In 1964, it was decided to host the Winter Olympics in the Austrian city of Innsbruck. These competitions are remembered for the high level of organization typical for sports events held in Austria.
In total, 36 national teams took part in the 1964 Olympic Games. Athletes from the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany performed together. For the first time, India, North Korea and Mongolia have shown themselves in winter sports. At the same time, athletes from Africa did not take part in the competition. Latin America was represented only by teams from Argentina and Chile.
34 sets of medals were played in 6 sports. Luge was introduced for the first time, and bobsleigh returned to the game program after the break.
The first place in the unofficial team event was taken by the Soviet Union. Gold was awarded to the Soviet hockey team. Biathletes and skiers also performed well. For example, Klavdia Boyarskikh received 3 gold medals for her participation in cross-country skiing. The first place in pair figure skating was taken by Soviet athletes Lyudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov. And the best athlete of the national team can be recognized as Lydia Skoblikova - she won 4 gold medals in speed skating.
The second, with a significant lag, was the team of Austria, which hosts the Olympic Games on its territory. Austrian skiers and toboggans showed themselves best of all.
The third place was taken by the Norwegian team, traditionally strong in winter sports. Most of the medals were awarded to Norwegian skaters and ski jumpers. The United States performed rather poorly, finishing in 8th place and receiving only one gold medal. Skater Terry McDermott won it for his team.
Despite the fact that the games were held in a place where there should be enough rainfall, the organizers realized before the Olympics that there was not enough snow. The winter of 1964 was too warm. It was necessary to attract soldiers of the Austrian army to transport snow from the mountain slopes to the competition site for skiers and sledges. As a result, all competitions were held in accordance with the regulations.
