1956 Winter Olympics
Encyclopedia
The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event
celebrated in Cortina d'Ampezzo
, Italy
. This celebration of the Games was held from 26 January to 5 February 1956. Cortina, which had originally been awarded the 1944 Winter Olympics
, beat out Montreal
, Colorado Springs and Lake Placid
for the right to host the 1956 Games. The Cortina Games were unique in that all of the venues except one were within walking distance of each other. The organising committee received financial support from the Italian government for infrastructure improvements, but the rest of the costs for the Games had to be privately financed. Consequently the organising committee was the first to rely heavily on corporate sponsorship for funding.
Thirty-two nations—the largest number of participating Winter Olympic countries to that point—competed in the four disciplines and twenty-four events. The Soviet Union
made its Winter Olympics debut and won more medals than any nation. Austrian
Toni Sailer
became the first person to sweep all three alpine skiing events in a single Olympics. The figure skating competition was held outdoors for the last time at these Games. Logistically, the only problem encountered was a lack of snow at the alpine skiing events. To remedy this, the Italian army transported large amounts of snow to ensure the courses were adequately covered.
Politics did not impact the 1956 Winter Games as it had done at the Summer Games
in Melbourne, Australia, where the Soviet response to the Hungarian uprising
and the Suez War caused many nations to boycott the Games. The Cortina Olympics were the first Winter Olympics televised to a multi-national audience. Since Communist countries had superior technology, western European countries like Finland and West Germany were only able to receive Communist broadcasts of the Games. This was a significant win for the Soviets in the propaganda front of the Cold War
.
(IOC) since 1925, spearheaded the effort to bring the Olympic Games to Cortina d'Ampezzo. He persuaded the city council of Cortina to bid for the 1944 Games
. During the 38th IOC Congress held in London in 1939, Cortina d'Ampezzo was awarded the 1944 Winter Olympics, but the Games were canceled due to the outbreak of World War II
.
In 1946 the Italian Winter Sports Federation convened in Milan
and decided to support a new attempt from Cortina to host the Winter Games. A delegation, led by Count Bonacossa, presented Cortina's bid to host the 1952 Winter Olympics
at the 40th IOC Session in Stockholm
, Sweden. They were backed by the city's council and the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI, Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano). A rival bid from Oslo
, Norway, soundly defeated Cortina. Count Bonacossa's and CONI prepared a third bid, this time for the 1956 Winter Games. The host city selection took place in Rome, during the 43rd IOC Session. On 27 April 1949, Cortina d'Ampezzo was selected with 75% of the votes, over bids from Montreal
, Colorado Springs and Lake Placid
. Unfortunately, Bonacossa died on 30 January 1953, three years before he could witness Cortina host the Games.
460 million for infrastructure improvements. The Italian Olympic Committee was responsible for funding the rest of the costs of hosting the Games. They did this by setting aside monies from their own budget, ticket sales, and even culling funds from local football betting pools. The organising committee also took the unprecedented step of selling corporate sponsorship. For example, Fiat
was designated the official car of the 1956 Winter Olympics, and Olivetti
supplied typewriters for the 400 journalists attending the Games.
began after the allied victory in World War II. Until 1952, many of the Communist countries of Eastern Europe had participated in Worker's Olympics
or Spartakiads. The Soviet Union emerged from international isolation
by eschewing the Spartakiad and participating in the 1952 Summer Olympics
in Helsinki; they made their Winter Olympics debut at the Cortina Games. Soviet General Secretary
Nikita Khrushchev
's aim was to use international sports competitions, such as the Olympics, to demonstrate the superiority of Communism, strengthen political ties with other Communist countries, and project the Soviet Union as a peace-loving nation actively engaged in the world. The Soviets' participation at the Olympics raised the level of competition as they won the most medals and more gold medals than any other nation. The Cortina Games were held before the Hungarian uprising, and the Suez War, which occurred in the autumn of 1956; the Winter Games escaped the boycotts that plagued the Melbourne Olympics, which were celebrated in November and December of that year.
. By 1956, countries in the Soviet sphere of influence
had achieved a technological advantage and were able to broadcast Communist television programmes into countries such as Finland and West Germany. As a result, West Germans watched the 1956 Winter Olympics from an East German broadcast with a pro-Communist point-of-view. The political ramifications were not the only impact television had these Olympics. The Cortina Games did not generate revenue from television-the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley
were the first to do so-but were an experiment in the feasibility of televising a large multi-sport event. For the first time at an Olympic Games, the venues were built with television in mind. For example the grand stand at the cross-country ski venue (Lo Stadio della neve) was built facing south so that the television cameras would not be adversely affected by the rising or setting sun.
ski race and the women's 3x5 kilometre cross-country relay race. The Soviet Union requested the inclusion of a women's speed skating event, but this was rejected by the IOC at the 49th Session in Athens
in 1954.
took place on Thursday, 26 January 1956 in the Ice Stadium. Temporary seating was added to boost the stadium's capacity to 14,000 people. Athletes representing 32 nations marched in the ceremony and Mr Giovanni Gronchi
, President of the Italian Republic, declared the Games open. At this point, speed skater Guido Caroli skated into the stadium with the Olympic flame. While he was on a circuit of the Ice Stadium he tripped and fell over a television cable; he regained his feet and lit the cauldron. The Olympic oath was delivered by Giuliana Chenal-Minuzzo; this was the first time a female athlete gave the oath at an Olympic Games. The Olympic Hymn, officially recognised as such at the IOC congress in Paris on 13 June 1955, was played for the first time at the Cortina Games.
won gold and silver in the two-man event. Switzerland
took third place when they passed Spain
on the fourth run. In the four-man event held a week later, the Swiss won the gold medal, Italy picked up the silver, and the United States
won the bronze. Italy had participated in all six previous Olympic bobsleigh competitions but had never reached the podium. Italians Renzo Alverà
and Eugenio Monti
won the silver in the two-man competition and were also on the silver-winning four-man sleigh. Monti's silver medals at the 1956 Games were the first of six Olympic medals he would win in his bobsleigh career. The bobsleigh run
at Cortina was eventually renamed the Eugenio Monti track to honour his bobsleigh career. The medals won in bobsleigh would be the host nation's only medals at these Games. One complaint of the bobsleigh events was that the track surface suffered extensive damage due to overuse. This hampered the performance of teams drawn late in the competition.
, Czechoslovakia
, and the Soviet Union finished their preliminary pools with undefeated records. Germany
, the United States, and Sweden
took second place in their pools.
An important early matchup of the final rounds was the game between Canada (winners of six gold medals and one silver in the previous seven tournaments) and the United States (which had finished one place behind Canada each of the five times the Americans played). The United States beat Canada 4–1. The US then faced the USSR in a game that would eventually make the difference in the gold medal. The Soviets went on to win the match 4–0. The Soviets claimed the gold by beating Canada, while the United States took the silver and Canada, with their two losses, earned the bronze. The victory of the Soviet team was particularly noteworthy given the fact that the sport had only been introduced in their country two years previously.
was the women's Olympic champion despite sustaining a serious injury in practice. Less than two weeks before the Olympics she was practicing her skating routine when she hit a rut in the ice and fell. Her skate cut through several layers of clothing, and sliced her right leg at the ankle. Her teammate Carol Heiss
won the silver, and Austrian
Ingrid Wendl
earned the bronze medal. Americans Hayes Jenkins, Ronald Robertson, and Jenkins' brother David Jenkins were the men's medallists. The Austrian pair of Elisabeth Schwarz
and Kurt Oppelt
took the gold medal in the pairs event. Canadians Frances Dafoe
and Norris Bowden
won the silver and the Hungarian
siblings Marianna Nagy and László Nagy
defended their bronze medal from the 1952 Games.
was the top individual performer, with two gold medals and two world records. Grishin and Soviet teammate Yuri Mikhaylov
tied in the 1,500 metre race. It was decided to award both of the athletes gold medals and leave the silver medal position vacant. Sigvard Ericsson
of Sweden earned gold and silver medals and set an Olympic record in the 10,000 metre event.
of Austria swept the men's gold medals, becoming the first person to win three alpine skiing golds in a single Olympics. Led by Sailer, the Austrians dominated the alpine skiing events for both men and women, winning nine out of a possible eighteen medals. The Austrians were particularly successful in the giant slalom; the men swept the medals and the women took silver and bronze. Chiharu Igaya
won the first Winter Olympics medal for Japan
when he placed second in the slalom. Swiss teammates, Madeleine Berthod
and Renée Colliard
won the women's downhill and slalom races. Germany earned its only gold medal of the Games when Ossi Reichert
took first in the giant slalom.
from Finland. The other three men's events were won by three different nations: Norway
took the 15 kilometre race, Sweden the 50 kilometre event, and the Soviet Union won the relay. Overall the Soviet Union won seven out of a possible eighteen medals in cross-country skiing. Sweden, behind the strong skiing of Sixten Jernberg
, won six medals. Jernberg won a gold, two silvers, and a bronze, which were the first of nine Olympic medals he would earn in his cross-country career.
won the gold medal. Since its inception at the 1924 Games
, the country had only lost the Nordic combined event once. Stenersen was followed by Bengt Eriksson
of Sweden and Poland
's Franciszek Gąsienica Groń.
of jumping, which would soon come to be known as the Däscher technique. Before these Games, the athletes would hold their arms forward over their heads. Däscher reasoned that if the athlete held his arms at his side he would fly farther. Adherents to this new style dominated the competition. Finnish jumpers Antti Hyvärinen
and Aulis Källakorpi
took first and second place; Harry Glass of Germany won the bronze medal. This competition marked the end of Norwegian dominance in the sport. Since the first winter Games in 1924, the Norwegians had won the gold medal at each Olympics until 1956. The poor performance of the Norwegian jumpers was attributed to their refusal to use the new jumping technique.
, chairman of the International Olympic Committee
, declared the Olympics closed, and a fireworks display concluded the Games.
† The numeral indicates the number of event finals for each sport held that day.
A unique feature of the Cortina Olympics was the proximity of nearly all the event locations. With the exception of speed skating, the athletic venues were all in walking distance of each other within the town of Cortina. The speed skating events were held at Lake Misurina
, roughly 13 km (8.1 mi) from Cortina. The venues featured grandstands heated by silica coils built into the seats. Silica coil heating was a technology that had only recently become economical. The competitions were held without incident except for the skiing events, which suffered from a lack of snow.
A notable venue not found at the 1956 Games was an Olympic Village, where the athletes would be housed. The town of Cortina d'Ampezzo had a population of less than 7,000 people in 1956. Local hotels were concerned that after the Olympics an Olympic Village would so significantly increase the hotel capacity it would put many of them out of business. Athletes were billeted by local families or stayed in hotels during the Games.
The Ice Stadium (Lo Stadio del ghiaccio
) was intended to be the focal point of the Games. It was built on the banks of the Boite river just north of Cortina. After new roads and a bridge had been constructed, the stadium was an eight minute walk from the center of town. The stadium was built to accommodate 6,000–7,000 people. Due to space limitations the grandstands were constructed vertically, with tiers built directly on top of each other. There were two artificial ice rinks of 30 by, with a total ice surface of 4320 sqm. A special cooling plant was built under the stadium, which froze the ice through the evaporation of ammonia
. The construction cost totaled ITL
1.3 billion (US$2.1 million in 1956), making it the most expensive venue of these Games. The stadium was used for both the opening and closing ceremonies and all of the figure skating competitions. After the Games, the organising committee made the Ice Stadium a gift to the city of Cortina. It was used as an ice skating rink in the winter and an outdoor gymnasium for judo
and gymnastics in the summer.
The Apollonino Stadium
(Stadio Olympica) was used for the ice hockey tournament. Considerable work had to be done to bring the stadium up to date. A second rink was added to allow for two games to be held simultaneously. The stadium was outfitted with electric lights and the seating capacity was enlarged to accommodate 2,000 people.
The bobsleigh run
(La pista del bob) was originally constructed in 1928. The track was rebuilt and expanded several times during the years leading up to the Olympics. A state-of-the-art signal board was installed displaying a diagram of the run with the position of each sleigh on the run shown with lights.
Situated around 2.5 km (2 mi) from Cortina, near Zuel, the "Italia" Jump (Trampolino Italia
) was built in 1940, and replaced the "Franchetti" Jump, which had been constructed in 1923. With the 1956 Games coming to Cortina, the jump had to be updated to comply with the technical demands of the Olympics. On 8 December the new "Italia Jump" was completed at a cost of nearly ITL 310 million ($500,000). A special road was built between Cortina and the venue for the transport of athletes, officials and authorities. The reinforced concrete platform was 54 m (177 ft) high, and possessed a 87.5 m (287 ft) long, 35º steep in-run. Two grandstands, each with a capacity for 3,000 people, were placed on either side of the landing slope; a natural amphiteatre at the bottom of the hill could hold up to 40,000 standing spectators.
The Snow Stadium (Lo Stadio della neve
) was constructed 2 km (1.2 mi) from Cortina, and hosted all of the cross-country events. Two grandstands were constructed to accommodate 6,000 people. Three types of cross-country courses were constructed: one of 15 km (9 mi), three of 5 km (3 mi), and four of 10 km (6 mi). Some of these courses went through the bobsleigh
run. As a result, a bridge had to be constructed so events occurring in the two venues would not interfere with each other.
The alpine runs (Le piste alpine) were built on the slopes of Monte Tofana
and Monte Faloria
in the nearby Dolomite alps. The men's and women's downhill and slalom races were held on Tofana. Faloria was the site of the two giant slalom events. It took nearly two years to complete construction of the runs. In previous years, lack of snow was never an issue, but in the winter of 1956 there was insufficient snowfall for skiers to safely navigate the runs. As a consequence, snow had to be transported from other parts of the mountains by the Italian army.
The Misurina rink (La pista di Misurina
) was the location of the speed skating events. This was the last time that speed skating at the Olympics was held on natural ice. It was 13 km (8.1 mi) from Cortina. The rink was established at the northern end of the lake with a mountain backdrop. Stands were constructed to accommodate 8,500 people. Despite the event being held outdoors on lake ice, two world records and two Olympic records were broken during the competition.
Three of the venues for these games (the bobsleigh run, indoor arena, and ski jump) would serve as film location for the 1981 James Bond
film For Your Eyes Only
.
, while Argentina, Denmark, New Zealand, and Portugal did not compete at these Games, after having participated in the previous edition. Athletes from West Germany
(FRG) and East Germany
(GDR) competed together as the United Team of Germany
, an arrangement that would continue for the following two Olympiads.
Below is the list of participating nations, with the number of competitors indicated in brackets:
* Two gold medals were awarded when Soviet skaters tied in the 1,500 metre speed skating competition.
Winter Olympic Games
The Winter Olympic Games is a sporting event, which occurs every four years. The first celebration of the Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The original sports were alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating...
celebrated in Cortina d'Ampezzo
Cortina d'Ampezzo
Cortina d'Ampezzo is a town and comune in the southern Alps located in Veneto, a region in Northern Italy. Located in the heart of the Dolomites in an alpine valley, it is a popular winter sport resort known for its ski-ranges, scenery, accommodations, shops and après-ski scene...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. This celebration of the Games was held from 26 January to 5 February 1956. Cortina, which had originally been awarded the 1944 Winter Olympics
1944 Winter Olympics
The anticipated 1944 Winter Olympics, which would have been officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games , were to be celebrated in February 1944 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy...
, beat out Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Colorado Springs and Lake Placid
Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638....
for the right to host the 1956 Games. The Cortina Games were unique in that all of the venues except one were within walking distance of each other. The organising committee received financial support from the Italian government for infrastructure improvements, but the rest of the costs for the Games had to be privately financed. Consequently the organising committee was the first to rely heavily on corporate sponsorship for funding.
Thirty-two nations—the largest number of participating Winter Olympic countries to that point—competed in the four disciplines and twenty-four events. The Soviet Union
Soviet Union at the 1956 Winter Olympics
The Soviet Union competed in the Winter Olympic Games for the first time at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.-Medalists:- Alpine skiing :MenWomen- Cross-country skiing :MenWomen- Ice hockey :Men...
made its Winter Olympics debut and won more medals than any nation. Austrian
Austria at the 1956 Winter Olympics
Austria competed at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.-Medalists:- Alpine skiing:MenWomen- Bobsleigh:- Cross-country skiing:MenMen's 4 x 10 km relay- Figure skating:MenWomenPairs...
Toni Sailer
Toni Sailer
Anton Engelbert "Toni" Sailer was an Austrian alpine ski racer, who is considered among the best the in the sport. He won three gold medals in alphine skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics, becoming the only triple gold medalist from that Games and thus the most successful athlete in 1956...
became the first person to sweep all three alpine skiing events in a single Olympics. The figure skating competition was held outdoors for the last time at these Games. Logistically, the only problem encountered was a lack of snow at the alpine skiing events. To remedy this, the Italian army transported large amounts of snow to ensure the courses were adequately covered.
Politics did not impact the 1956 Winter Games as it had done at the Summer Games
1956 Summer Olympics
The 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations...
in Melbourne, Australia, where the Soviet response to the Hungarian uprising
Hungarian Uprising
Hungarian Uprising can refer to:*Hungarian Revolution of 1848 *Hungarian Revolution of 1956...
and the Suez War caused many nations to boycott the Games. The Cortina Olympics were the first Winter Olympics televised to a multi-national audience. Since Communist countries had superior technology, western European countries like Finland and West Germany were only able to receive Communist broadcasts of the Games. This was a significant win for the Soviets in the propaganda front of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
.
Host city selection
Cortina d'Ampezzo is a ski resort village situated in the Dolomite Alps in the north-eastern corner of Italy. In 1956, it had a population of 6,500 people. Count Alberto Bonacossa, an accomplished alpine skier, figure skater and a member of the International Olympic CommitteeInternational Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
(IOC) since 1925, spearheaded the effort to bring the Olympic Games to Cortina d'Ampezzo. He persuaded the city council of Cortina to bid for the 1944 Games
1944 Winter Olympics
The anticipated 1944 Winter Olympics, which would have been officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games , were to be celebrated in February 1944 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy...
. During the 38th IOC Congress held in London in 1939, Cortina d'Ampezzo was awarded the 1944 Winter Olympics, but the Games were canceled due to the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
In 1946 the Italian Winter Sports Federation convened in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and decided to support a new attempt from Cortina to host the Winter Games. A delegation, led by Count Bonacossa, presented Cortina's bid to host the 1952 Winter Olympics
1952 Winter Olympics
The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games, took place in Oslo, Norway, from 14 to 25 February 1952. Discussions about Oslo hosting the Winter Olympic Games began as early as 1935; the city wanted to host the 1948 Games, but World War II made that impossible...
at the 40th IOC Session in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden. They were backed by the city's council and the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI, Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano). A rival bid from Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, Norway, soundly defeated Cortina. Count Bonacossa's and CONI prepared a third bid, this time for the 1956 Winter Games. The host city selection took place in Rome, during the 43rd IOC Session. On 27 April 1949, Cortina d'Ampezzo was selected with 75% of the votes, over bids from Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Colorado Springs and Lake Placid
Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638....
. Unfortunately, Bonacossa died on 30 January 1953, three years before he could witness Cortina host the Games.
| 1956 Winter Olympics bidding result | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City | Country | Round 1 | ||||
| Cortina d'Ampezzo Cortina d'Ampezzo Cortina d'Ampezzo is a town and comune in the southern Alps located in Veneto, a region in Northern Italy. Located in the heart of the Dolomites in an alpine valley, it is a popular winter sport resort known for its ski-ranges, scenery, accommodations, shops and après-ski scene... |
 Italy |
31 | ||||
| Montreal Montreal Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America... |
 Canada |
7 | ||||
| Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado... |
 United States |
2 | ||||
| Lake Placid Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638.... |
United States |
1 | ||||
Organisation
The 1956 Winter Olympics was organised by a committee composed of members of the Italian National Olympic Committee and the Italian government. Observers were sent to the Oslo Games in 1952 to collect information regarding the sports programme, infrastructure, and accommodation requirements. The intelligence gathered there indicated that Cortina's facilities were not up to Olympic standards. The town did not have an ice stadium, or a speed skating rink; the alpine ski runs, ski jump and bobsleigh run were in poor condition. Cortina was a small village, and its infrastructure would be overwhelmed by the crowds expected for the Games. To accommodate the influx of people, new roads and rail lines had to be built, and the city's power grid and telephone lines expanded. Enhancements also had to be made to sewer and water capacity. The Italian government supplied Italian liraItalian lira
The lira was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. Between 1999 and 2002, the Italian lira was officially a “national subunit” of the euro...
460 million for infrastructure improvements. The Italian Olympic Committee was responsible for funding the rest of the costs of hosting the Games. They did this by setting aside monies from their own budget, ticket sales, and even culling funds from local football betting pools. The organising committee also took the unprecedented step of selling corporate sponsorship. For example, Fiat
Fiat
FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...
was designated the official car of the 1956 Winter Olympics, and Olivetti
Olivetti
Olivetti S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of computers, printers and other business machines.- Founding :The company was founded as a typewriter manufacturer in 1908 in Ivrea, near Turin, by Camillo Olivetti. The firm was mainly developed by his son Adriano Olivetti...
supplied typewriters for the 400 journalists attending the Games.
Politics
The Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
began after the allied victory in World War II. Until 1952, many of the Communist countries of Eastern Europe had participated in Worker's Olympics
Socialist Workers' Sport International
Socialist Workers' Sport International was an international socialist sporting organisation, based in Lucerne. It was founded in 1920, and consisted of six national federations at the time of its foundation. Initially it was known as International Association for Sports and Physical Culture...
or Spartakiads. The Soviet Union emerged from international isolation
International isolation
International isolation is a penalty applied by the international community or a sizeable or powerful group of countries, like the United Nations, towards one nation, government or people group...
by eschewing the Spartakiad and participating in the 1952 Summer Olympics
1952 Summer Olympics
The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Helsinki, Finland in 1952. Helsinki had been earlier given the 1940 Summer Olympics, which were cancelled due to World War II...
in Helsinki; they made their Winter Olympics debut at the Cortina Games. Soviet General Secretary
General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the title given to the leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. With some exceptions, the office was synonymous with leader of the Soviet Union...
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
's aim was to use international sports competitions, such as the Olympics, to demonstrate the superiority of Communism, strengthen political ties with other Communist countries, and project the Soviet Union as a peace-loving nation actively engaged in the world. The Soviets' participation at the Olympics raised the level of competition as they won the most medals and more gold medals than any other nation. The Cortina Games were held before the Hungarian uprising, and the Suez War, which occurred in the autumn of 1956; the Winter Games escaped the boycotts that plagued the Melbourne Olympics, which were celebrated in November and December of that year.
Television
The Cortina Games were the first Winter Olympics to be broadcast to a multi-national audience. Television as a mass communication technology was expanding rapidly in the 1950s. In the midst of the Cold War, Europe was a propaganda battlefield as countries relayed television signals across the Iron CurtainIron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
. By 1956, countries in the Soviet sphere of influence
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
had achieved a technological advantage and were able to broadcast Communist television programmes into countries such as Finland and West Germany. As a result, West Germans watched the 1956 Winter Olympics from an East German broadcast with a pro-Communist point-of-view. The political ramifications were not the only impact television had these Olympics. The Cortina Games did not generate revenue from television-the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley
1960 Winter Olympics
The 1960 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VIII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event held between February 18 and 28, 1960 in Squaw Valley, California, United States. In 1955 at the 50th IOC meeting, the organizing committee made the surprise choice to award Squaw Valley as...
were the first to do so-but were an experiment in the feasibility of televising a large multi-sport event. For the first time at an Olympic Games, the venues were built with television in mind. For example the grand stand at the cross-country ski venue (Lo Stadio della neve) was built facing south so that the television cameras would not be adversely affected by the rising or setting sun.
Events
The programme for the 1956 Winter Games saw two new events added to the four sports and twenty-two events from the 1952 Olympics, namely the men's 30 kilometre cross-countryCross-country skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics
At the 1956 Winter Olympics six cross country skiing events were contested after men's 30 km and women's 3 x 5 km relay were added. The competitions were held from Friday, January 27 to Sunday, February 4, 1956....
ski race and the women's 3x5 kilometre cross-country relay race. The Soviet Union requested the inclusion of a women's speed skating event, but this was rejected by the IOC at the 49th Session in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
in 1954.
Opening ceremonies
The opening ceremoniesOlympic Games ceremony
Olympic Games ceremonies were an integral part of the Ancient Olympic Games. Some of the elements of the modern ceremonies harken back to the Ancient Games from which the Modern Olympics draw their ancestry. An example of this is the prominence of Greece in both the opening and closing ceremonies...
took place on Thursday, 26 January 1956 in the Ice Stadium. Temporary seating was added to boost the stadium's capacity to 14,000 people. Athletes representing 32 nations marched in the ceremony and Mr Giovanni Gronchi
Giovanni Gronchi
Giovanni Gronchi was a Christian Democratic Italian politician who became the third President of the Italian Republic in 1955, after Luigi Einaudi...
, President of the Italian Republic, declared the Games open. At this point, speed skater Guido Caroli skated into the stadium with the Olympic flame. While he was on a circuit of the Ice Stadium he tripped and fell over a television cable; he regained his feet and lit the cauldron. The Olympic oath was delivered by Giuliana Chenal-Minuzzo; this was the first time a female athlete gave the oath at an Olympic Games. The Olympic Hymn, officially recognised as such at the IOC congress in Paris on 13 June 1955, was played for the first time at the Cortina Games.
Bobsleigh
There were two bobsleigh events, the two-man and four-man competitions. Every participating nation was limited to two sleighs in each event. The sleighs made four runs, with the total time summed. The ItaliansItaly at the 1956 Winter Olympics
Italy was the host nation for the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo. It was the first time that Italy had hosted the Olympic Games.-Medalists:- Alpine skiing:MenWomen- Bobsleigh:- Cross-country skiing:Men...
won gold and silver in the two-man event. Switzerland
Switzerland at the 1956 Winter Olympics
Switzerland competed at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.-Medalists:- Alpine skiing:MenWomen- Bobsleigh:- Cross-country skiing:MenMen's 4 x 10 km relay- Figure skating:MenWomen- Ice hockey:...
took third place when they passed Spain
Spain at the 1956 Winter Olympics
Spain competed at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.- Alpine skiing:Men- Bobsleigh:- Figure skating:Men-References:**...
on the fourth run. In the four-man event held a week later, the Swiss won the gold medal, Italy picked up the silver, and the United States
United States at the 1956 Winter Olympics
The United States competed at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.- Medalists :American figure skaters swept the men's singles competition, taking all three medals.- Alpine skiing:MenWomen- Bobsleigh:...
won the bronze. Italy had participated in all six previous Olympic bobsleigh competitions but had never reached the podium. Italians Renzo Alverà
Renzo Alverà
Renzo Alverà was an Italian bobsledder who competed from the mid 1950s to the early 1960s. At the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, he won silver medals in the two-man and four-man events...
and Eugenio Monti
Eugenio Monti
Eugenio Monti was an Italian bobsledder. He is one of the most successful athletes in the history of this sport, with ten World championship medals and 6 Olympic medals, but is known also for an act of sportsmanship during the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria that made him the first...
won the silver in the two-man competition and were also on the silver-winning four-man sleigh. Monti's silver medals at the 1956 Games were the first of six Olympic medals he would win in his bobsleigh career. The bobsleigh run
Eugenio Monti track
The Eugenio Monti track is a bobsleigh and skeleton track located in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. It is named after Eugenio Monti , who won six bobsleigh medals at the Winter Olympic Games between 1956 and 1968 and ten medals at the FIBT World Championships between 1957 and 1966...
at Cortina was eventually renamed the Eugenio Monti track to honour his bobsleigh career. The medals won in bobsleigh would be the host nation's only medals at these Games. One complaint of the bobsleigh events was that the track surface suffered extensive damage due to overuse. This hampered the performance of teams drawn late in the competition.
Ice hockey
The eighth Olympic ice hockey tournament also served as both the European and World Championships. Split into three pools before the tournament, the ten participating nations began by playing each team in their pool in a round robin format. The top two teams from each pool advanced to the final rounds, with the remaining teams playing in a consolation group for 7th through 10th places. CanadaCanada at the 1956 Winter Olympics
Canada competed at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Canada has competed at every Winter Olympic Games.-Medalists:- Alpine skiing:MenWomen- Cross-country skiing:Men- Figure skating:MenWomenPairs...
, Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia at the 1956 Winter Olympics
Czechoslovakia competed at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.- Alpine skiing:Men- Cross-country skiing:MenMen's 4 x 10 km relayWomenWomen's 3 x 5 km relay- Figure skating:MenWomenPairs...
, and the Soviet Union finished their preliminary pools with undefeated records. Germany
Germany at the 1956 Winter Olympics
Germany was represented at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy by a United Team of Germany of athletes from the and, for the first time, also from the which had not joined in 1952.The results were rather disappointing as only 2 medals were scored against...
, the United States, and Sweden
Sweden at the 1956 Winter Olympics
Sweden competed at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.-Medalists:- Alpine skiing:MenWomen- Bobsleigh:- Cross-country skiing:MenMen's 4 x 10 km relayWomenWomen's 3 x 5 km relay...
took second place in their pools.
An important early matchup of the final rounds was the game between Canada (winners of six gold medals and one silver in the previous seven tournaments) and the United States (which had finished one place behind Canada each of the five times the Americans played). The United States beat Canada 4–1. The US then faced the USSR in a game that would eventually make the difference in the gold medal. The Soviets went on to win the match 4–0. The Soviets claimed the gold by beating Canada, while the United States took the silver and Canada, with their two losses, earned the bronze. The victory of the Soviet team was particularly noteworthy given the fact that the sport had only been introduced in their country two years previously.
Figure skating
The Cortina Games were the last Olympics to feature figure skating outdoors. Skaters from the United States won five medals, sweeping the men's event and taking the top two spots in the ladies' event. Tenley AlbrightTenley Albright
Tenley Emma Albright, M.D. is an American figure skater. She is the 1956 Olympic champion in Ladies' Singles, 1952 Olympic silver medalist, the 1953 & 1955 World Champion, the 1953 & 1955 North American champion, and the 1952–1956 U.S...
was the women's Olympic champion despite sustaining a serious injury in practice. Less than two weeks before the Olympics she was practicing her skating routine when she hit a rut in the ice and fell. Her skate cut through several layers of clothing, and sliced her right leg at the ankle. Her teammate Carol Heiss
Carol Heiss
Carol Elizabeth Heiss Jenkins is an American figure skater. She is the 1960 Olympic Champion in Ladies Singles, 1956 Olympic silver medalist and five-time World Champion .-Biography:...
won the silver, and Austrian
Austria at the 1956 Winter Olympics
Austria competed at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.-Medalists:- Alpine skiing:MenWomen- Bobsleigh:- Cross-country skiing:MenMen's 4 x 10 km relay- Figure skating:MenWomenPairs...
Ingrid Wendl
Ingrid Wendl
Ingrid Turković-Wendl is an Austrian figure skater, television announcer, and political figure...
earned the bronze medal. Americans Hayes Jenkins, Ronald Robertson, and Jenkins' brother David Jenkins were the men's medallists. The Austrian pair of Elisabeth Schwarz
Elisabeth Schwarz
Elisabeth Schwarz is an Austrian operatic soprano. She was born in Salzburg, Austria.- External links :*...
and Kurt Oppelt
Kurt Oppelt
Kurt Oppelt was an Austrian figure skater. He won the 1956 Olympics pair skating event with his partner Sissy Schwarz. They also won the World and the European titles that same year. They also won the Austrian National Championships from 1952 thru 1956.Schwarz and Oppelt won the 1956 Olympic title...
took the gold medal in the pairs event. Canadians Frances Dafoe
Frances Dafoe
Frances Dafoe, was a Canadian pair skater. She was born in Toronto, Ontario. She competed with Norris Bowden. The couple captured four Canadian titles and two World Figure Skating Championships, and won the silver medal at the 1956 Winter Olympics.In 1991, she was made a Member of the Order of...
and Norris Bowden
Norris Bowden
Robert Norris Bowden was a Canadian figure skater.Born in Toronto, Bowden won championships in every division of Canadian figure skating...
won the silver and the Hungarian
Hungary at the 1956 Winter Olympics
Hungary competed at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.-Medalists:- Figure skating:Pairs-References:***...
siblings Marianna Nagy and László Nagy
László Nagy (figure skater)
László Nagy was a Hungarian pair skater. He and his partner and sister Marianne Nagy were two time Olympic bronze medalists, two-time European champions , and three-time World bronze medalists . He was born in Szombathely.-Competitive highlights:-References:* -Navigation:...
defended their bronze medal from the 1952 Games.
Speed skating
The Soviet Union dominated the speed skating events by winning seven of the twelve medals, including four golds. Soviet skaters set two world records, an Olympic record, and had at least one medallist in each of the four events. Yevgeny GrishinYevgeny Grishin
Yevgeny Romanovich Grishin was a Soviet/Russian speedskater. Grishin trained for the largest part of his speedskating career at CSKA Moscow...
was the top individual performer, with two gold medals and two world records. Grishin and Soviet teammate Yuri Mikhaylov
Yuri Mikhaylov
Yuri Matveyevich Mikhaylov was a speed skater who competed for the Soviet Union....
tied in the 1,500 metre race. It was decided to award both of the athletes gold medals and leave the silver medal position vacant. Sigvard Ericsson
Sigvard Ericsson
John Sigvard "Sigge" Ericsson is a former speed skater.Ericsson started competing internationally in 1951 at the European Allround Championships where he did not qualify for the final distance...
of Sweden earned gold and silver medals and set an Olympic record in the 10,000 metre event.
Alpine skiing
Six alpine skiing events were held, three for men and three for women. The races were the downhill, slalom and giant slalom. Toni SailerToni Sailer
Anton Engelbert "Toni" Sailer was an Austrian alpine ski racer, who is considered among the best the in the sport. He won three gold medals in alphine skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics, becoming the only triple gold medalist from that Games and thus the most successful athlete in 1956...
of Austria swept the men's gold medals, becoming the first person to win three alpine skiing golds in a single Olympics. Led by Sailer, the Austrians dominated the alpine skiing events for both men and women, winning nine out of a possible eighteen medals. The Austrians were particularly successful in the giant slalom; the men swept the medals and the women took silver and bronze. Chiharu Igaya
Chiharu Igaya
is a Japanese alpine skier who competed in the 1952 Winter Olympics, in the 1956 Winter Olympics, and in the 1960 Winter Olympics.He was born in Tomari, Hokkaidō and educated at Dartmouth College, from which he graduated in 1957....
won the first Winter Olympics medal for Japan
Japan at the 1956 Winter Olympics
Japan competed at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Chiharu Igaya won the nation's first ever medal at the Winter Olympic Games.-Medalists:- Alpine skiing:Men- Cross-country skiing:Men- Nordic combined :Events:...
when he placed second in the slalom. Swiss teammates, Madeleine Berthod
Madeleine Berthod
Madeleine Chamot-Berthod is a Swiss former alpine skier. Berthod was Swiss Sportspersonality of the year in 1956.-References:*...
and Renée Colliard
Renée Colliard
Renée Colliard is a former Swiss alpine skier. At the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, she became Olympic champion in Slalom.-References:...
won the women's downhill and slalom races. Germany earned its only gold medal of the Games when Ossi Reichert
Ossi Reichert
Rosa "Ossi" Reichert was a German Alpine skier. She was born in Sonthofen, Bayern, Germany.Her greatest victory was in the 1956 Winter Olympics giant slalom at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Germany's sole gold medal at these games. After having seriously injured an ankle in 1954, she was not expected to do...
took first in the giant slalom.
Cross-country skiing
Two women's events were added to the cross-country skiing programme for the first time. The Soviet women took the top two spots in the individual 10 kilometre race but lost to Finland in the new 3x5 kilometre relay. The men had a new event as well, the 30 kilometre race, which was won Veikko HakulinenVeikko Hakulinen
Veikko Johannes Hakulinen was a Finnish forestry technician and cross country skier, triple champion in both the olympics and world championship competition in cross country skiing...
from Finland. The other three men's events were won by three different nations: Norway
Norway at the 1956 Winter Olympics
Norway competed at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.-Medalists:- Alpine skiing:MenWomen- Bobsleigh:- Cross-country skiing:MenMen's 4 x 10 km relayWomenWomen's 3 x 5 km relay...
took the 15 kilometre race, Sweden the 50 kilometre event, and the Soviet Union won the relay. Overall the Soviet Union won seven out of a possible eighteen medals in cross-country skiing. Sweden, behind the strong skiing of Sixten Jernberg
Sixten Jernberg
Eddy Sixten Jernberg is a retired Swedish cross country skier....
, won six medals. Jernberg won a gold, two silvers, and a bronze, which were the first of nine Olympic medals he would earn in his cross-country career.
Nordic combined
There were significant changes to the Nordic combined event at the 1956 Games. The event had always been a cross-country race followed by a ski jump. Originally the competitors in the Nordic combined were entered into the open 18 kilometre cross-country race, which meant that they competed alongside athletes who were dedicated cross-country skiers. Their times were combined with their score from two ski jumps to determine the winner. At the Cortina Games, the format was altered to allow the Nordic combined athletes to compete in a dedicated 15 kilometre cross-country race. Two days later they had three jumps on the ski jump hill. Their best two scores were combined with their cross-country time to determine a winner. This format would become the standard for Nordic combined competitions going forward. Norway continued its dominance of Nordic combined when Sverre StenersenSverre Stenersen
Sverre Stenersen was a Norwegian Nordic combined skier who dominated the event throughout the 1950s. His biggest triumphs were winning individual golds both at the 1956 Winter Olympics and the 1954 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships...
won the gold medal. Since its inception at the 1924 Games
1924 Winter Olympics
The 1924 Winter Olympics, officially known as the I Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was held in 1924 in Chamonix, France...
, the country had only lost the Nordic combined event once. Stenersen was followed by Bengt Eriksson
Bengt Eriksson
Bengt Eriksson is a former Swedish nordic combined skier. He earned a silver in the individual event at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo....
of Sweden and Poland
Poland at the 1956 Winter Olympics
Poland competed at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Franciszek Gąsienica Groń won Poland's first ever medal at the Winter Olympic Games.-Medalists:- Alpine skiing:MenWomen- Bobsleigh:- Cross-country skiing:...
's Franciszek Gąsienica Groń.
Ski jumping
In the ski jumping event, the Swiss jumper, Andreas Däscher introduced a new styleDaescher technique
The Daescher technique is a ski jumping technique that was created by Andreas Daescher of Switzerland. This technique was created in the 1950s as a modification of the Kongsberger technique where the arms are placed backward toward the hips for a closer lean...
of jumping, which would soon come to be known as the Däscher technique. Before these Games, the athletes would hold their arms forward over their heads. Däscher reasoned that if the athlete held his arms at his side he would fly farther. Adherents to this new style dominated the competition. Finnish jumpers Antti Hyvärinen
Antti Hyvärinen
Antti Abram Hyvärinen was a Finnish ski jumper who competed in the 1950s. He was born in Rovaniemi....
and Aulis Källakorpi
Aulis Kallakorpi
Aulis Kallakorpi was a ski jumper from Finland. He won a silver medal in the Individual large hill event at the 1956 Winter Olympics.Kallakorpi also won the ski jumping event at the Holmenkollen ski festival in 1955....
took first and second place; Harry Glass of Germany won the bronze medal. This competition marked the end of Norwegian dominance in the sport. Since the first winter Games in 1924, the Norwegians had won the gold medal at each Olympics until 1956. The poor performance of the Norwegian jumpers was attributed to their refusal to use the new jumping technique.
Closing ceremonies
The closing ceremonies took place on Sunday, 5 February in the Ice Stadium. They were preceded by a figure skating exhibition performed by the men's, women's, and pairs figure skating champions. The flag bearers of each nation then entered the stadium followed by the flags of Greece and the United States. These two flags were raised to honor the nation that founded the Olympics and the next country to host the Winter Games. Avery BrundageAvery Brundage
Avery Brundage was an American amateur athlete, sports official, art collector, and philanthropist. Brundage competed in the 1912 Olympics and was the US national all-around athlete in 1914, 1916 and 1918...
, chairman of the International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
, declared the Olympics closed, and a fireworks display concluded the Games.
Calendar
The opening ceremony was held on 26 January, along with the first games of the hockey tournament. From 27 January until 5 February, the day of the closing ceremony, at least one event final was held each day.| OC | Opening ceremony | ● | Event competitions | 1 | Event finals† | CC | Closing ceremony |
| January 1956 February 1956 |
26 Thu |
27 Fri |
28 Sat |
29 Sun |
30 Mon |
31 Tue |
1 Wed |
2 Thu |
3 Fri |
4 Sat |
5 Sun |
Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceremonies | OC Olympic Games ceremony Olympic Games ceremonies were an integral part of the Ancient Olympic Games. Some of the elements of the modern ceremonies harken back to the Ancient Games from which the Modern Olympics draw their ancestry. An example of this is the prominence of Greece in both the opening and closing ceremonies... |
CC Olympic Games ceremony Olympic Games ceremonies were an integral part of the Ancient Olympic Games. Some of the elements of the modern ceremonies harken back to the Ancient Games from which the Modern Olympics draw their ancestry. An example of this is the prominence of Greece in both the opening and closing ceremonies... |
||||||||||
 Bobsleigh at the 1956 Winter Olympics -Medal summary:-Medal table:-References:**... |
● | 1 Bobsleigh at the 1956 Winter Olympics -Medal summary:-Medal table:-References:**... |
● | 1 Bobsleigh at the 1956 Winter Olympics -Medal summary:-Medal table:-References:**... |
2 | |||||||
 Ice hockey at the 1956 Winter Olympics At the 1956 Winter Olympics held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, one ice hockey event was held: men's ice hockey. This tournament was also counted as IIHF World Championship and IIHF European Championship. For World Championships Pool B matches were also played between GDR, Norway and Belgium in Berlin... |
● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 1 Ice hockey at the 1956 Winter Olympics At the 1956 Winter Olympics held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, one ice hockey event was held: men's ice hockey. This tournament was also counted as IIHF World Championship and IIHF European Championship. For World Championships Pool B matches were also played between GDR, Norway and Belgium in Berlin... |
1 | |
 Figure skating at the 1956 Winter Olympics At the 1956 Winter Olympics, three figure skating events were contested.-Medal summary:-Men:Referee:* Werner RittbergerAssistant Referee:* Walter S. Powell... |
● | ● | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||||||
 Speed skating at the 1956 Winter Olympics At the 1956 Winter Olympics, four speed skating events were contested. The competitions were held from Saturday, January 28 to Tuesday, January 31, 1956.-Medal summary:-Medal table:-References:*... |
1 Speed skating at the 1956 Winter Olympics - Men's 500 metres The 500 metres speed skating event was part of the speed skating at the 1956 Winter Olympics programme. The competition was held on naturally frozen ice on the Lake Misurina... |
1 Speed skating at the 1956 Winter Olympics - Men's 5000 metres The 5000 metres speed skating event was part of the speed skating at the 1956 Winter Olympics programme. The competition was held on naturally frozen ice on the Lake Misurina. It was held on Sunday, January 29, 1956 started at 11 a.m... |
1 Speed skating at the 1956 Winter Olympics - Men's 1500 metres The 1500 metres speed skating event was part of the speed skating at the 1956 Winter Olympics programme. The competition was held on naturally frozen ice on the Lake Misurina. It was held on Monday, January 30, 1956 started at 2 p.m... |
1 Speed skating at the 1956 Winter Olympics - Men's 10000 metres The 10000 metres speed skating event was part of the speed skating at the 1956 Winter Olympics programme. It was the last speed skating contest at this Games. The competition was held on naturally frozen ice on the Lake Misurina. It was held on Tuesday, January 31, 1956 started at 10 a.m... |
4 | |||||||
 Alpine skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics At the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, the six alpine skiing events were held from Friday, January 27 to Friday, February 3, 1956.Toni Sailer of Austria won all three men's events to become the first alpine ski racer to win three gold medals in a single Olympics... |
1 Alpine skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics – Ladies' giant slalom The Ladies giant slalom at the 1956 Winter Olympics was held on 27 January in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. It was run on the Canalone run on Mount Tofana. The course was long with a vertical drop. There were 46 gates that the women had to navigate. Forty-four women from sixteen countries competed... |
1 Alpine skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics – Men's giant slalom The men's giant slalom at the 1956 Winter Olympics was held on 29 January. It was contested on the Ilio Colli run on Mount Floria. The length of the course was with a vertical drop. There were 71 gates for the men to navigate on the course. Ninety-five men from twenty-nine countries entered... |
1 Alpine skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics – Ladies' slalom The ladies' slalom at the 1956 Winter Olympics was held on 30 January. It was run on the Col Druscie. The course was in length with a vertical drop. There were forty-one gates on the first run and forty-five gates for the second run. Forty-eight women from sixteen countries entered in the... |
1 Alpine skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics – Men's slalom The men's slalom at the 1956 Winter Olympics was held on 31 January on the Col Druscie run. The course was long with a vertical drop of . The first run had 79 gates, the second run had 92 gates. Fifty-seven athletes finished both runs. Twenty-three athletes were disqualified during the two... |
1 Alpine skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics – Ladies' downhill The women's downhill event at the 1956 Winter Olympics was held on 1 February. It was run on Mt. Tofana. The course was long with a vertical drop of . The women had to navigate around twenty gates. The Swiss women dominated the event. Madeleine Berthod won the gold and her teammate, Frieda... |
1 | 6 | |||||
 Cross-country skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics At the 1956 Winter Olympics six cross country skiing events were contested after men's 30 km and women's 3 x 5 km relay were added. The competitions were held from Friday, January 27 to Sunday, February 4, 1956.... |
1 Cross-country skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics – Men's 30 kilometres The men's 30 km cross country race at the 1956 Winter Olympics took place on 27 January. It was held at the Snow Stadium , which was about from Cotrina. Fifty-one competitors from eighteen countries participated in the event. Finnish skier Veikko Hakulinen won the event by only... |
1 Cross-country skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics – Ladies' 10 kilometres The ladies' 10 kilometre cross-country race at the 1956 Winter Olympics was held on 28 January. It was held at the Snow Stadium , which was about from Cotrina. Thirty-seven competitors from eleven countries participated in the event. The Soviet Union won the top two spots when Lyubov... |
1 Cross-country skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics – Men's 15 kilometres The men's 15 kilometre cross-country race at the 1956 Winter Olympics was held on 30 January. It was held at the Snow Stadium , which was about from Cotrina. Sixty-one competitors from twenty countries participated in the event... |
1 | 1 Cross-country skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics – Men's 50 kilometres The men's 50 kilometre cross-country race at the 1956 Winter Olympics took place on 2 February. It was held at the Snow Stadium , which was about from Cotrina. Thirty skiers from thirteen countries participated in the event. The nordic countries once again dominated the event... |
1 | 6 | |||||
 Nordic combined at the 1956 Winter Olympics At the 1956 Winter Olympics, the Individual Nordic combined event was contested.-Individual:January 31, 1956The cross-country skiing distance was reduced from 18 km to 15 km starting with this Olympics.-References:*... |
● | 1 Nordic combined at the 1956 Winter Olympics At the 1956 Winter Olympics, the Individual Nordic combined event was contested.-Individual:January 31, 1956The cross-country skiing distance was reduced from 18 km to 15 km starting with this Olympics.-References:*... |
1 | |||||||||
 Ski jumping at the 1956 Winter Olympics At the 1956 Winter Olympics, the Ski jumping event was contested in Cortina d'Ampezzo.-K90 individual ski jumping:The competition took place at "Trampolina Italia" with a K-Point of 72m.... |
1 Ski jumping at the 1956 Winter Olympics At the 1956 Winter Olympics, the Ski jumping event was contested in Cortina d'Ampezzo.-K90 individual ski jumping:The competition took place at "Trampolina Italia" with a K-Point of 72m.... |
1 | ||||||||||
| Total event finals | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 24 | |
| Cumulative Total | 2 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 23 | 24 | 24 |
† The numeral indicates the number of event finals for each sport held that day.
Venues
Lake Misurina
Lake Misurina is the greater natural lake of the Cadore and it is 1,754 m above sea level, fraction of Auronzo di Cadore . The perimeter is 2.6 km long, while the depth is 5 m....
, roughly 13 km (8.1 mi) from Cortina. The venues featured grandstands heated by silica coils built into the seats. Silica coil heating was a technology that had only recently become economical. The competitions were held without incident except for the skiing events, which suffered from a lack of snow.
A notable venue not found at the 1956 Games was an Olympic Village, where the athletes would be housed. The town of Cortina d'Ampezzo had a population of less than 7,000 people in 1956. Local hotels were concerned that after the Olympics an Olympic Village would so significantly increase the hotel capacity it would put many of them out of business. Athletes were billeted by local families or stayed in hotels during the Games.
The Ice Stadium (Lo Stadio del ghiaccio
Stadio Olympica
Stadio Olympica, listed as Stadio Olimpico del Ghiaccio , is an indoor ice hockey arena in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. It was built in 1955 and holds 12,000 people. The ice hockey games, as well as the other skating events and opening and closing ceremonies from the 1956 Winter Olympics were held...
) was intended to be the focal point of the Games. It was built on the banks of the Boite river just north of Cortina. After new roads and a bridge had been constructed, the stadium was an eight minute walk from the center of town. The stadium was built to accommodate 6,000–7,000 people. Due to space limitations the grandstands were constructed vertically, with tiers built directly on top of each other. There were two artificial ice rinks of 30 by, with a total ice surface of 4320 sqm. A special cooling plant was built under the stadium, which froze the ice through the evaporation of ammonia
Ammonia
Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . It is a colourless gas with a characteristic pungent odour. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to food and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or...
. The construction cost totaled ITL
Italian lira
The lira was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. Between 1999 and 2002, the Italian lira was officially a “national subunit” of the euro...
1.3 billion (US$2.1 million in 1956), making it the most expensive venue of these Games. The stadium was used for both the opening and closing ceremonies and all of the figure skating competitions. After the Games, the organising committee made the Ice Stadium a gift to the city of Cortina. It was used as an ice skating rink in the winter and an outdoor gymnasium for judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
and gymnastics in the summer.
The Apollonino Stadium
Apollonino Stadium
Appollonino Stadium is an ice hockey venue located in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. It hosted some of the ice hockey events for the 1956 Winter Olympics....
(Stadio Olympica) was used for the ice hockey tournament. Considerable work had to be done to bring the stadium up to date. A second rink was added to allow for two games to be held simultaneously. The stadium was outfitted with electric lights and the seating capacity was enlarged to accommodate 2,000 people.
The bobsleigh run
Eugenio Monti track
The Eugenio Monti track is a bobsleigh and skeleton track located in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. It is named after Eugenio Monti , who won six bobsleigh medals at the Winter Olympic Games between 1956 and 1968 and ten medals at the FIBT World Championships between 1957 and 1966...
(La pista del bob) was originally constructed in 1928. The track was rebuilt and expanded several times during the years leading up to the Olympics. A state-of-the-art signal board was installed displaying a diagram of the run with the position of each sleigh on the run shown with lights.
Situated around 2.5 km (2 mi) from Cortina, near Zuel, the "Italia" Jump (Trampolino Italia
Trampolino Olimpico
Trampolino Olimpico is a ski jump hill in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. It was used as arena for ski jumping and Nordic combination for the 1956 Winter Olympics. The stadium holds a maximum of 40,000 spectators, and was built in 1955.It was featured in a scene in the 1981 film For Your Eyes...
) was built in 1940, and replaced the "Franchetti" Jump, which had been constructed in 1923. With the 1956 Games coming to Cortina, the jump had to be updated to comply with the technical demands of the Olympics. On 8 December the new "Italia Jump" was completed at a cost of nearly ITL 310 million ($500,000). A special road was built between Cortina and the venue for the transport of athletes, officials and authorities. The reinforced concrete platform was 54 m (177 ft) high, and possessed a 87.5 m (287 ft) long, 35º steep in-run. Two grandstands, each with a capacity for 3,000 people, were placed on either side of the landing slope; a natural amphiteatre at the bottom of the hill could hold up to 40,000 standing spectators.
The Snow Stadium (Lo Stadio della neve
Lo Stadio della neve
Lo Stadio della neve is a temporary stadium located in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Located in the Campo di Sotto area, the venue hosted the cross-country skiing and the cross-country skiing part of the nordic combined events for the 1956 Winter Olympics....
) was constructed 2 km (1.2 mi) from Cortina, and hosted all of the cross-country events. Two grandstands were constructed to accommodate 6,000 people. Three types of cross-country courses were constructed: one of 15 km (9 mi), three of 5 km (3 mi), and four of 10 km (6 mi). Some of these courses went through the bobsleigh
Bobsleigh at the 1956 Winter Olympics
-Medal summary:-Medal table:-References:**...
run. As a result, a bridge had to be constructed so events occurring in the two venues would not interfere with each other.
The alpine runs (Le piste alpine) were built on the slopes of Monte Tofana
Tofane
Tofane is a mountain group in the Italian Dolomites, west of Cortina d'Ampezzo, in the province of Belluno, Veneto, northern Italy. Most of the Tofane lies within Parco naturale delle Dolomiti d'Ampezzo, a nature park.-Peaks:...
and Monte Faloria
Mount Faloria
Mount Faloria is a mountain located in the Dolomites in Italy near Cortina d'Ampezzo. It hosted some of the alpine skiing events at the 1956 Winter Olympics.-References:* pp. 165-79. & *...
in the nearby Dolomite alps. The men's and women's downhill and slalom races were held on Tofana. Faloria was the site of the two giant slalom events. It took nearly two years to complete construction of the runs. In previous years, lack of snow was never an issue, but in the winter of 1956 there was insufficient snowfall for skiers to safely navigate the runs. As a consequence, snow had to be transported from other parts of the mountains by the Italian army.
The Misurina rink (La pista di Misurina
Lake Misurina
Lake Misurina is the greater natural lake of the Cadore and it is 1,754 m above sea level, fraction of Auronzo di Cadore . The perimeter is 2.6 km long, while the depth is 5 m....
) was the location of the speed skating events. This was the last time that speed skating at the Olympics was held on natural ice. It was 13 km (8.1 mi) from Cortina. The rink was established at the northern end of the lake with a mountain backdrop. Stands were constructed to accommodate 8,500 people. Despite the event being held outdoors on lake ice, two world records and two Olympic records were broken during the competition.
Three of the venues for these games (the bobsleigh run, indoor arena, and ski jump) would serve as film location for the 1981 James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film For Your Eyes Only
For Your Eyes Only (film)
For Your Eyes Only is the twelfth spy film in the James Bond series and the fifth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It marked the directorial debut of John Glen, who had worked as editor and second unit director in three other Bond films. The screenplay by Richard Maibaum...
.
Participating nations
A total of 32 nations sent athletes to Cortina d'Ampezzo. Along with the Soviet Union, Bolivia and Iran competed at the Winter Games for the first time. Korea, Liechtenstein, and Turkey returned after having missed the 1952 Winter Olympics1952 Winter Olympics
The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games, took place in Oslo, Norway, from 14 to 25 February 1952. Discussions about Oslo hosting the Winter Olympic Games began as early as 1935; the city wanted to host the 1948 Games, but World War II made that impossible...
, while Argentina, Denmark, New Zealand, and Portugal did not compete at these Games, after having participated in the previous edition. Athletes from West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
(FRG) and East Germany
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
(GDR) competed together as the United Team of Germany
United Team of Germany
The Unified Team of Germany , competed in the 1956, 1960, and 1964 Winter and Summer Olympic Games as a united team of athletes from the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic...
, an arrangement that would continue for the following two Olympiads.
Below is the list of participating nations, with the number of competitors indicated in brackets:
Medal count
These are the top ten nations that won medals at the 1956 Winter Olympics:| 1 | 7* | 3 | 6 | 16 | |
| 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 11 | |
| 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | |
| 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | |
| 5 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 10 | |
| 6 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | |
| 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 10 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
See also
- 1956 Summer Olympics1956 Summer OlympicsThe 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations...
- Olympic Games
- List of IOC country codes
- Other Olympic Games celebrated in Italy
- 1960 Summer Olympics1960 Summer OlympicsThe 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held from August 25 to September 11, 1960 in Rome, Italy...
– Rome - 2006 Winter Olympics2006 Winter OlympicsThe 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
– TurinTurinTurin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
External links
- "Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956" – Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee.