The Winter Olympic Games do not have as long a history as the summer ones. Oddly enough it sounds, but for the first time competitions in one of the winter sports (namely, figure skating) were included in the program of the Summer Olympics in London in 1908. For the first time, the Winter Olympic Games took place only in 1924 in the French city of Chamonix.
Today, 7 sports in the program of the Winter Olympics are considered the main ones. These are skiing, speed skating, biathlon, luge, bobsleigh, hockey and curling. Skiing, speed skating and bobsleigh are subdivided into different disciplines, some of which have also acquired the status of independent sports. In addition, all sports and disciplines, except for hockey and curling, are divided into different types of competitions.
Skiing and biathlon
Alpine skiing is subdivided into downhill, super giant, slalom, giant slalom. Combined competitions are also held. Alpine skiing competitions have been included in the Olympic program since 1936.
In addition to various competitions in cross-country skiing and ski jumping, the program of the Winter Olympics includes ski nordic combination, which includes both types. Freestyle is another type of skiing. It involves performing various acrobatic tricks on skis.
Although it is customary to formally classify snowboarding as alpine skiing, in fact, it is completely independent, since it involves downhill not on skis, but on a special wide board, which is called snowboard. He entered the Olympic program not so long ago - since 1998.
Biathlon combines shooting and cross-country skiing. He entered the Olympics program in 1960.
Bobsleigh and luge
If bobsleigh has become an Olympic sport since the first Winter Olympics in Chamonix, then luge, close to it, entered the Olympic program only in 1964. The fate of one of the varieties of tobogganing, the skeleton, was taking shape in a peculiar way. For the first time, Olympic awards were played on it in 1928, then in 1948 (both Olympics were held in the Swiss St. Moritz, and only there was a skeleton track at that time). Only since 2002 has the skeleton finally entered the Olympic program.
Ice sports
Despite the fact that figure skating is sometimes considered a form of speed skating, in fact, they are two completely different types. In addition, it is figure skating that begins the history of winter Olympic sports. Since 1992, short track has joined speed skating in the Olympic program.
And finally, two team sports in the Winter Olympics program are ice hockey and curling.
The number of sports in the Winter Olympics program does not change as actively as in the Summer Olympics. Basically, not fundamentally new sports are added, but only their varieties.
