Venues of the 1932 Winter Olympics

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For the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, United States, a total of five sports venues were used. This was unchanged from the previous games in St. Moritz. For the first time in the history of the Winter Olympics, an indoor venue was used for the figure skating and six of the twelve ice hockey events at the Olympic Arena. The first bobsleigh venue outside Europe was constructed for use. Four different 18 km and five different 50 km venues were submitted for approval prior to the Olympics. After the 1932 games, three of these venues served as host for their respective championships that were held outside Europe for the first time.

Contents

Venues

VenueSportsCapacityRef.
Intervales Ski-Hill Nordic combined (ski jumping), Ski jumping 9,200 [1]
Lake Placid Cross-country skiing, Nordic combined (cross-country skiing)Not listed. [2]
Mt. Van Hoevenberg Bob-Run Bobsleigh 12,500 [3]
Olympic Arena Figure skating, Ice hockey (final)3,360 [4]
Olympic Stadium Ice hockey, Speed skating 7,475 [5]

Before the Olympics

The first ski jump was constructed in Lake Placid in 1920. [1] It had a 35 m (115 ft) hill. [1] Three years later, the hill was rebuilt that was 50 m (160 ft) long. [1] Finally, the hill was made 60 m (200 ft) long in 1927. [1]

Cross-country skiing trails took place around the hills of Lake Placid. [2] Maintenance of the trails were first done by the New York State Conservation Department (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation since 1970) [2] Within a 10 mi (16 km) radius around Lake Placid at the time of the 1932 Games, there were 250 mi (400 km) worth of good ski trails. [2] Despite this, an additional 70 mi (110 km) had to be built and were accurately measured with steel tape to the nearest 1 km (0.62 mi) in order to meet the requirements of the International Ski Federation (FIS). [2] Four different courses for the 18 km event and five different courses for the 50 km event were submitted to the FIS. [2]

The Stadium was constructed at the local high school. [5] This purchase was approved by the village in 1929 following a series of local board meetings. [5] A total 7.3 acres (3.0 ha) was leased by the Park Commission from the Lake Placid Board of Education that would run until 2028. [5] Construction began in December 1929 and was completed by November 1931. [5] At the arena was a 400 m (1,300 ft) long, circular track used for speed skating. [5]

The Arena was an idea of Godfrey Dewey, president of the Organizing Committee, after he saw what sudden thaws had done to the Winter Olympics both in Chamonix and in St. Moritz. [4] A visit by International Olympic Committee President Count Henri de Baillet-Latour in September 1930 encouraged Dewey to construct the indoor arena. [4] This was approved at a board meeting later that month to investigation. [4] Discussions ensued among the Olympic organizers until a site was approved in April 1931. [4] Property was purchased in June of that year followed by an approval of a municipal bond in July. [4] Construction took place between August 1931 and January 1932. [4] Over 9 mi (14 km) of steel pipes were laid down on the floor to help make the ice. [4]

The Bob Run was constructed during August–December 1930 and opened on Christmas Day 1930. [3] This was done after site selection was met with protest over the use of the track in state-owned lands. [3]

During the Olympics

Ice hockey was initially scheduled to have ten of their twelve games at the Stadium while two would be at the arena. [4] A thawing in the ice outdoors forced four of the hockey games to be moved indoors to the arena. [4]

Weather also gave problems for the four-man bobsleigh event that were so bad that it delayed the finals until after the closing ceremony. [6] Officials wanted to have all four runs be done on 14 February. [6] After the second run, American bobsledder F. Paul Stevens protested the racing conditions of the track by walking off. [6] Most of the other bobsledders followed Stevens. [6] The final two runs were set on the 15th as a result. [6]

The 50 km event on 13 February was held in a raging blizzard. [7] Skiers and officials argued about the course itself, delaying the start of the race for three hours. [7] Despite this, it produced the closest 50 km race in Olympic history then when Finland's Veli Saarinen defeated his fellow countryman Väinö Liikkanen by 20 seconds. [7] This record would stand until the 1968 Winter Olympics, when Norway's Ole Ellefsæter beat out the Soviet Union's Vyacheslav Vedenin by 16.7 seconds. [8]

After the Olympics

Three of the venues would become host to events that were held outside of Europe for the first time. After the 1932 Games, the Stadium hosted the World Allround Speed Skating Championships for Men (Women's would not take place officially until 1936.). [9] The bob track would host the International Bobsleigh World Championships in 1949. [10] In 1950, the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, the ski jumping and the ski jumping part of the Nordic combined event took place at the ski jump used for the 1932 games. [11] [12]

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For the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, a total of eight sports venues were used. All of the venues used were new or rebuilt. To make use of television coverage for the first time in the Winter Olympics, the cross-country skiing stadium was constructed to allow the best coverage. Five of the venues used for these games would appear in the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only twenty-five years later.

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For the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, a total of eight sports venues were used. Luge made its debut at these games, but were marred by the death of a British slider two weeks prior to the Games. A second ski jumping event debuted and the best two out of three jumps were used in both events for the only time in the history of the Winter Olympics. All eight venues would be used again when the Winter Games returned to Innsbruck twelve years later though the venues would undergo renovations in time for the 1976 Games.

For the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan, a total of twelve sports venues were used. A thirteenth venue which was a reserved luge course was constructed, but never used in actual competition. Construction on all of the venues used took place between 1968 and early 1971 in time for the test events. The Tsuskisamu Indoor Skating Rink was not completed until late 1971 or early 1972 because the number of teams scheduled to compete at the 1972 Games was not known. At the actual luge venue used, a malfunctioning starting gate during the first run led to the results being cancelled and rerun being ordered. The results of this event led to the only tie in Olympic luge history. The ski jumps at Miyanomori and Okurayama served as host venues for the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships thirty-five years later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venues of the 1976 Winter Olympics</span>

For the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, a total of eight sports venues were used. The games were originally awarded to Denver, Colorado in the United States in 1970, but they withdrew in the wake of Colorado residents voting against it for environmental and cost reasons in November 1972. This led to the International Olympic Committee opening up the bids for the games again, eventually awarding them to Innsbruck in February 1973. The Austrian city, having hosted the Winter Olympics in 1964, was in the process of having the venues used for those Games before Denver's with clear cutting of the alpine skiing venues, lessening of the amount of cross-country skiing routes, upgrading the ski jumps, adding lighting in the indoor sports arena to accommodate color television, and the construction of a combination bobsleigh and luge track. After the 1976 Games, the venues have remained in use, hosting events in Nordic skiing and the sliding sports. They hosted some of the events for the Winter Universiade in 2005 and seven of the eight venues served as host for the first Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venues of the 1980 Winter Olympics</span>

For the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, United States, a total of seven sports venues were used. All five of the venues used for the 1932 Winter Olympics were also used at the 1980 Winter Games with adjustments. These adjustments included electronic scoreboards, increased refrigeration, and the addition of a separate luge track. This was the last Winter Olympics where there were separate bobsleigh and luge tracks. The closest finish in Olympic history in cross-country skiing led skiing officials to time future events in hundredths of a second rather than tenths of a second. This would also apply to biathlon events. Eric Heiden won five gold medals at the speed skating oval while the "Miracle on Ice" took place between Americans and Soviets at the Olympic Center. In the late 1990s, the luge track was demolished and a new combination track was constructed in time for the only Winter Goodwill Games held. The sliding venue was named to the American National Register of Historical Places in February 2010.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venues of the 1998 Winter Olympics</span>

For the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, a total of fifteen sports venues were used. Nagano had attempted twice to host the Winter Olympics, losing out to Sapporo, host of the 1972 Winter Olympics. The third time, in 1991, Nagano edged out Salt Lake City to host the 1998 Games. The biathlon venue was adjusted in accordance with the Washington Convention over endangered species. The biggest venue controversy was at Happo'one resort on the length of the men's downhill and the battle that ensued to the point where skiing officials threatened to pull the event entirely before a compromise was reached three months before the Olympics. M-Wave has hosted three World Speed Skating Championships since the Olympics, while the Spiral has hosted a couple of world championships in bobsleigh, luge and skeleton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olympic Center</span> Sports complex in Lake Placid, New York

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 1932 Winter Olympics official report. Archived 2008-04-10 at the Wayback Machine pp. 141-4. Accessed 12 October 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 1932 Winter Olympics official report. Archived 2008-04-10 at the Wayback Machine pp. 145-6, 199. Accessed 12 October 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 1932 Winter Olympic Games official report. Archived 2008-04-10 at the Wayback Machine pp. 30, 39-41, 50-1, 141, 157-66. Accessed 12 October 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1932 Winter Olympics official report. Archived 2008-04-10 at the Wayback Machine pp. 141, 150-57. Accessed 12 October 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 1932 Winter Olympics official report. Archived 2008-04-10 at the Wayback Machine pp. 141, 147-50. Accessed 12 October 2010.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Wallechinsky, David and Jamie Loucky (2009). "Bobsleigh: Four-Man". In The Complete Book of the Winter Olympics: 2010 Edition. London: Aurum Press Limited. pp. 161-2.
  7. 1 2 3 Wallechinsky, David; and Loucky, Jamie (2009). "Cross-Country (Nordic) Skiing, Men: 50 Kilometers". In The Complete Book of the Winter Olympics: 2010 Edition. London: Aurum Press Limited. p.232.
  8. ↑ 1968 Winter Olympics official report. Archived 2008-02-26 at the Wayback Machine p. 378. (in English and French) Accessed 12 October 2010.
  9. ↑ World Allround Speed Skating Championship medalists - Men: 1893-2009. Women: 1936-2009. Archived 2009-02-25 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 12 October 2010.
  10. ↑ FIBT Men's World Championships and Olympic Games: 1924-2007 results. FIBT.com. Accessed 12 October 2010.
  11. ↑ FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1950 Lake Placid 1 February ski jumping results. Accessed 12 October 2010.
  12. ↑ FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1950 Lake Placid 1 February Nordic combined ski jumping results. Accessed 12 October 2010.
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