1920s Winter Olympics

Chamonix 1924

In 1921, the International Olympic Committee decides that the nation organising the next Olympic Games would also host a Week of Winter Sports. In the winter of 1924, just a few months before the Paris Games, more than 250 athletes representing 16 nations competed in Chamonix, on the French side of Mont Blanc. There were 9 disciplines in total, and the medal table is dominated by Norway and Finland, with Austria in third place. Given the success of the event, in 1926 the Chamonix Games areofficially recognised by the International Olympic Committee as the first edition of the Winter Olympic Games.

Host nation: France

Athletes: 260 (13 women, 247 men)

Teams: 16

Medal table: Norway, Finland, Austria

Chamonix 1924 Winter Olympic Games, Women's Single Figure Skating, Muckelt (GB) and Kathleen Shaw (GB), © 1924 / International Olympic Committee (IOC) / United Archives

 St. Moritz 1928

The second Winter Games are held for the first time in a country other than the one hosting the Summer Games. The number of athletes and nations nearly double. Among the sport disciplines, skeleton, which is  considered the first sliding sport ( head-first descent on a sled), makes its debut. 

Nation: Switzerland

Athletes: 464 (26 women, 438 men)

Teams: 25

Medal table: Norway, United States of America, Finland

St. Moritz 1928 Winter Olympic Games, Men's Ski Jumping (70m) - Ernst Feuz (CH) © 1928 / International Olympic Committee (IOC)