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. Due to legacy, it also now the only Olympics to have been held in a Muslim-majority country.
The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Innsbruck 1976, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from February 4 to 15, 1976. The Games were awarded to Innsbruck after Denver, the original host city, withdrew in 1972. This was the second time the Tyrolean capital had hosted the Winter Olympics, having first done so in 1964.
The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event held in Innsbruck, Austria, from 4 to 15 February 1976. A total of 1,123 athletes representing 37 National Olympic Committees (NOC) participated in 37 events from 10 different sports and disciplines. Two events were contested for the first time: the figure skating discipline of ice dancing, and the men's 1,000 metres in speed skating.
Galina Alexeyevna Kulakova is a Soviet former cross-country skier, arguably the best skier on distances shorter than 10 km in the early 1970s. She won four Olympic golds, two individual in 1972 and two relay golds in 1972 and 1976. She was the most successful athlete at the 1972 Winter Olympics, along with Ard Schenk of the Netherlands. Competing in the World Championships, she won three individual golds, two in 1974 and one in 1970, and also two relay golds in those years. Kulakova also won the 10 km event at the Holmenkollen ski festival in 1970 and 1979. Galina Kulakova was also 39 times Champion of the USSR between 1969 and 1981.
Belarus competed at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
Canada was the host nation for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. It was the first time that Canada had hosted the Winter Olympic Games, and second time overall, after the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. Vancouver would eventually host the 2010 Winter Olympics which makes it the second city in Canada to host the Winter Olympics and the third overall.
Norway competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, United States. The nation enjoyed its best ever results in gold medals, most notably in the biathlon events, when Ole Einar Bjørndalen swept all four gold medals.
The Unified Team at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville was a joint team consisting of six of the fifteen former Soviet republics: Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Uzbekistan and Armenia that made a decision to collaborate and created a united team. The Unified Team's only other appearance was at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. It competed under the IOC country code EUN.
Maria Ivanovna Gusakova was a Soviet cross-country skier who competed from the late 1950s to the early 1960s for VSS Spartak. She won a complete set of Winter Olympic medals with a gold in the 10 km (1960), a silver in the 3 × 5 km relay (1960), and a bronze in the 10 km (1964). Gusakova also earned a complete set of medals at the 1962 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships with a gold in the 3 × 5 km relay, a silver in the 10 km, and a bronze in the 5 km. Her husband Nikolay Gusakov also competed at the 1960 Winter Olympics and claimed bronze in Nordic combined event.
The Soviet Union (USSR) competed at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.
The Soviet Union (USSR) competed at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan.
The Soviet Union (USSR) competed at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.
The Soviet Union (USSR) competed at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics competed at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It would be the last Winter Olympic Games before the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. Six of the former Soviet republics would compete together as the Unified Team at the 1992 Winter Olympics, and each republic would be independently represented at subsequent Games.
Finland competed at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
West Germany competed at the Winter Olympic Games for the last time as a separate nation at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Following German reunification in 1990, a single German team would compete in the 1992 Winter Olympics.
Latvia competed at the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. The nation returned to the Winter Games after having missed the 1932 Winter Olympics. These Games would be the last time that Latvia would compete at the Winter Games as an independent nation until the 1992 Winter Olympics. After the nation was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940, Latvian athletes would compete at the Olympic Games as part of the USSR delegations.
Norway competed at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. This was the first and only time at the Winter Olympics that Norway failed to win a gold medal.
The men's 50 kilometre cross-country skiing competition at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, United States, was held on Saturday 23 February at Mount Van Hoevenberg, Essex County, New York. Sven-Åke Lundbäck of Sweden was the 1978 World champion and Ivar Formo of Norway was the defending champion from the 1976 Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.
The 4 × 10 kilometre relay cross-country skiing at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria was held on Thursday 12 February at Seefeld. It was the ninth appearance of the 4 × 10 km relay in the Winter Olympics.
