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 the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) 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.
Catriona Ann Le May Doan, OC is a Canadian speed skater and a double Olympic champion in the 500 m.
Bonnie Kathleen Blair is an American retired speed skater. She is one of the top skaters of her era, and one of the most decorated athletes in Olympic history. Blair competed for the United States in four Olympics, winning five gold medals and one bronze medal.
Barbara Ann Underhill is a Canadian former pair skater. With partner Paul Martini, she is the 1984 World champion, the 1979–1983 Canadian national champion, and the 1978 World Junior champion. They represented Canada at the 1980 Winter Olympics, where they placed 9th, and at the 1984 Winter Olympics, where they placed 7th. In 2009, she was named to the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame.
Susan Auch is a speed skater who competed in several Winter Olympics games, winning the bronze in the 3000m relay at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, and the silver in the 500 m events at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway and the 1998 games at Nagano, Japan. In 1999, Auch announced her retirement from competition, but changed her mind and competed in a fifth Winter Olympics, the 2002 games at Salt Lake City, but failed to win a medal; afterwards, she again announced her retirement.
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.
Christa Luding-Rothenburger is a former speed skater and track cyclist. She was born in Weißwasser, East Germany. Luding is one of the few athletes who have competed in both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, and the first female to win a medal in both the Summer and Winter Games. She is the only athlete to win Winter and Summer Olympic medals in the same year (1988), a feat that is no longer possible due to the staggering of the Winter and Summer Olympic years. In speed skating, she is a two-time Olympic gold medallist, while she is an Olympic silver medallist in cycling.
Anna ("Anni") Christine Friesinger-Postma is a German former speed skater. Her father Georg Friesinger, of Germany, and mother Janina ("Jana") Korowicka, of Poland, were both skaters; Jana was on the Polish team at the 1976 Winter Olympics. Her brother Jan is also a speed skater. Her sister Agnes is a former speed skater. In July 2010, Friesinger retired from her active sports career when she had to be treated for severe cartilage damage in her right knee joint.
Cindy Klassen, is a Canadian retired long track speed skater. She is a six-time medallist having achieved one gold, two silver, three bronze at the Winter Olympics. Klassen is tied with Clara Hughes for Canada's all-time most decorated Olympian with six medals each. Both Klassen and Hughes are from Winnipeg.
Krisztina Czakó is a former Hungarian figure skater. She is the 1997 European silver medalist and 1994 Skate Canada International champion.
Ireen Wüst is a Dutch long track allround speed skater.
Tomomi Okazaki is a Japanese speed skater who has competed in five Olympic Games. She won a bronze medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Okazaki was the oldest member of the Japanese team at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Anouk Leblanc-Boucher is a Canadian short track speed skating athlete at the 2006 Winter Olympics.
Christine Nesbitt is a Canadian retired long track speed skater who currently resides in Calgary, Alberta. She won the gold medal in the 1000 metres event at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. She had previously won a silver medal in the team pursuit at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. She is also the 2011 sprint champion, 2012 1500 metres world champion, three-time world champion for 1000 metres, and three-time world champion for team pursuit. On June 4, 2015 she announced her retirement.
Amanda Overland is a Canadian short track speed skater who competed in the 2006 Winter Olympics. She is the sister of Kevin Overland and Cindy Overland, both Olympic Speed Skaters.
Kevin Overland, or Kevin Crockett is a Canadian former Olympic and ISU Speed Skating World Cup medallist and present-day Speed Skating Canada national sprint team coach. He won the Olympic bronze medal in the 500 metres event at the 1998 Winter Olympics. Crockett also set two world records during his career as a skater.
Wang Beixing is a Chinese long track speed skater, specializing in short distances.
Valérie Maltais is a Canadian short track speed skater. She has won six world championship medals including finishing second overall in 2012.
Kim Boutin is a Canadian short track speed skater. Boutin won silver in the 1,000 m and bronze in the 500 m and 1,500 m events at the 2018 Winter Olympics at Pyeonchang, Korea. She was the first Canadian female short track speed skater to win three individual Olympic medals in a single Olympics and the first Canadian woman to win an Olympic medal in the 1,500 m. As a result of her three medal performance she was named the flag bearer for Canada at the closing ceremonies for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Boutin has also won junior and senior world championship and World Cup medals.
