1984 Winter Olympics
Encyclopedia
The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event
which was celebrated from 8–19 February 1984 in Sarajevo
, Yugoslavia
. Other candidate cities were Sapporo, Japan; and Gothenburg
, Sweden. It was the first Winter Games and the second Olympics held in a Communist state
(the first was the 1980 Summer Olympics
in Moscow, Soviet Union
).
in Athens, Greece. Sarajevo was selected over Sapporo, Japan by a margin of three votes. Sarajevo was part of the united Yugoslavia at that time.
and then proceeded by aeroplane to Dubrovnik
. The total distance of the torch relay through Yugoslavia was 5,289 km (plus 2,879 km of local routes). There were two main routes – one in the west (Split – Ljubljana
– Zagreb
– Sarajevo with 2,602km of length) and the other in the east (Skopje
– Novi Sad
– Belgrade
– Sarajevo
with 2,687km of length). The final torchbearer, from a total of 1600, was figure skater Sanda Dubravčić
, who received the torch from skier Bojan Križaj
. Today one of the two original torches is in Slovenia in a private collection in Žalec
. Also 20 more Torches are in Greece owned by individual athletes we were the torchbeareres from Ancient Olympia to the near local military airport and from Athens Domestic Airport to the Panathinaikon Stadium were the Ceremony of handing over the Olympic Flame to the Serajevo Olympic Games Committee
s (NOCs) entered athletes at the 1984 Winter Olympic Games.
Egypt, Monaco, Puerto Rico
, Senegal, and Virgin Islands
participated in their 1st Winter Olympic Games.
The Republic of China ended its boycott of the Olympic Games over the controversy regarding the IOC's recognition of the People's Republic of China, and competed as Chinese Taipei
for the first time.
Multi-sport event
A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports between organized teams of athletes from nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of international significance was the modern Olympic Games.Many...
which was celebrated from 8–19 February 1984 in Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
, Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
. Other candidate cities were Sapporo, Japan; and Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden. It was the first Winter Games and the second Olympics held in a Communist state
Communist state
A communist state is a state with a form of government characterized by single-party rule or dominant-party rule of a communist party and a professed allegiance to a Leninist or Marxist-Leninist communist ideology as the guiding principle of the state...
(the first was the 1980 Summer Olympics
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...
in Moscow, Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
).
Host city selection
The host city for the XIV Winter Olympics was announced on 18 May 1978 during a 80th session 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...
in Athens, Greece. Sarajevo was selected over Sapporo, Japan by a margin of three votes. Sarajevo was part of the united Yugoslavia at that time.
| 1984 Winter Olympics bidding results | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City | Country | Round 1 | Round 2 | |||
| Sarajevo Sarajevo Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans.... |
 Kingdom of Yugoslavia |
31 | 39 | |||
| Sapporo |  Japan |
33 | 36 | |||
| Gothenburg Gothenburg Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area... |
 Sweden |
10 | — | |||
Torch relay
The torch relay for the 1984 Sarajevo Olympic games started in OlympiaOlympia, Greece
Olympia , a sanctuary of ancient Greece in Elis, is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times, comparable in importance to the Pythian Games held in Delphi. Both games were held every Olympiad , the Olympic Games dating back possibly further than 776 BC...
and then proceeded by aeroplane to Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641...
. The total distance of the torch relay through Yugoslavia was 5,289 km (plus 2,879 km of local routes). There were two main routes – one in the west (Split – Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
– Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
– Sarajevo with 2,602km of length) and the other in the east (Skopje
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
– Novi Sad
Novi Sad
Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....
– Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
– Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
with 2,687km of length). The final torchbearer, from a total of 1600, was figure skater Sanda Dubravčić
Sanda Dubravcic
Sanda Dubravčić-Šimunjak is a Croatian figure skater who competed internationally for Yugoslavia. She is the 1981 European silver medalist...
, who received the torch from skier Bojan Križaj
Bojan Križaj
Bojan Križaj is a Slovenian former alpine skier.-Career:Križaj, born in Kranj, was a member of a well known Tržič ski family so he started skiing at the age of 3. In the season 1976/77 he received the first World Cup point, qualified among the 15 best slalom runners and later during that season...
. Today one of the two original torches is in Slovenia in a private collection in Žalec
Žalec
Žalec is a town and municipality in central Slovenia. It lies in the valley of the lower course of the Savinja River to the west of Celje. The primary economic activity of the region is growing hops, which is reflected by the city's coat-of-arms. The area was part of the traditional region of Lower...
. Also 20 more Torches are in Greece owned by individual athletes we were the torchbeareres from Ancient Olympia to the near local military airport and from Athens Domestic Airport to the Panathinaikon Stadium were the Ceremony of handing over the Olympic Flame to the Serajevo Olympic Games Committee
Highlights
- First Games under the presidency of Juan Antonio SamaranchJuan Antonio SamaranchDon Juan Antonio Samaranch y Torelló, 1st Marquis of Samaranch, Grandee of Spain , known in Catalan as Joan Antoni Samaranch i Torelló , was a Catalan Spanish sports administrator who served as the seventh President of the International Olympic Committee from 1980 to 2001...
. - The 20 kilometre race was added to women's Nordic skiing.
- Skier Jure FrankoJure FrankoJure Franko is a Slovenian former alpine skier, best known for winning a giant slalom silver medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo....
won Yugoslavia's first Winter Olympic medal; a silver in the giant slalom. - Marja-Liisa Hämäläinen won all three individual cross-countryCross-country skiingCross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...
races for women. - Gaétan BoucherGaétan BoucherGaétan Boucher, OC, CQ is a former Speed skating Olympic champion from Canada.A four-time Olympic medalist, Boucher was awarded the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's outstanding male athlete of 1984. He was named number 10 on the list of Canada's Athletes of the 20th Century...
and Karin EnkeKarin EnkeKarin Enke , also known as Karin Busch, Karin Kania, and Karin Enke-Richter, is a former speed skater, one of the most dominant ones of the 1980s.-Short biography:...
each won two gold medals in speed skatingSpeed skatingSpeed skating, or speedskating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in traveling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating...
, while East German women win all but three out of the twelve medals in the sport. - Austria, usually a formidable winter sports nation, won only one bronze medal.
- Biathlete Eirik KvalfossEirik KvalfossEirik Kvalfoss is a former biathlete from Voss, Norway. He won three medals during the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo: gold in the 10 km sprint, silver in relay and bronze in the 20 km individual. In total Kvalfoss won 11 individual Olympic and World Championship medals between 1982–1991, as...
earned a complete set of medals. - Twin brothers PhilPhil MahrePhilip Mahre is a former champion alpine ski racer, widely regarded as one of the greatest American skiers of all time...
and Steve MahreSteve MahreSteven Mahre is a former alpine ski racer and younger twin brother of ski racer Phil Mahre....
took first and second place in the slalomSlalom skiingSlalom is an alpine skiing discipline, involving skiing between poles spaced much closer together than in Giant Slalom, Super-G or Downhill, thereby causing quicker and shorter turns.- Origins :...
. - Torvill and DeanTorvill and DeanTorvill and Dean are British ice dancers and former British-, European-, Olympic- and World champions...
of the United Kingdom earned across-the-board perfect scores for artistic impression in the free dance ice dancingIce dancingIce dancing is a form of figure skating which draws from the world of ballroom dancing. It was first competed at the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, but did not become a Winter Olympic Games medal sport until 1976....
competition, a feat that was never matched. - Disabled skiingDisabled skiing at the 1984 Winter OlympicsDisabled skiing was an Olympic demonstration sport for the first time at the 1984 Winter Olympics. There was alpine giant slalom held for men only, with medals awarded in four different standing disability classes. As a demonstration sport, these medals did not contribute to the overall medal count...
was a demonstration sportDemonstration sportA demonstration sport is a sport which is played to promote itself, most commonly during the Olympic Games, but also at other sporting events.Demonstration sports were officially introduced in 1912 Summer Olympics, when Sweden decided to include glima, traditional Icelandic wrestling, in the...
for the first time. - Bill JohnsonBill Johnson (skier)William Dean "Bill" Johnson is a former alpine ski racer with the U.S. Ski Team. He was the first American male to win an Olympic gold medal in alpine skiing, winning the downhill at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. Bill has 2 sons, named Tyler and Nick...
became the first American to win an Olympic downhill event. - Lamine GuèyeLamine Guèye (skier)Lamine Guèye is a Senegalese skier, and the current president of the Senegalese Ski Federation, which he founded in 1979.Guèye represented Senegal at the 1984, 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics...
of SenegalSenegal at the 1984 Winter OlympicsSenegal competed in the Winter Olympic Games for the first time at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. Senegal was represented at the Sarajevo Games by Lamine Guèye, the first Black African alpine skier to compete at the Olympics....
was the first Black African skier to compete in the Winter Olympics. - The closing ceremony was held indoors in the figure skating venue. The next time the closing ceremony for the Winter Games would be held indoors was the 2010 Winter Olympics2010 Winter OlympicsThe 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
in VancouverVancouverVancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
.
Official mascot
Readers of Yugoslav newspapers were asked to choose the mascot for the 1984 Winter Olympics from a list of six finalists. The winner was Vučko, the little wolf, designed by Slovenian designer and illustrator Jože Trobec. The other finalists were a chipmunk, a lamb, a mountain goat, a porcupine, and a snowball.City venues
- Koševo StadiumAsim Ferhatovic Hase StadiumAsim Ferhatović Hase Stadium is a stadium owned by the city of Sarajevo. It is also known as Koševo Stadium and formerly Olympic Stadium. Koševo Stadium is located in the Koševo neighborhood of Sarajevo and it is used mostly by FK Sarajevo....
– opening ceremonies - Zetra Ice Hall – figure skating, ice hockey (final), closing ceremonies
- Zetra Ice RinkZetra Ice RinkThe Zetra Ice Rank is an outdoor venue located in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.Constructed between 1981 and 1982, it hosted the speed skating events for the 1984 Winter Olympics....
– speed skating - Skenderija II HallSkenderijaSkenderija is a city center in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was constructed in 1969 as a cultural and sport center, but was later revitalized and expanded for the 1984 Winter Olympic Games. Below the structure is a shopping mall...
– ice hockey
Mountain venues
- BjelašnicaBjelašnicaBjelašnica is a mountain in central Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is found directly to the southwest of Sarajevo, bordering Mt. Igman. Bjelašnica's tallest peak rises to an elevation of 2067 meters ....
– alpine skiing (men) - JahorinaJahorinaMount Jahorina , is a mountain in south-eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, located southeast of Sarajevo within Republika Srpska. It borders fellow Olympic mountain Trebević...
– alpine skiing (women) - Igman, Veliko PoljeIgmanIgman is a mountain in central Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is found directly to the southwest of Sarajevo, bordering Bjelašnica mountain and the city of Ilidža. Igman's highest point, Vlahinja Ridge, is 1502 meters , making it the shortest of the Sarajevo mountains.Igman is a popular destination...
– cross-country skiing, Nordic combined (cross-country skiing), biathlon - Igman, Malo PoljeIgmanIgman is a mountain in central Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is found directly to the southwest of Sarajevo, bordering Bjelašnica mountain and the city of Ilidža. Igman's highest point, Vlahinja Ridge, is 1502 meters , making it the shortest of the Sarajevo mountains.Igman is a popular destination...
– Nordic combined (ski jumping), ski jumping - TrebevićTrebevicTrebević is a mountain in central Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is found directly to the southeast of Sarajevo, territory of East Sarajevo city, bordering Jahorina mountain. Trebević is 1627 meters tall, making it the second shortest of the Sarajevo mountains.During the Middle Ages, Trebević was...
– bobsleigh, luge
Other facilities
- Olympic Village, Mojmilo
- Press Village, Dobrinja
- Hotels: Igman (Igman), Famos (Bjelašnica), Smuk (Bjelašnica), Bistrica (Jahorina)
Medal count
| 1 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 24 | |
| 2 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 25 | |
| 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 | |
| 4 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 13 | |
| 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 | |
| 6 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 9 | |
| 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | |
| 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Participants
A then record of 49 National Olympic CommitteeNational Olympic Committee
National Olympic Committees are the national constituents of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, they are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games...
s (NOCs) entered athletes at the 1984 Winter Olympic Games.
Egypt, Monaco, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, Senegal, and Virgin Islands
Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands are the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, which form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean...
participated in their 1st Winter Olympic Games.
The Republic of China ended its boycott of the Olympic Games over the controversy regarding the IOC's recognition of the People's Republic of China, and competed as Chinese Taipei
Chinese Taipei
Chinese Taipei is the designated name used by the Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan, to participate in some international organizations and almost all sporting events, such as the Olympics, Paralympics, Asian Games and Asian Para Games...
for the first time.