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1976 Winter Olympics

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The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated February 4-15, 1976 in Innsbruck, Austria. It was the second time the Tyrolean city hosted the Games.

Following the Munich Massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics, security was tight for the 1976 games.

Host selection

The cities of Denver, Colorado, United States; Sion, Switzerland; Tampere, Finland; and Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, made bids for the Games.

The games were originally awarded to Denver in May 1970, but a 300 percent rise in costs and worries about environmental impact led to Colorado voters' rejection in November 7, 1972, by a 3 to 2 margin, of a $5 million bond issue to finance the games with public funds.[1][2]

Denver officially withdrew on November 15, and the IOC then offered the games to Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, but they too declined owing to a change of government following elections. (Whistler would go on to be associated with neighboring Vancouver's successful bid for the 2010 games.)

Salt Lake City, Utah, which would eventually host in 2002 offered itself as a potential host after the withdrawal of Denver. The IOC, still reeling from the Denver rejection, declined and selected Innsbruck on February 5, 1973; it had hosted the 1964 games nine years earlier.

The chart below displays the original vote count for the 69th IOC meeting at Amsterdam, Netherlands, in 1970, before the Denver rejection and the installation of Innsbruck, Austria, as alternate host.[3]

ORIGINAL 1976 Winter Olympics Bidding Results
City NOC Name Round 1 Round 2 Round 3
Denver, Colorado  United States 29 29 39
Sion  Switzerland 18 31 30
Tampere  Finland 12 8 -
Vancouver-Garibaldi, British Columbia  Canada 9 - -

Highlights

  • Austrian favorite Franz Klammer won the men's downhill event in alpine skiing in 1:45.73, after great pressure from his country and defending champion Bernhard Russi of Switzerland.
  • Dorothy Hamill of the U.S. won the gold in Figure Skating, and inspired the popular "wedge" haircut.[4]
  • Elegant British skater John Curry altered his routine to appeal to Olympic judges, winning gold.[5]
  • American skater Terry Kubicka attempted - and completed - a dangerous backflip in figure skating.
  • Rosi Mittermaier of West Germany nearly swept the women's alpine skiing events, earning two golds and a silver, missing the third gold by 0.13 seconds.[6]
  • Soviet Tatiana Averina speed skater won four medals. The U.S. team won six medals in speed skating.[7]
  • In the 4-man bobsled, the East German team won for the first of three consecutive titles.
  • The USSR won its fourth straight ice hockey gold medal; for the second consecutive Olympics Canada refused to send a team.
  • Sports technology, in the guise of innovative perforated skis, sleek hooded suits and streamlined helmets appeared in alpine skiing, speed skating and ski jumping, making headlines in Innsbruck.[8]
  • A second cauldron for the Olympic flame was built to represent the 1976 Games, and together with the 1964 Winter Games cauldrons were lit.
  • The Soviet Union won the most medals with 13 gold, 6 silver, and 8 bronze.
  • The mascot was the Tyrolean snowman.
  • Bobsleigh and luge competed on the same track for the first time ever.

Venues

Bergisel, as it looks today

Winter map - Innsbruck area

Medals awarded

Ice dancing made its debut to the Olympics.

See the medal winners, ordered by sport:

Participating nations

37 Nations Participated in the 1976 Winter Olympic Games. The '76 Winter Olympics marked the final time the Republic of China participated under the Republic of China flag and name. After most of the international community recognized the People's Republic of China as the legitimate government of all China, the ROC was forced to compete under the name Chinese Taipei, under an altered flag and to use its National Banner Song instead of its national anthem. Andorra and San Marino participated in their first Winter Olympic Games.

Medal count

(Host nation highlighted)

1  Soviet Union 13 6 8 27
2  East Germany (GDR) 7 5 7 19
3  United States 3 3 1 7
4  Norway 3 3 1 7
5  West Germany (FRG) 2 5 3 10
6  Finland 2 4 1 7
7  Austria 2 2 2 6
8  Switzerland 1 3 1 5
9  Netherlands 1 2 3 6
10  Italy 1 2 1 4
Further information: 1976 Winter Olympics medal table

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1976 Winter Olympics.
  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ [2]
  3. ^ Compliments from the International Olympic Committee Vote History web page.
  4. ^ Dorothy Hamill bio
  5. ^ Olympic.org
  6. ^ Infoplease
  7. ^ Kiat.net
  8. ^ CBC.CA
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