The first white Olympics after World War II took place in Switzerland. This country was not affected by the fighting, and St. Moritz was already the capital of the Olympic Games in 1928. Therefore, he did not need special training - the main sports facilities and the experience of the organization were available.
The 1948 Winter Olympics became the jubilee, the fifth in a row. It was attended by 669 athletes from 28 countries. Politics left their mark on the organization of the games. The International Olympic Committee did not allow teams from Germany and Japan to participate in the competition. The Soviet Union, which by that time had begun to take leading positions in some sports, sent a delegation of functionaries to the games. Upon her return, she reported that it was too early for the USSR to participate in the Winter Olympics.
In St. Moritz, 22 sets of awards were played in 9 sports: cross-country skiing, hockey, figure skating, Nordic combined, bobsleigh, skeleton, alpine skiing, ice skating and ski jumping.
The Swedes reigned supreme in cross-country skiing. They became winners in all three disciplines - the 18 and 50 km races, as well as the 4x10 km relay. In singles, only one bronze went to the Finns, who were also second in the relay. Another bronze medal for the Norwegian relay team.
As expected, the Canadians won the hockey tournament, but not without difficulty. Having scored the same number of points with the national team of Czechoslovakia and played with them in a draw 0: 0, the Canadian hockey players received gold medals by the best difference between goals scored and missed.
In alpine skiing disciplines, the hero was the Frenchman Henri Oreye, who won two gold and one bronze medals. In ski jumping, the entire podium was occupied by Norwegian flying skiers. The second place was taken by the winner of the 1932 and 1936 Olympic Games, Birger Ruud. This courageous man was imprisoned in a concentration camp for refusing to participate in sports and political events during the war.
Skaters of Norway took gold in three of the four disciplines presented at the Olympics. American Richard Button ushered in a new era in figure skating. In the free program, he introduced acrobatic elements and jumps. Button became the first skater to perform a double axel at the Olympic Games.
In the unofficial standings, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland won 10 medals each. The US Olympic team came in fourth with nine medals.
