1932 Winter Olympics

The 1932 Winter Olympics, officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Lake Placid 1932, were a winter multi-sport event in the United States, held in Lake Placid, New York, United States. The games opened on February 4 and closed on February 13. It was the first time the Winter Games were held outside of Europe and the first of four Winter Olympics held in the United States; Lake Placid hosted again in 1980.

The games were awarded to Lake Placid in part by the efforts of Godfrey Dewey, head of the Lake Placid Club and son of Melvil Dewey, inventor of the Dewey Decimal System. California also had a bid for the 1932 Winter Games. William May Garland, president of the California X Olympiad Association, wanted the games to take place in Wrightwood and Big Pines, California. The world's largest ski jump at the time was constructed in Big Pines for the event, but the games were ultimately awarded to Lake Placid.

The practice of awarding Olympic medals at podium ceremonies was established at the 1932 Winter Olympics, based on pedestals used at the 1930 British Empire Games, as proposed by Melville Marks Robinson.

Highlights American company Coca-Cola became the official provider of that games' soft drinks and would remain so for all subsequent winter Olympics (as of 2024). The Games were opened by Franklin D. Roosevelt, then the Governor of New York. He would be elected President of the United States nine months later. The victory podium was used for the first time at the winter games. Martin, D. E., Martin, D. A., & Gynn, R. W. (2000). The olympic marathon. Human Kinetics. p. 146. In a letter dated May 1931, the IOC president, Count Henri de Baillet-Latour, advised the organizing committees of both summer and winter games that athletes should "stand on three pedestals, with the centre one higher than the two others." See Martin (2000) and Olympic.org article "1932: THE PODIUM MAKES ITS OLYMPIC DEBUT". Speed skater Jack Shea became the first Olympic champion to receive a gold medal on the podium. Billy Fiske (who would win his second gold medal at Lake Placid, having won his first at 16 in the 1928 Winter Olympics), carried the flag for the United States in the opening ceremonies. A planner of a winter resort in Aspen, Colorado, he was killed in 1940 flying in the Battle of Britain. Sonja Henie won the second of three consecutive Olympic gold medals in figure skating. She also won gold in 1928 and 1936.Greenspan, Bud, 100 Greatest Moments in Olympic History, General Publishing Group, Inc., 1995, pp. 88 Irving Jaffee won the and the speed skating gold medals, beating previous champion and world record holder Ivar Ballangrud in the 10,000 m by . Eddie Eagan became the only Olympian to win gold medals at both the summer and winter games in different sports. He won gold in boxing in the 1920 Antwerp summer games and gold in bobsleigh at Lake Placid. The bobsleigh race was held two days after the games' closing ceremonies due to unseasonably warm weather in the region the week prior.Johnson, William Oscar, The Olympics: A History of the Games, Oxmoor House, Inc., 1993, pp. 60-61. Georg Gyssling, a member of the Nazi Party, joined a newly created four man bobsledding team after half the German team was injured in several violent crashes on Mount Van Hoevenberg. René Fonjallaz, a future Nazi propagandist on the Swiss team, was also injured and left unconscious for five minutes after a crash during a practice run. King, D. (2015). Speed Kings: The 1932 Winter Olympics and the Fastest Men in the World. The United States topped the medal count with a total of 12 medals (6 gold, 4 silver, and 2 bronze). This was the only time the U.S. led the overall medal standings at the Winter Olympics until the 2010 Games in Vancouver, and the only time the United States won the most gold medals. Seventeen countries participated.

Events

Medals were awarded in 14 events contested in 4 sports (7 disciplines).

Skating

Demonstration sports The Games also included events in three demonstration sports. Curling Sled dog race Speed skating (women)

Venues

VenueSportsCapacity Ref. Intervales Ski-Hill Nordic combined (ski jumping), Ski jumping 9,2001932 Winter Olympics official report. pp. 141-4. Accessed 12 October 2010. Lake Placid Cross-country skiing, Nordic combined (cross-country skiing) Not listed.1932 Winter Olympics official report. pp. 145-6, 199. Accessed 12 October 2010. Mt. Van Hoevenberg Bob-Run Bobsleigh 12,5001932 Winter Olympic Games official report. pp. 30, 39-41, 50-1, 141, 157-66. Accessed 12 October 2010. Olympic Arena Figure skating, Ice hockey (final) 3,3601932 Winter Olympics official report. pp. 141, 150-57. Accessed 12 October 2010. Olympic Stadium Ice hockey, Speed skating 7,4751932 Winter Olympics official report. pp. 141, 147-50. Accessed 12 October 2010.

Participating nations

Athletes from 17 nations competed in these Games, down from 25 nations at the previous Games in 1928. Argentina, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, and Yugoslavia did not send athletes to Lake Placid.

Participating National Olympic Committees

(host)

Number of athletes by National Olympic Committees IOC Letter Code Country Athletes USA 64 CAN 42 GER 20 NOR 19 JPN 16 POL 15 ITA 12 SWE 12 FRA 8 AUT 7 FIN 7 SUI 7 TCH 6 BEL 5 GBR 4 HUN 4 ROM 4 Total 252

Medal count

Podium sweeps +DateSportEventNOCGoldSilverBronze11 FebruaryNordic combined IndividualJohan GrøttumsbråtenOle StenenHans Vinjarengen12 FebruarySki jumping Normal hillBirger RuudHans BeckKaare Wahlberg

1932 Winter Olympics

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