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 Paralympic Games or Paralympics,also known as the Games of the Paralympiad,is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games,which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul,South Korea,are held almost immediately following the respective Olympic Games. All Paralympic Games are governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
The 2010 Winter Paralympics,or the tenth Paralympic Winter Games,were held in Vancouver and Whistler,British Columbia,Canada from March 12 to 21,2010. The Opening Ceremony took place in BC Place Stadium in Vancouver and the Closing Ceremony in Whistler Medals Plaza.
The all-time medal table for all Olympic Games from 1896 to 2022,including Summer Olympic Games,Winter Olympic Games,and a combined total of both,is tabulated below. These Olympic medal counts do not include the 1906 Intercalated Games which are no longer recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as official Games. The IOC itself does not publish all-time tables,and publishes unofficial tables only per single Games. This table was thus compiled by adding up single entries from the IOC database.
Russia,officially known as the Russian Federation,has competed at the modern Olympic Games on many occasions,but as different nations in its history. As the Russian Empire,the nation first competed at the 1900 Games,and returned again in 1908 and 1912. After the Russian revolution in 1917,and the subsequent establishment of the Soviet Union in 1922,it would be thirty years until Russian athletes once again competed at the Olympics,as the Soviet Union at the 1952 Summer Olympics. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991,Russia competed as part of the Unified Team in 1992,and finally returned once again as Russia at the 1994 Winter Olympics.
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.
Jasey-Jay Anderson is a Canadian snowboarder and Olympic gold medallist,who competed in the 1998,2002,2006,2010,2014,2018,Winter Olympics. Anderson currently resides in Mont-Tremblant outside of Montreal.
Thomas Ulsrud was a Norwegian curler from Oslo. He won a silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics,one World Curling Championship,two European Curling Championships,and fourteen Norwegian titles. He was also known for being the skip of the team that competed while wearing colourful harlequin trousers at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Team Ulsrud's combined showmanship and sportsmanship became iconic and contributed to reviving worldwide interest in curling until 2019.
Zhou Yang is a female Chinese short track speed skater. She won the gold medal in the 1500 m event at the 2010 Winter Olympics. She also won the Gold Medal in 1500m event at 2014 Sochi Olympics. Zhou added another gold medal on the Chinese 3000 m relay team. She set a new world and Olympic record in the 1,000 m semifinal. She was bestowed the honour of the national flag bearer for China at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang,South Korea as China's most decorated active winter Olympian with 3 gold medals from previous Olympics,after Yang Yang and Wang Meng who have retired from the sport.
Brian McKeever is a Canadian cross-country skier and biathlete,who became Canada's most decorated Winter Paralympian when he won his 14th medal at the 2018 Winter Paralympics. He finished the 2018 Games with a career total of 13 gold medals and 17 medals,making him the most decorated Paralympic cross-country skier ever. McKeever claimed a 16th Paralympic gold medal in the men's para cross-country middle distance vision impaired race at Beijing 2022,drawing him level with the German para-alpine racer Gerd Schönfelder for the most men's Winter Paralympic wins.
The Olympic Games ceremonies of the Ancient Olympic Games were an integral part of these Games;the modern Olympic games have opening,closing,and medal ceremonies. Some of the elements of the modern ceremonies date back to the Ancient Games from which the Modern Olympics draw their ancestry. An example of this is the prominence of Greece in both the opening and closing ceremonies. During the 2004 Games,the medal winners received a crown of olive branches,which was a direct reference to the Ancient Games,in which the victor's prize was an olive wreath. The various elements of the ceremonies are mandated by the Olympic Charter,and cannot be changed by the host nation. This requirement of seeking the approval of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) includes the artistic portion of opening and closing ceremonies.
China participated at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver,British Columbia,Canada,sending its largest delegation at a Winter Olympics with 94 athletes. China had its best ever Winter Olympics medal finish,winning five gold medals and eleven in total,finishing seventh in the medal standings.
Xu Mengtao is an Olympic Champion Chinese aerial skier. She has 27 World Cup victories and an Olympic Gold. She is also the current World Cup leader and became the first Chinese woman to win an Olympic gold in the Aerial Ski event during her fourth Olympics at the age of 31. She was one of Team China's flag bearers,at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic's closing ceremony.
Cai Xuetong is a Chinese snowboarder.
Ukraine made its Paralympic Games début at the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta,with thirty athletes competing in archery,track and field,powerlifting,swimming,and sitting volleyball. Vasyl Lishchynskyy won Ukraine's first Paralympic gold medal,in the shot put,and Ukrainians also won four silver medals and two bronze. Ukrainians had previously participated within the Soviet Union's delegation in 1988,and as part of the Unified Team in 1992. Ukraine,following its independence from the Soviet Union,missed out on the 1994 Winter Games,but made its Winter Paralympics début at the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano. Ukraine has competed at every edition of the Summer and Winter Games since then and have done so with remarkable success.
Vitaliy Volodymyrovych Lukyanenko is a Ukrainian biathlete,cross-country skier,and Paralympian.
Oleksandr Volodymyrovych Abramenko is a Ukrainian Olympic gold medalist freestyle skier,specializing in aerials. He is the 2015–16 Aerials World Cup winner. He competed at the 2006,2010,2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics,winning the Olympic gold medal in the men's aerials event at Pyeongchang. Abramenko is also 2019 World Championships and 2022 Winter Olympics silver medalist.
The men's aerials competition in freestyle skiing at the 2022 Winter Olympics was held on 15 February (qualification) and 16 February (final),at the Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou. Qi Guangpu of China won the event;this was his first Olympic gold medal. Oleksandr Abramenko of Ukraine,the defending champion,won the second medal,and Ilya Burov,representing the Russian Olympic Committee,won bronze,replicating his 2018 achievement.
The mixed team aerials competition in freestyle skiing at the 2022 Winter Olympics was held on 10 February,at the Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou. This was the first time a mixed team short freestyle skiing event is featured at the Olympics. The United States team,represented by Ashley Caldwell,Christopher Lillis,and Justin Schoenefeld,won the event. China with Xu Mengtao,Jia Zongyang,and Qi Guangpu won the silver medal,and Canada with Marion Thénault,Miha Fontaine,and Lewis Irving became the bronze medalist.
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