first run in compliance with international rules. Twenty-nine athletes finished both runs. Four athletes were disqualified after the first run. Austrian Othmar Schneider won his second Olympic medal, this time gold, after he took the silver in the downhill competition. Norwegians Stein Eriksen and Guttorm Berge placed second and third respectively.
Armenia sent a delegation to compete at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia from 7–16 March 2014. This was the nation's fifth appearance at a Winter Paralympic Games. The delegation consisted of a single alpine skier, Mher Avanesyan, who lost both arms as a child after coming into contact with a high-voltage electrical wire. In the men's standing slalom he came in 34th place out of 35 competitors who finished the race, and he failed to finish the giant slalom.
Greece sent a delegation to compete at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia from 7–16 March 2014. This was Greece's third appearance at a Winter Paralympic Games. Their only athlete was alpine skier Efthymios Kalaras. He suffered a spinal cord injury two decades before these Paralympics, and was a returning Paralympic silver medalist from the 2004 Summer Paralympics in the discus throw. He finished 22nd in the sitting giant slalom, nearly a minute behind the gold medal time.
