1936 Winter Olympics

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IV Olympic Winter Games

Logo of the 1936 Winter Olympics[a]
Host city	Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria, Germany
Nations	28
Athletes	646 (566 men, 80 women)
Events	17 in 4 sports (8 disciplines)
Opening	6 February
Closing	16 February
Opened by	Chancellor Adolf Hitler
Stadium	Große Olympiaschanze
Winter ← Lake Placid 1932 St. Moritz 1948 → Sapporo 1940 → Summer ← Los Angeles 1932 Berlin 1936 →

The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games (German: IV. Olympische Winterspiele) and commonly known as Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936, were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 16 February 1936 in the market town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria, Germany. The country also hosted the 1936 Summer Olympics, which were held in Berlin. It was the last year in which the Summer and Winter Games both took place in the same country (the cancelled 1940 Olympics would have been held in Japan, with Tokyo hosting the Summer Games and Sapporo hosting the Winter Games).

The 1936 Winter Games were organized on behalf of the German League of the Reich for Physical Exercise (DRL) by Karl Ritter von Halt, who had been named president of the committee for the organization of the Fourth Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen by Reichssportführer Hans von Tschammer und Osten.

Highlights[]

Opening Ceremony with Rudolf Hess, president of IOC count Henri de Baillet-Latour, and Adolf Hitler

• German skier Willy Bogner took the Olympic oath during the opening ceremonies.
• Alpine skiing made its first appearance in the winter Olympics as the combined, which added a skier's results in both the downhill and slalom. German athletes Franz Pfnür won men's alpine and Christl Cranz won women's alpine events.
• Ivar Ballangrud won three out of the four speed skating races.
• Sonja Henie won her third consecutive gold medal in woman's figure skating.
• Switzerland won the 4 man bobsled in a time of 5:19.85.
• Great Britain upset 1932 gold medalists Canada in ice hockey when Edgar Brenchley scored the winning goal within the last ninety seconds.
• Norway won the overall games with a total of 7 gold medals, 5 silver medals and 3 bronze medals.
• These games had the largest and heaviest medals ever awarded to athletes: 100 mm (3.9 in) diameter, 4 mm (0.16 in) thick, weighing 324 g (11.4 oz).

Sports[]

Medals were awarded in 17 events contested in 4 sports (8 disciplines).

• Bobsleigh (2) (details)
• Ice hockey (1) (details)
• Skating
  • Figure skating (3) (details)
  • Speed skating (4) (details)
• Skiing
  • Alpine skiing (2) (details)
  • Nordic skiing (details)
    • Cross-country skiing (3) (details)
    • Nordic combined (1) (details)
    • Ski jumping (1) (details)

Demonstration sports[]

• Military patrol
• Ice stock sport

Venues[]

• Große Olympiaschanze – Cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and Ski Jumping.
• Gudiberg – Alpine skiing (combined – slalom)
• Kreuzjoch – Alpine skiing (combined – downhill)
• Kreuzeck – Alpine skiing (downhill finish line)
• Olympia-Kunsteisstadion – Figure skating and Ice hockey
• Riessersee and surrounding areas – Bobsleigh, Ice hockey, and Speed skating

Participating nations[]

28 nations sent athletes to compete in Germany. Australia, Bulgaria, Greece, Liechtenstein, Spain, and Turkey all made their Winter Olympic debut in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and Estonia, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Yugoslavia all returned to the Games after having missed the 1932 Winter Olympics.

Number of athletes by National Olympic Committees (from highest to lowest)[]

showIOC	Country	Athletes
AUT	Austria	60
GER	Germany	55
USA	United States	55
TCH	Czechoslovakia	48
ITA	Italy	40
GBR	Great Britain	38
JPN	Japan	38
SUI	Switzerland	34
SWE	Sweden	32
NOR	Norway	30
CAN	Canada	29
FRA	France	28
BEL	Belgium	27
LAT	Latvia	26
HUN	Hungary	25
POL	Poland	20
FIN	Finland	19
ROM	Romania	19
YUG	Yugoslavia	17
NED	Netherlands	8
BUL	Bulgaria	7
EST	Estonia	7
ESP	Spain	6
TUR	Turkey	6
LIE	Liechtenstein	4
LUX	Luxembourg	4
AUS	Australia	1
GRE	Greece	1
Total	646

Medal count[]

Norwegian figure skater Sonja Henie

  *   Host nation (Germany)

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Norway	7	5	3	15
2	Germany*	3	3	0	6
3	Sweden	2	2	3	7
4	Finland	1	2	3	6
5	Switzerland	1	2	0	3
6	Austria	1	1	2	4
7	Great Britain	1	1	1	3
8	United States	1	0	3	4
9	Canada	0	1	0	1
10	France	0	0	1	1
	Hungary	0	0	1	1
Totals (11 nations)		17	17	17	51

Podium sweeps[]

Date	Sport	Event	NOC	Gold	Silver	Bronze
13 February	Nordic combined	Individual	Norway	Oddbjørn Hagen	Olaf Hoffsbakken	Sverre Brodahl
15 February	Cross-country skiing	Men's 50 kilometre	Sweden	Elis Wiklund	Axel Wikström	Nils-Joel Englund

See also[]

• 1936 Summer Olympics
• Olympic Games celebrated in Germany
  • 1936 Winter Olympics – Garmisch-Partenkirchen
  • 1936 Summer Olympics – Berlin
  • 1972 Summer Olympics – Munich

• List of IOC country codes
• National Socialist League of the Reich for Physical Exercise

References[]

Notes

Citations

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1936 Winter Olympics.

• "Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936". Olympics.com. International Olympic Committee.
• Complete official IOC report. In German
• The program of the 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Winter Olympics

Further reading[]

• Berlin Games – How Hitler Stole the Olympic Dream, by Guy Walters ISBN 0-7195-6783-1 (UK) 0060874120 (USA)