1956 Winter Olympics
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| VII Olympic Winter Games | |
 The emblem is a stylized snowflake with |
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| Host city | Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy |
|---|---|
| Nations participating | 32 |
| Athletes participating | 821 (687 men, 134 women) |
| Events | 24 in 4 sports |
| Opening ceremony | January 26 |
| Closing ceremony | February 5 |
| Officially opened by | Giovanni Gronchi |
| Athlete's Oath | Giuliana Chenal-Minuzzo |
| Olympic Torch | Guido Caroli |
| Stadium | Stadio Olympica |
The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games, were celebrated in 1956 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. The USSR made its Winter Olympics debut and immediately showed their strength by winning more medals than any other nation. These were the first televised Winter Olympics.
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[edit] Highlights of the Games
- In the Alpine Skiing Toni Sailer won all the events (Downhill, Slalom and the Giant Slalom).
- The USSR won the Games with 16 medals, 7 of them being gold, 3 silver and 6 bronze.
[edit] Medal winners
[edit] Participating nations
A total of 32 nations sent athletes to Cortina d'Ampezzo. Bolivia, Iran, and the USSR competed at the Winter Games for the first time. Korea, Liechtenstein, and Turkey returned after having missed the 1952 Winter Olympics. Argentina, Denmark, New Zealand, and Portugal did not compete at these Games, after having participated in 1952.
Athletes from West Germany (FRG) and East Germany (GDR) competed together as the United Team of Germany at these Games, an arrangement that would continue for the following two Olympiads.
[edit] Medal count
These are the top ten nations that won medals at these Games:
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Soviet Union |
7 | 3 | 6 | 16 |
| 2 |  Austria |
4 | 3 | 4 | 11 |
| 3 |  Finland |
3 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| 4 |  Switzerland |
3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 5 |  Sweden |
2 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| 6 |  United States |
2 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| 7 |  Norway |
2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 8 |  Italy (host nation) |
1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 |  Germany |
1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 10 |  Canada |
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
[edit] References
- International Olympic Committee – Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 main page
- Cortina 1956 – official report, digitized copy online
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