The first White Olympics took place in the French city of Chamonix. At first, the 1924 Games were conceived as International Sports Week in honor of the upcoming Summer Olympics, which was to be held in Paris. However, the performances were so successful and the level of the athletes was so high that the Olympic Committee decided to organize separate winter games. As a result, a week in Chamonix received the status of the First Winter Olympic Games in absentia.
The choice of the place for the games was very good. Chamonix is famous for its long ski slopes and excellent jumps, which made the performances of the athletes quite spectacular. However, the organizers of the games failed to make money - the number of tickets sold did not meet their expectations.
16 countries sent their athletes to the Winter Olympics. Prevailing were European states, which were joined by the United States and Canada. Germany did not receive an invitation to the games - the world community did not forgive her for her leading role in unleashing the First World War. The Soviet Union was not among the participants - this country was not recognized by most countries. But the team of independent Latvia came to the games, as well as the former allies of Germany - Austria and Hungary.
A total of 293 athletes participated in the Olympics, competing in a limited number of disciplines: cross-country skiing and Nordic combined, bobsleigh, hockey, speed skating and figure skating. There were 13 women among the participants. Most of the athletes competed in figure skating, both in singles and in pairs. Figure skating has become the main arena of wrestling for men as well. Skiers and skaters from Scandinavia were so much higher than their rivals from other countries that they had practically no competitors at these games.
The unofficial team championship was won by the Norwegian team, which received 17 medals - most of them were brought by skiers. One of the heroes of this Olympics was Turleif Haug, who won three gold and one bronze in cross-country skiing and biathlon. The second place and 11 gold medals went to Finland. Most of the awards - three gold and one silver - were brought to his country by the skater Klas Thunberg.
The third place was taken by the Austrian team - two gold and one silver medals were received by figure skaters. The host of the games - France - did not shine at this Olympics. In her piggy bank was only one bronze medal for pair figure skating.
