The , officially known as the '''I Olympic Winter Games''', were celebrated in
1924 in
Chamonix ,
France . Originally called ''Semaine Internationale des Sports d'Hiver'' ("International Winter Sports Week") and held in association with the
1924 Summer Olympics , the sports competitions held at the foot of
Mont Blanc in
Chamonix ,
Haute-Savoie ,
France between
25 January and
5 February 1924 , organised by the French Olympic Committee, were in retrospect designated by the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the I Olympic Winter Games.
Although Figure Skating had been an Olympic event in both London and Antwerp, and Ice Hockey had been an event in Antwerp, the wintersports had always been rather limited by the season. In 1921, on the convention of the
IOC in
Lausanne , there was a call for equality for wintersports, and after much discussion it is decided to organise an "international week of winter sport" in 1924 in Chamonix.
The very first gold medal awarded in the Olympic Winter games was won by
Charles Jewtraw , in the opening event, the 500 meter speedskating. The rest of the speed skating events were won by
Julius Skutnabb and
Clas Thunberg .
Sonja Henie , at just eleven years old, skates in the ladies' figure skating competition. Although she finishes last, she becomes popular with fans, and will take the gold at the next three Winter Olympics.
Finding himself in a unique situation, the figure skater
Gillis Grafström is the first one ever to successfully defend his Summer Olympics title at the Winter Olympics.
The
Canadian ice-hockey team finished their qualifying round with 4 wins, and had a total score of 110-3 against Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Sweden, and Great Britain.
Finding themselves in the same situation as Gilles Grafström, the Canadian ice-hockey team is the last ever to successfully defend its Summer Olympics title at the Winter Olympics. Canada would dominate ice hockey in early Olympic competition, winning six of the first seven gold medals awarded.
At the closing of the games a prize was awarded for a sport that didn't lend itself very well for tournaments:
Pierre De Coubertin presented a prize for alpinisme to
Charles Bruce , the leader of the expedition that tried to climb
Mount Everest in
1922 .
In
1925 , the IOC decided to organize Olympic Winter Games every four years, independent of the Olympic Games proper, and recognized the International Winter Sports Week as the first Olympic Winter games in retrospect.
In
1974 the final medal of Chamonix 1924 was presented. Anders Haugen, who until then had been recorded as finishing fourth in the Ski Jump, received a bronze medal. After fifty years an error had been discovered in the score of
Thorleif Haug , winner of the bronze, which caused the two men to change places.
In
2006 , the IOC retroactively awarded medals to the 1924
Curling teams. The IOC decided that curling was officially part of the program, after the ''
Glasgow Herald '' newspaper filed a claim on behalf of the families of the team.
{Link without Title}
Medals were awarded in 16 events, and 7 sports. Many sources do not list curling and the military patrol, or list them as demonstration events. However, no such designation was made in 1924. In February 2006 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) ruled that curling was a full part of the olympic program, and have included the medals awarded in the official count.
Athletes from 16 nations competed in the first Winter Olympic Games.
One athlete from
Estonia had entered the speed skating competition but did not compete.
See Also: 1924 Winter Olympics medal count
