In 1992, the French town of Albertville, nestled at the foot of the Alps, hosted the Olympic Games not for the first time. Seven decades earlier, the Olympians had already competed for the title of the best in this place. The sporting event was overshadowed by political turmoil. Two months before the start of these games, the Soviet Union collapsed.
The Albertville Olympics were held from 8 to 23 February 1992. It became the sixteenth Winter Olympics. More than 1, 8 thousand athletes from 64 countries of the world came to the games. 57 sets of medals were played in 13 disciplines.
The official emblem of the competition featured the Olympic flame, which was painted in the colors of the French region of Savoy. The mascot of the Games in Albertville was a fictional character named Mazhik - half human, half deity. The French themselves positioned him as a fairy elf. In its shape, it resembled a star. In Albertville, for the first time in the history of the modern Olympic movement, the original mascot was replaced. At first, the mountain chamois was approved in this capacity, but this image did not become popular, so it was decided to replace it.
Albertville can hardly be considered the capital of the Olympics. Less than a third of all sets of medals were played in this city. This is because the sports facilities were not concentrated in one place, but scattered across the 12 villages and towns closest to Albertville. In this regard, not one large Olympic village was built, but six small ones. After the competitions, the local municipality found their proper use, but the impressive size "Theater of Ceremonies", where the opening and closing of the Olympics took place, was soon dismantled to its very foundations as unnecessary. The torch with fire was delivered to the opening ceremony on a Concorde supersonic aircraft.
For the first time, short track, freestyle and women's biathlon competitions appeared in the Olympic program. Curling, speed skiing, and acrobatics on skis were included in the demonstration program of these games.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the so-called united team came to the Olympics in Albertville. It had an unofficial name - the CIS national team and performed under the anthem and banner of the International Olympic Committee. This team consisted of six states: Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia. The athletes of the united team were able to win 23 medals, 9 of which were of the highest dignity.
Baltic republics of the former USSR: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania performed separately. The former Yugoslav republics of Slovenia and Croatia also preferred to perform solo. The German national team, on the other hand, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, arrived in Albertville with a combined squad.
In men's cross-country skiing, the Norwegians were second to none. They were able to become the first at all distances. The skier Vegard Ulvang, who won three gold and one silver, was especially distinguished. In women's cross-country skiing, athletes from the united national team performed most successfully. Lyubov Egorova became the heroine. In biathlon, the leadership was taken by athletes from Germany, France and the CIS national team. In speed skating, the Germans had a great advantage. The athletes of the CIS team were the triumphs in figure skating.
Athletes from Germany won the team championship. The second place was taken by the CIS Olympians, and the third - by Norway.
