The Third Winter Olympic Games were held from 4 to 15 February 1932 in Lake Placid (USA). 14 sets of awards were played in 7 sports. Bobsleigh, cross-country skiing and combined events, speed skating, hockey, figure skating and ski jumping were presented. Demonstration sports: curling and dog sled racing.
The organizers of the III OWG feared that athletes from many European countries would not be able to attend the competition due to financial difficulties. And so it happened. In total, 307 athletes took part in the Games, 17 of them were women, from 17 countries of the world. Almost half of the competitors would be represented by the national teams of Canada and the United States. Some European countries limited themselves to small delegations. For example, there were 7 people for Finland, and 12 for Sweden.
All the "gold" in speed skating competitions went to athletes from the United States. Nevertheless, experts argued that this impressive victory went to the Americans thanks to the new order of the races, namely the common start adopted in the States. Indeed, a few days after the end of the Olympics in Lake Placid, the World Speed Skating Championship was held in accordance with international rules, where the Scandinavians were the best, and with a prominent advantage.
The two and four in bobsled were also won by athletes from the USA.
Only 4 teams took part in the hockey tournament - Germany, USA, Canada and Poland. For the first time, matches took place in an indoor ice rink. The Canadians celebrated the victory.
As for the cross-country skiing, they were held in extremely difficult conditions. The weather was warm and rainy, the athletes could not fully show themselves. All 12 top awards went to the Scandinavians. Norwegian skiers took home 7 medals (2 + 2 + 3), Swedes - 2 (1 "gold" and 1 "silver"), Finns - 3 (1 + 1 + 1).
Gillis Grafström missed the opportunity to win his fourth highest figure skating medal. The only serious opponent to him was the Austrian Karl Schaefer, who came second after the free program. But a chronic knee injury prevented Grafström from getting gold. Although it must be said that his rival also played a role, brilliantly skating the obligatory program.
In women's figure skating, the victory of the Olympic champion of the previous Games, Norway's Sonja Heni, was expected. She performed excellently, having received the highest marks from all 8 judges. In pair skating, the victory was won by the French duo - André and Pierre Brunet. It was also their second Olympic gold medal (they won their first in 1928).
The unofficial team standings were led by the USA team with 65 points and 12 medals (6 + 4 + 2), the second place was taken by Norway - 68 points and 10 medals (3 + 4 + 3), the third place by the Canadians - 46 points and 7 medals (1 + 1 + 5).
