The Winter Olympic Games is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in Chamonix, France. The modern Olympic Games were inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, from 776 BC to 394 AD. The Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) 1,500 years later in 1894, leading to the first modern Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece in 1896. The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure and authority. The original five Winter Olympic Sports were bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, Nordic skiing, and skating. The Games were held every four years from 1924 to 1936, interrupted in 1940 and 1944 by World War II, and resumed in 1948. Until 1992, the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games were held in the same year. A decision to change this was made in 1986, when during the 91st International Olympic Committee session, IOC members decided to alternate the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games on separate four-year cycles in even-numbered years. Also, at that same congress it was decided that 1992 Winter Olympics would be the last to be held in the same year as the Summer Games and that to change the rotation, the edition that would be held in 1996 would be brought forward by two years, being scheduled to 1994. After this edition, the next one was to be held in 1998 when the 4-year Olympic Cycle resumed.
The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Having lost the bid for the 1992 Winter Olympics to Albertville in France, Lillehammer was awarded the 1994 Winter Games on 15 September 1988, two days before the 1988 Summer Olympics opening ceremonies at the 94th IOC Session in Seoul, South Korea. Due to the calendar changes made in 1985, this was the only time that the Winter Olympics took place two years after the previous Winter Games, and the first to be held in a different year from the Summer Olympics. This was the second Olympic Games of any type hosted in Norway — the first being the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo — and the fourth Olympics overall to be held in a Nordic country, after the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, and the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. As of 2022, Lillehammer is the northernmost city ever to host the Olympic Games and also the smallest. This was the last of three consecutive Olympics held in Europe, with Albertville and Barcelona in Spain hosting the 1992 Winter and Summer Games, respectively.
The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Albertville '92, was a winter multi-sport event held from 8 to 23 February 1992 in and around Albertville, France. Albertville won the bid to host the Winter Olympics in 1986, beating Sofia, Falun, Lillehammer, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Anchorage, and Berchtesgaden. The 1992 Winter Olympics were the last winter games held in the same year as the Summer Olympics. The Games were the fifth Olympic Games held in France and the country's third Winter Olympics, after the 1924 Winter Games in Chamonix and the 1968 Winter Games in Grenoble. This games was the first of two consecutive Olympic games to be held in Western Europe, preceding the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
Sylvie Daigle is a Canadian speed skater. She is a member of the Canadian short track relay team that won gold at the 1992 Winter Olympics and silver at the 1994 Winter Olympics. She is also a five-time Overall World Champion. She was born in Sherbrooke, Quebec.
Australia first competed in the Winter Olympic Games in 1936 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and has participated in every games since, with the exception of the 1948 Games in St. Moritz.
Australia competed at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Eighteen athletes participated, competing in alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, figure skating, and speed skating, and for the first time bobsleigh. Australia's best result was tenth by Danny Kah in the 5000 metres speed skating.
Australia competed at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.
Sweden first participated at the Olympic Games at the inaugural 1896 Games, and has sent athletes to compete in every Games since then with one exception, the sparsely attended 1904 Summer Olympics. Sweden has earned medals at all Olympic games except for two, the 1896 Games and the 1904 Games. The only other nation having earned medals at every Olympic game since 1908 is Sweden's neighboring country Finland.
Canada has competed at every Winter Olympic Games, and has won at least one medal each time. By total medals, the country's best performance was in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games where Canadian athletes won 29 medals. Canada set a new record for most gold medals won by a country in a single Winter Olympics with 14 at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. This achievement surpassed the previous record of 13 gold medals held by the Soviet Union (1976) and Norway (2002). Both Germany and Norway matched the record total of 14 gold medals in Pyeongchang in 2018. This record has since been surpassed by Norway with 16 at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Short-track speed skating has been a contest at the Winter Olympics since the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, France. Prior to that, it was a demonstration sport at the 1988 games. The results from the 1988 demonstration competition are not included in the official Olympic statistics. The sport has been dominated by teams from East Asia and North America, namely South Korea, China, Canada and the United States. Those four countries have won 147 of 195 medals awarded since 1992. South Korea leads the medal tally, with 53 medals including 26 golds since 1992. The majority of medals that South Korea and China have won at the Winter Olympics come from short-track speed skating.
France was the host nation for the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville. It was the third time that France had hosted the Winter Olympic Games, and the fifth time overall.
Norway competed at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France.
Switzerland competed at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. Nicolas Bochatay, a member of the delegation, was to represent the country in the speed skiing finals, but he was killed in an accident on the morning of the day of the competition he was to compete in.
Japan competed at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, from February 8 to February 23, 1992. As many as 63 athletes competed accompanied by 42 officers. Japanese athletes compete in all disciplines except ice hockey.
Japan competed at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, from February 12 to February 27, 1994. A total of 65 athletes competed with 45 officers. The flag bearer is Nordic combined skier Reiichi Mikata, while the captain of the delegation is speed skater Seiko Hashimoto.
Finland first participated at the Olympic Games in 1908, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games and every Winter Olympic Games since then. Finland was also the host nation for the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. Finnish athletes have won a total of 305 medals at the Summer Games, mostly in athletics and wrestling. Finland has also won 175 medals at the Winter Games, mostly in nordic skiing events.
Estonia first competed as a nation at the 1920 Summer Olympics, two years after the country declared independence from the then warring Russian and German Empires in 1918. The Estonian National Olympic Committee was established in 1923. The first Winter Olympics for independent Estonia were the 1928 Winter Olympics. Estonian athletes took part in the Olympic Games until the country was invaded and occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940. The 1980 Summer Olympics sailing regatta was held in Tallinn, Soviet-occupied Estonia. Since the end of the Soviet occupation in 1991, Estonia has participated in all Olympics. Estonia has won most of its medals in wrestling (11), weightlifting (7), cross-country skiing (7) and athletics (6).
