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.
The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936, were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 16 February 1936 in the market town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, 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.
Figure skating at the 1948 Winter Olympics took place at the Olympic Ice Rink in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Three figure skating events were contested: men's singles, ladies' singles, and pair skating.
At the 1952 Winter Olympics, three figure skating events were contested. Compulsory figures were skated at the outdoor Jordal Amfi rink, while the free skating portions of the competition were held at the huge Bislett Stadium, on a regulation-sized ice surface set inside the speed skating track. The competition opened with the ladies' figures on 16 and 17 February, followed by the men's figures on 19 February and then the three free skating events for ladies, men, and pairs. Somewhat unusually for competitions of this era, there were no particular problems with bad weather or poor ice conditions at the outdoor rinks. At this competition, Dick Button won his second Olympic title, and also became the first skater to land a triple jump—a triple loop jump—in competition.
The 1994 Winter Olympics figure skating competition was held at the Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre.
Four figure skating events at the 2006 Winter Olympics were held at the Palavela in Turin.
Figure skating was first contested in the Olympic Games at the 1908 Summer Olympics. Since 1924, the sport has been a part of the Winter Olympic Games.
The pair skating event was held as part of the figure skating at the 1924 Winter Olympics. It was the third appearance of the event, which had previously been held at the Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1920. The competition was held on Thursday, 31 January 1924. Eighteen figure skaters, from seven nations, competed.
The pair skating event was held as part of the figure skating at the 1928 Winter Olympics. It was the fourth appearance of the event, which had previously been held at the Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1920 and was also part of the first Winter Games in 1924. The competition was held on Sunday, 19 February 1928. Twenty-six figure skaters from ten nations competed.
The men's individual skating event was held as part of the figure skating at the 1932 Winter Olympics. It was the fifth appearance of the event, which had previously been held twice at the Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1920 as well as at the Winter Games in 1924 and 1928. The competition was held on Monday 8 February and on Tuesday 9 February 1932. Twelve figure skaters from eight nations competed.
The pair skating event was held as part of the figure skating at the 1932 Winter Olympics. It was the fifth appearance of the event, which had previously been held twice at the Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1920 and twice at the Winter Games in 1924 and 1928. The competition was held on Friday 12 February 1932. Fourteen figure skaters from four nations competed.
The men's individual skating event was held as part of the figure skating at the 1936 Winter Olympics. It was the sixth appearance of the event, which had previously been held twice at the Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1920 and at all three Winter Games from 1924 onward. The competition was held from Sunday, 9 February to Friday, 14 February 1936. Twenty-five figure skaters from twelve nations competed.
The ladies' individual skating event was held as part of the figure skating at the 1936 Winter Olympics. It was the sixth appearance of the event, which had previously been held twice at the Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1920 and at all three Winter Games from 1924 onward. The competition was held from Tuesday, 11 February to Saturday, 15 February 1936. Twenty-six figure skaters from 13 nations competed.
The figure skating pairs competition at the 1956 Winter Olympics took place on 3–4 February. Austrian pair of Sissy Schwarz / Kurt Oppelt won the competition. Pairs from Canada and Hungary took second and third respectively. The pairs competition was the last figure skating event of the Olympics. It was held out doors at the Olympic Ice Stadium in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, the host city for the Games.
For the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, a total of six sports venues were used. Alpine skiing events took place for the first time and were held in three different locations. Riessersee held the speed skating and some of the ice hockey matches while the bobsleigh events took place south of the lake. The ski jump and its neighboring stadium played host to the cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, and ski jumping events. Even though figure skating and some of the ice hockey matches took place outdoors at the ice stadium, the ice itself was artificially refrigerated to prevent ice thawing.
The figure skating team event was a combined competition of Olympic figure skating disciplines at the 2014 Winter Olympics, held at the Iceberg Skating Palace in Sochi, Russia.
The team event in figure skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics was held on 4, 6, and 7 February, at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Haidian District of Beijing.
