![]() ![]() The 1952 Winter Games in Oslo, Norway, featured 30 participating nations. Moritz for the 1948 Winter Olympics, but not Germany or Japan, who were not invited because of their roles in the war. Post-war years and Cold War era Īfter the war, 28 nations would return to St. These would be the last Winter Games for twelve years, as the planned 1940 Games and 1944 Games were cancelled due to World War II. The 1936 Winter Games, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, had 28 participating nations, the largest number to that date. The 1932 Games, held in Lake Placid, United States, saw the participation of 17 nations. Moritz, Switzerland, including Argentina (the first nation from the Southern Hemisphere), Japan (the first Asian nation), and Mexico. įour years later, 25 nations were represented at the 1928 Winter Olympics, in St. Sixteen nations participated in these Games: fourteen from Europe and two from North America. They were originally called International Winter Sports Week and held in association with the 1924 Summer Olympics, but were in retrospect designated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the I Olympic Winter Games. The first Winter Games were held in 1924, in Chamonix, France. Ice hockey was also part of the 1920 program of events, with seven teams competing. Skating was not in the program of the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, but returned for the 1920 Games in Antwerp. A total of 21 skaters from six countries ( Argentina, Germany, Great Britain, Sweden, Russia, and the United States) competed in four events on 28–29 October. The first winter sport to be contested at the modern Olympic Games was figure skating at the 1908 Games in London. Only 14 countries took part that year.History Origin and early Games The Olympics have come a long way since the first modern Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, in 1896. ![]() At the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, there were 2,952 athletes from 92 countries. Many countries around the world don’t have temperatures that would allow them to compete in most winter sports. Are you WONDERing why? It comes down to climate. How about the Winter Olympics? Far fewer athletes take part in the Winter Games. This included American Samoa, Aruba, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, Guam, Hong Kong, Palestine, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. The other 11 were territories of other countries. That number was made up of 193 of the 196 independent nations (all but South Sudan, Kosovo, and Vatican City). That explains why more than 196 countries take part in the Olympics.įor example, 204 countries sent athletes to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England. Prior to 1996, however, the IOC recognized NOCs from some territories of other nations. Today, a new NOC has to be from a country recognized by the United Nations. The rules regarding NOCs were changed in 1996. That committee has to be approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). So how do 206 nations take part in the Olympics? Where did the extra 10 come from?įor a country to participate in the Olympics, it must have a National Olympic Committee (NOC). Wait just a second…206 countries? How is that possible? Aren’t there only 196 countries in the world? It's true, most sources put the number of countries in the world at 196. In fact, Brazil welcomed over 10,500 athletes from 206 countries during the summer of 2016! The Olympics aren’t limited to a certain number of countries, either. But choosing which countries can compete in the games is not one of them. Surely all 196 countries participate, right? Or are there a limited number of spots? Does the host city get to decide who takes part? The whole world waits for the competitions to roll around every four years. Ah, the Olympics. The pinnacle of athletic glory.
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