Winter Olympics Fun Facts: 5 Things You Didn’t Know

Before the XXIV Winter Olympic Games in Beijing 2022, less than a year remains. What do you know about the Winter Olympics? Winter views at the Summer Olympics, four-legged Olympians, and ice in trucks. The history of the Winter Olympics has many strange and surprising episodes. Here are five of the most surprising Winter Olympics fun facts. 

1. Figure Skating and Ice Hockey Debuted at Summer Olympics

Figure skating and ice hockey are among the most popular winter sports. It is all the more surprising that their Olympic history began at the Summer Games! The first figure skating competitions were held at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. The second time figure skating was included in the program 12 years later in Antwerp. At the same time, ice hockey made its debut at the Olympic Games. With the rise of the Winter Olympics, the IOC wisely decided to move both sports into a winter program. This happened at the first Winter Games in Chamonix 1924 and has not changed since then.

2. Winter Olympics Fun Facts: Horses and Dogs in the Snow

Equestrian sports have long been part of the Summer Olympics program. But did you know that horses once competed in the Winter Games? Skijoring is a Scandinavian sport in which a skier straps himself to a harness with one or more horses, ponies, or dogs. The only time skijoring appeared at the 1928 St. Moritz Olympics was as a demonstration sport. Horses were used as draft power.

Swiss athletes took the first three places. Bibi Torriani, who finished second, at the same Olympics won bronze with the Swiss hockey team. As many as 20 years later, he did it again when the Olympic Games were again held in St. Moritz. If horses are not enough for you, then there were Olympic dogs. At the 1932 Winter Games in Lake Placid, sled dog racing was introduced as a demonstration sport. If you are going to bet on Winter Olympics 2022, 1xBET Sportsbook will be your greatest choice with the best odds.

3. Winter Olympics Fun Facts: Ice in Trucks

Oh, how the organizers of the Olympics in Innsbruck dreamed of a snow cannon! Unfortunately for them, there was no such technology in 1964, and the Winter Games were threatened by a lack of snow and ice. The valiant Austrian army came to the rescue. The soldiers brought from the mountains 20 thousand blocks of ice for the bobsleigh track and 40 thousand cubic meters of snow for the ski slopes. Of course, as soon as the Games were over, snow fell on Innsbruck.

More than 30 years later, the Olympics in Nagano were unlucky – only from the other side. Huge snowdrifts and freezing rain forced the organizers to postpone ski competitions several times. As a result, the weather changed from anger to mercy, and all the games took place. If you are looking to bet on the upcoming Winter Olympics, check out the online sportsbook sites in Norway.

4. Winter Olympics Fun Facts: Norvegian Power

Norway may be a small country with a population of only five million. But at the Winter Olympics, she knows no equal. The Norwegians have won 368 medals (132 gold, 125 silver, and 111 bronze). In the second place in the USA, but they also have “only” 305 awards. Someone will notice that the Norwegians have an advantage over their competitors. After all, some sports, including Nordic combined or ski jumping, were born in Norway. But this alone does not bring medals. They still need to win, and with this, the Norwegian athletes are doing well.

Marit Bjorgen is the most decorated athlete in the history of the Winter Olympics. She won 15 medals in cross-country skiing – 8 gold, 4 silver, and 3 bronze. Beijing 2022 is less than a year away. There is no doubt that Norway will soon join its impressive collection of awards. If you want to bet on Norway, check out the online sportsbook sites in Norway and find  1xBET Sportsbook which is one of the safest sportsbooks to place your bet on.

5. Medal in Winter, Medal in Summer

It is incredibly difficult to get to the Olympic Games, let alone climb the podium. Imagine what it takes to win medals for both the Winter and Summer Olympics! You will probably be surprised, but five athletes succeeded. The first was Eddie Egan (USA). He won the Antwerp 1920 boxing gold and became the 1932 Lake Placid champion in the bobsleigh fours competition. Norwegian Jacob Tams took gold in ski jumping (Chamonix 1924) and silver in sailing (Berlin 1936). Christa Luding-Rothenburger from Germany won two gold and silver medals in speed skating (Calgary 1988 and Albertville 1992), and also became a silver medalist in cycling (Seoul 1988).

Canadian Clara Hughes has collected six medals in speed skating and cycling: gold, silver, and two bronzes in skating (Salt Lake City 2002, Turin 2006, Vancouver 2010), and two bronze medals in cycling (Atlanta 1996). The last to join the exclusive club was American athlete Lauryn Williams. She won gold in the 4x100m relay in London 2012 and silver in the 100m in Athens 2004, and in Sochi 2014 she won a silver medal in bobsled.

So these were the 5 Winter Olympics Fun Facts. If you are looking for more, check out our article about the 10 incredibly tempting Olympic facts. We also suggest you read about the recent Tokyo Olympic fun facts which took place with empty stands.

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