East Germany at the Olympics
Encyclopedia
The German Democratic Republic (GDR), often called East Germany, had founded a separate National Olympic Committee
for socialist East Germany on 22 April 1951 in the Rotes Rathaus
of East Berlin, as the last of three German Olympic committees of the time. It was not recognized by the IOC for over a decade.
following World War II
, three separate states had been founded under occupation. After attempts made in 1947 to continue the tradition of Germany at the Olympics
, which had started before 1896, were denied by the Allies, no German team could participate in the 1948 games. Finally, in 1949, the National Olympic Committee for Germany
was founded in the Western Federal Republic of Germany
, later recognized by the IOC to cover both larger German states. The small, French-occupied Saarland
and its NOC (SAA) had, for about a decade, not been allowed to join the German counterparts, but joined the Federal Republic of Germany
after 1955.
East German authorities of the Nationales Olympisches Komitee für Ostdeutschland refused to send their athletes to the 1952 games in an all-German team while demanding a team of their own, which was denied by the IOC.
. While this team was simply called Germany at the time, it is currently designated by the IOC as EUA, standing for Équipe unifiée d'Allemagne.
, the socialist GDR erected the Berlin wall
in 1961, and renamed their NOC to Nationales Olympisches Komitee der DDR in 1965. It was recognized as an independent NOC by the IOC in 1968. Thus, the GDR left the United Team of Germany and started to send a separate East German team between 1968 and 1988, being absent in Summer of 1984 in support of the Soviet-led boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics
.
While the history of the GDR, a small state with a population of about 16 million, is short, and even shorter at the Olympics, it was rather successful. From 1976 to 1988, they came second in all of their three summer Olympics, behind the Soviet Union, and well ahead of larger West Germany. This was even bettered at five winter games, with 4 second place rankings, and even a first in the 1984 Winter Olympics
.
It is widely believed that doping (predominantly anabolic steroid
s) allowed East Germany, with its small population, to become a world leader in the following two decades, winning a large number of Olympic
and world gold medals and records, with a number of athletes subsequently failing doping tests or suspected of taking performance enhancing drugs. However, in many cases where suspicions existed, no proof of wrongdoing was uncovered - thus the majority of records and medals won by East German athletes still stand. Aside from an extensive doping programme, East Germany invested with zeal in sport - particularly Olympic sport, for reasons of prestige, propaganda and rivalry with West Germany - with an extensive state bureaucracy to select and train promising athletes and world-class coaches; thus it is difficult to attribute cases where no physical proof exists to doping rather than exceptional performance.
An important figure in the GDR was Manfred Ewald
(1926–2002), member of SED
central committee
since 1963. He was 1952 to 1960 president of the "Staatliches Komitee für Körperkultur und Sport" (Stako). Since 1961, he became president of the "Deutscher Turn- und Sportbund" (DTSB), governing all sport in the GDR, and in 1973 also of the NOC. He is considered the organiser of the "GDR sports miracle". His post-1990 autobiography was titled "I was the Sport". He fell from grace in 1988, being removed from the DTSB office. In 2001, he was sentenced for his role in doping
.
in the process of German reunification
in 1990. Accordingly, the "NOC of the GDR" joined the "NOC of Germany" on 17 November 1990. The German athletes competed at the Olympic Games in a single team again from 1992 onwards. Especially in the first decade after reunification athletes from the Eastern part of Germany contributed far above average to the medals won by Germany. This would indicate that doping was not the only reason East Germany was so successful in the Olympics (and more successful than West Germany in particular), but professional training conditions were at least as significant. Exposure of doping was done by a different state system (a former rival, who was far less successful), one thing that never happened in other countries. The medal scores after 1990 came closer to that of East Germany than to that of West Germany before 1990. For example of the 29 medals won by Germany in the 2006 Winter Olympics
14 (6 gold) have been by athletes born in East Germany (one-fifth of the population of Germany) and only 9 (3 gold) by athletes from West Germany (6 medals won in mixed teams). In recent years some centers of German top-class sport are relocating to the West (for example in Winter sport to Bavaria) but the East is still above average strong. Trainers from East Germany like Uwe Müßiggang were important in establishing successful sport conditions in many fields of United Germany. Also many German top-class athletes who today live in the western part of Germany started their professional sport career in the eastern part and can be seen as part of the large-scale exodus of young people from the East to the West since reunification.
National 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...
for socialist East Germany on 22 April 1951 in the Rotes Rathaus
Rotes Rathaus
The Red City Hall is the town hall of Berlin, located in the Mitte district on Rathausstraße near Alexanderplatz. It is the home to the governing mayor and the government of the Federal state of Berlin...
of East Berlin, as the last of three German Olympic committees of the time. It was not recognized by the IOC for over a decade.
Division of Germany
After the division of GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
following 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...
, three separate states had been founded under occupation. After attempts made in 1947 to continue the tradition of Germany at the Olympics
Germany at the Olympics
German athletes have taken part in most of the Olympic Games since the first modern Games in 1896. Germany has hosted three Olympic Games, in 1936 both the Winter and Summer Games, and the 1972 Summer Olympics. In addition, Germany had been selected to host the 1916 Summer Olympics as well as the...
, which had started before 1896, were denied by the Allies, no German team could participate in the 1948 games. Finally, in 1949, the National Olympic Committee for Germany
Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund
Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund was founded on 20 May 2006 by a merger of the Deutscher Sportbund , and the Nationales Olympisches Komitee für Deutschland which dates back to 1895, the year it was founded and recognized as NOC by the IOC.Seated in Frankfurt , it represents 89,000...
was founded in the Western Federal Republic of 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....
, later recognized by the IOC to cover both larger German states. The small, French-occupied Saarland
Saarland
Saarland is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population, it is the smallest state in Germany other than the city-states...
and its NOC (SAA) had, for about a decade, not been allowed to join the German counterparts, but joined the Federal Republic of 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....
after 1955.
East German authorities of the Nationales Olympisches Komitee für Ostdeutschland refused to send their athletes to the 1952 games in an all-German team while demanding a team of their own, which was denied by the IOC.
United German Team
They agreed to participate for 1956, German athletes from the two remaining states competed at the Olympic Games in 1956, 1960 and 1964 as the United Team of GermanyUnited 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...
. While this team was simply called Germany at the time, it is currently designated by the IOC as EUA, standing for Équipe unifiée d'Allemagne.
Success of East Germans
During 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...
, the socialist GDR erected the Berlin wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
in 1961, and renamed their NOC to Nationales Olympisches Komitee der DDR in 1965. It was recognized as an independent NOC by the IOC in 1968. Thus, the GDR left the United Team of Germany and started to send a separate East German team between 1968 and 1988, being absent in Summer of 1984 in support of the Soviet-led boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics
1984 Summer Olympics boycott
The boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. The boycott was a follow up to the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The boycott involved 14 Eastern Bloc countries and allies, led by the Soviet Union who initiated the boycott on May 8, 1984, and joined...
.
While the history of the GDR, a small state with a population of about 16 million, is short, and even shorter at the Olympics, it was rather successful. From 1976 to 1988, they came second in all of their three summer Olympics, behind the Soviet Union, and well ahead of larger West Germany. This was even bettered at five winter games, with 4 second place rankings, and even a first in the 1984 Winter Olympics
1984 Winter Olympics
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 is widely believed that doping (predominantly anabolic steroid
Anabolic steroid
Anabolic steroids, technically known as anabolic-androgen steroids or colloquially simply as "steroids", are drugs that mimic the effects of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone in the body. They increase protein synthesis within cells, which results in the buildup of cellular tissue ,...
s) allowed East Germany, with its small population, to become a world leader in the following two decades, winning a large number of Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
and world gold medals and records, with a number of athletes subsequently failing doping tests or suspected of taking performance enhancing drugs. However, in many cases where suspicions existed, no proof of wrongdoing was uncovered - thus the majority of records and medals won by East German athletes still stand. Aside from an extensive doping programme, East Germany invested with zeal in sport - particularly Olympic sport, for reasons of prestige, propaganda and rivalry with West Germany - with an extensive state bureaucracy to select and train promising athletes and world-class coaches; thus it is difficult to attribute cases where no physical proof exists to doping rather than exceptional performance.
An important figure in the GDR was Manfred Ewald
Manfred Ewald
Manfred Ewald served as German Democratic Republic's minister of sport and president of his country's Olympic committee...
(1926–2002), member of SED
Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
central committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
since 1963. He was 1952 to 1960 president of the "Staatliches Komitee für Körperkultur und Sport" (Stako). Since 1961, he became president of the "Deutscher Turn- und Sportbund" (DTSB), governing all sport in the GDR, and in 1973 also of the NOC. He is considered the organiser of the "GDR sports miracle". His post-1990 autobiography was titled "I was the Sport". He fell from grace in 1988, being removed from the DTSB office. In 2001, he was sentenced for his role in doping
Doping (sport)
The use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport is commonly referred to by the term "doping", particularly by those organizations that regulate competitions. The use of performance enhancing drugs is mostly done to improve athletic performance. This is why many sports ban the use of performance...
.
Doping of the East Germans
For three decades, East Germans ran, swam and shot-putted their way to glory, winning Olympic gold medals, setting world records and - so it seemed at the time - demonstrating the superiority of communism. But the human cost of East Germany's extraordinary sporting success was laid bare in a courtroom in Hamburg. Some 190 East German competitors launched a case against the German pharmaceutical giant Jenapharm. The claim was that the East German firm knowingly supplied the steroids that were given to them by trainers and coaches from the 1960s onwards until East Germany's demise in 1989. Jenapharm, now owned by Schering, argues it was not responsible for the doping scandal and blames the communist system. Germany's athletics federation announced that it was checking 22 national records set by East German athletes. The investigation came after Ines Geipel, a member of the record-holding East German women's 4x100 meters relay team, asked for her record from 1984 to be struck off. She revealed she had been doped. In a separate case another former East German swimmer Karin König is today suing the German Olympic committee for damages. König claims that she was also a victim of doping between 1982 and 1987. This state-sponsored doping regime played a decisive role in the dazzling success of East German athletes in international competitions - most notably at the 1976 Montreal Olympics and the 1980 Moscow games. But it also left a terrible legacy, the athletes' lawyers argued. The victims all received Oral-Turinabol - an anabolic steroid containing testosterone made by Jenapharm. The "blue bean" had astonishing powers - accelerating muscle build-up and boosting recovery times - but its subsequent side effects were catastrophic: infertility among women, embarrassing hair growth, breast cancer, heart problems and testicular cancer. An estimated 800 athletes developed serious ailments. The most public face of the doping scandal is Andreas Krieger - a shot-putter who took so many male hormones she decided to have a sex change. One of the few other victims to have spoken publicly about her plight is the swimmer Rica Reinisch, who at the age of 15 won three gold medals in the 1980 Olympics. "The worst thing was that I didn't know I was being doped," she told the news papers. I was lied to and deceived. Whenever I asked my coach what the tablets were I was told they were vitamins and preparations." According to Prof Dr Werner Franke, a microbiologist who exposed the doping scandal after the fall of the Berlin Wall, East Germany's secret police (Stasi) kept meticulous records of the impact the drugs had on performance. A top-secret sporting medical committee including members of the Parteibüro, East Germany's communist leadership body, met to decide which members of the national squad were to be given the drugs. The aim was to show the superiority of the communist regime to its capitalist neighbor West Germany. The strategy worked. In the 1972 Munich Olympics, East Germany - a country of 17 million - reached the top three in the medals table with the United States and the Soviet Union. Four years later, East German women won 11 of the 13 swimming events. To date no East German Olympic medals have been recalled by the International Olympic Committee.Germany undivided
The German Democratic Republic ceased to exist after 1989, with their states joining the Federal Republic of GermanyWest 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....
in the process of German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
in 1990. Accordingly, the "NOC of the GDR" joined the "NOC of Germany" on 17 November 1990. The German athletes competed at the Olympic Games in a single team again from 1992 onwards. Especially in the first decade after reunification athletes from the Eastern part of Germany contributed far above average to the medals won by Germany. This would indicate that doping was not the only reason East Germany was so successful in the Olympics (and more successful than West Germany in particular), but professional training conditions were at least as significant. Exposure of doping was done by a different state system (a former rival, who was far less successful), one thing that never happened in other countries. The medal scores after 1990 came closer to that of East Germany than to that of West Germany before 1990. For example of the 29 medals won by Germany in the 2006 Winter Olympics
2006 Winter Olympics
The 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...
14 (6 gold) have been by athletes born in East Germany (one-fifth of the population of Germany) and only 9 (3 gold) by athletes from West Germany (6 medals won in mixed teams). In recent years some centers of German top-class sport are relocating to the West (for example in Winter sport to Bavaria) but the East is still above average strong. Trainers from East Germany like Uwe Müßiggang were important in establishing successful sport conditions in many fields of United Germany. Also many German top-class athletes who today live in the western part of Germany started their professional sport career in the eastern part and can be seen as part of the large-scale exodus of young people from the East to the West since reunification.
Medals by Summer Games
| 1952 Helsinki 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... |
did not participate | |||
| 1956 Melbourne/Stockholm 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... |
Part of 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... |
|||
| 1960 Rome 1960 Summer Olympics The 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... |
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| 1964 Tokyo 1964 Summer Olympics The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Tokyo had been awarded with the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan's... |
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| 1968 Mexico City 1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Mexico City, Mexico in October 1968. The 1968 Games were the first Olympic Games hosted by a developing country, and the first Games hosted by a Spanish-speaking country... |
9 | 9 | 7 | 25 |
| 1972 Munich 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972.... |
20 | 23 | 23 | 66 |
| 1976 Montreal 1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and... |
40 | 25 | 25 | 90 |
| 1980 Moscow 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... |
47 | 37 | 42 | 126 |
| 1984 Los Angeles 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984... |
did not participate | |||
| 1988 Seoul 1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics... |
37 | 35 | 30 | 102 |
| Total | 153 | 129 | 127 | 409 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Medals by summer sport
| Athletics Athletics at the Summer Olympics Athletics has been contested at every Summer Olympics since the birth of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics. The athletics program traces its earliest roots to events used in the ancient Greek Olympics. The modern program now comprises track and field events, road running... |
38 | 36 | 35 | 109 |
| Swimming Swimming at the Summer Olympics Swimming has been a sport at every modern Summer Olympics. It has been open to women since 1912. Along with track & field athletics and gymnastics it is one of the most popular spectator sports at the Games and the one with the largest number of events.... |
38 | 32 | 22 | 92 |
| Rowing Rowing at the Summer Olympics Rowing at the Summer Olympics has been part of the competition since the 1900 Summer Olympics. Rowing was on the program at the 1896 Summer Olympics but was cancelled due to bad weather. Only men were allowed to compete until the women's events were introduced at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal... |
33 | 7 | 8 | 48 |
| Canoeing Canoeing at the Summer Olympics Canoeing and kayaking has been featured as a competition sport in the Summer Olympic Games since the 1936 Games in Berlin although it was a demonstration sport at the 1924 Games in Paris. There are two disciplines of canoeing in Olympic competition: slalom and sprint.Two styles of boats are... |
14 | 7 | 9 | 30 |
| Gymnastics Gymnastics at the Summer Olympics Gymnastics events have been contested at every Summer Olympic Games since the birth of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. For 32 years, only men were allowed to compete. Beginning at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, women were allowed to compete in artistic... |
6 | 13 | 17 | 36 |
| Cycling Cycling at the Summer Olympics Cycling has been contested at every Summer Olympic Games since the birth of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics.-Track cycling, Men:-Track cycling, Women:-Road bicycle racing, Men:-Road bicycle racing, Women:... |
6 | 6 | 4 | 16 |
| Boxing Boxing at the Summer Olympics Boxing has been contested at every Summer Olympic Games since its introduction to the program at the 1904 Summer Olympics, except for the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, because Swedish law banned the sport at the time. The 2008 Summer Olympics was the final games with boxing as a male only event... |
5 | 2 | 6 | 13 |
| Shooting Shooting at the Summer Olympics Shooting sports have been contested at every Summer Olympic Games since the birth of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics except at the 1904 & 1928 editions.-Men's:... |
3 | 8 | 5 | 16 |
| Wrestling Wrestling at the Summer Olympics Wrestling has been contested at the Summer Olympic Games since the sport was introduced in the ancient Olympic Games in 708 BC. When the modern Olympic Games resumed in Athens in 1896, wrestling became a focus of the Games, with the exception of the 1900 Summer Olympics when wrestling did not... |
2 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| Diving Diving at the Summer Olympics Diving was first introduced in the official programme of the Summer Olympic Games at the 1904 Games of St. Louis and has been an Olympic sport since. It was known as "fancy diving" for the acrobatic stunts performed by divers during the dive... |
2 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| Sailing Sailing at the Summer Olympics Sailing has been one of the Olympic sports since the Games of the I Olympiad, held in Athens, Greece, in 1896. Despite being scheduled in the first Olympic program, the races were canceled due to severe weather conditions... |
2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Weightlifting Weightlifting at the Summer Olympics Weightlifting has been contested at every Summer Olympic Games since the 1920 Summer Olympics, as well as twice before then. It debuted at the 1896 Summer Olympics, in Athens, Greece, and was also an event at the 1904 Games.-Men's events:... |
1 | 4 | 6 | 11 |
| Judo Judo at the Summer Olympics Judo was first included in the Summer Olympic Games at the 1964 Games in Tokyo, Japan. After not being included in 1968, judo has been an Olympic sport in each Olympiad since then. Only male judoka participated until the 1988 Summer Olympics, when women participated as a demonstration sport... |
1 | 2 | 6 | 9 |
| Football Football at the Summer Olympics Association football, usually known simply as football or soccer, has been included in every Olympiad except 1896 and 1932 as a men's competition sport. Women's football was added to the official programme in 1996.-Early history:... |
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Handball Handball at the Summer Olympics Team handball was introduced as an Olympic sport for men at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, but dropped after that, only to be resumed at the 1972 Summer Olympics, again on German territory... |
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Volleyball Volleyball at the Summer Olympics Volleyball has been contested as an indoor sport at the Summer Olympic Games since 1964. Beach volleyball was introduced at the 1992 Games, and has been an official Olympic sport since 1996.-Origins:... |
0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Fencing Fencing at the Summer Olympics Fencing has been contested at every Summer Olympic Games since the birth of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. Women's foil made its Olympic debut in Paris, during the 1924 Olympic Games... |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 153 | 129 | 127 | 409 |
|---|
Medals by Winter Games
| 1952 Oslo 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... |
did not participate | |||
| 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 Winter Olympics 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... |
Part of 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... |
|||
| 1960 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... |
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| 1964 Innsbruck 1964 Winter Olympics The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964... |
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| 1968 Grenoble 1968 Winter Olympics The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1968 in Grenoble, France and opened on 6 February. Thirty-seven countries participated... |
1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 1972 Sapporo 1972 Winter Olympics The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XI Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated from February 3 to February 13, 1972 in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan... |
4 | 3 | 7 | 14 |
| 1976 Innsbruck 1976 Winter Olympics The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated February 4–15, 1976 in Innsbruck, Austria... |
7 | 5 | 7 | 19 |
| 1980 Lake Placid 1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIII Olympic Winter Games, was a multi-sport event which was celebrated from 13 February through 24 February 1980 in Lake Placid, New York, United States of America. This was the second time the Upstate New York village hosted the Games, after 1932... |
9 | 7 | 7 | 23 |
| 1984 Sarajevo 1984 Winter Olympics 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... |
9 | 9 | 6 | 24 |
| 1988 Calgary 1988 Winter Olympics The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated in and around Calgary, Alberta, Canada from 13 to 28 February 1988. The host was selected in 1981 after having beat Falun, Sweden and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy... |
9 | 10 | 6 | 25 |
| Total | 39 | 36 | 35 | 110 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Medals by winter sport
| Luge Luge at the Winter Olympics Luge was introduced to the Winter Olympic Games in 1964, with both men's and women's events and a doubles event. Doubles is technically a mixed event, but is almost always competed by a team of two men... |
13 | 8 | 8 | 29 |
| Speed skating Speed skating at the Winter Olympics Speed skating has been featured as a sport in the Winter Olympics since the first winter games in 1924. Women's events were added to the Olympic program for the first time in 1960.-History:... |
8 | 12 | 9 | 29 |
| Bobsleigh Bobsleigh at the Winter Olympics Bobsleigh has been contested at the Winter Olympic Games since the first Winter Games in 1924, with the exception of the 1960 games in Squaw Valley when the organizing committee decided not to build a track in order to reduce expenses. Other than that exception, the four-man competition has been... |
5 | 5 | 3 | 13 |
| Biathlon Biathlon at the Winter Olympics Biathlon debuted at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley with the men's 20 km individual event. At the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, the men's 4×7.5 km relay debuted, followed by the 10 km sprint event at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York... |
3 | 4 | 4 | 11 |
| Figure skating | 3 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| Nordic combined Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics The Nordic combined events have been contested at the Winter Olympic Games since 1924. The first competition involved 18 km cross-country skiing, followed by ski jumping. Whoever earned the most points from both competitions won the event. At the 1952 Winter Olympics, the ski jumping was held... |
3 | 0 | 4 | 7 |
| Ski jumping Ski jumping at the Winter Olympics Ski jumping has been included in the program of every Winter Olympic Games. From 1924 through 1956, the competition involved jumping from one hill whose length varied from each edition games to the next. Most historians have placed this length at 70 meters and have classified this as the large hill... |
2 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| Cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing at the Winter Olympics Cross-country skiing has been contested at the Winter Olympic Games since the first Winter Games in 1924. The women's events were first contested at the 1952 Winter Olympics.- Events :- Medal table :- Number of Cross-country skiers by Nation :... |
2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Total | 39 | 36 | 35 | 110 |
|---|