The Winter Olympic Games History – Origins, Athletes and Events

While it may not be as revered or widely covered as the Summer Olympics, the Winter Games retains a cult following of fans across the globe. Like the Summer Games, this multi-discipline event is held every four years in different host countries, while it promotes sports that are primarily practiced on snow or ice.

Some of these disciplines may be a little niche and unfamiliar, even if you’re a fan of both watching and betting on sports. However, just over two billion people watched the 2022 Winter Olympics globally. In this guide, we’ll take a closer look at the Winter Olympic Games history and the unique events that define it!

• The History of Olympic Games Winter Sports
• The Winter Olympic Sports List
• Who Are the Most Successful Nations at the Winter Olympics?
• The Most Decorated Winter Olympians
• The Last Word – A Look Ahead to the 2026 Winter Olympics

The History of Olympic Games Winter Sports

The entire concept of the modern Olympic Games was inspired by ancient Olympics, which were held in Olympia, Greece between the years 776 BCE and 394 CE. It was the Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France who founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894, with the first modern Summer Games hosted two years later in Athens.

Pierre de Coubertin was a fan of winter sports, and he lobbied to have disciplines like figure skating added to the Summer Olympic program. However, he was unsuccessful until the 1908 Games in London, when a total of four figure skating events were contested. 10-time world champion Ulrich Salchow and Madge Syers won individual golds during these Games.

Prior to winter sports being integrated into the Olympic program, the so-called “Nordic Games” were conceived and organized by General Viktor Gustaf Balck. The inaugural games were held in Stockholm, Sweden in 1901, before subsequent events were hosted in 1903 and 1905. The Nordic Games were then held every fourth year until 1926.

This event was a precursor for the official Winter Olympics, which were first hosted in 1924. Winter Olympic Games history began in earnest in Chamonix, France, when a total of 250 athletes from 16 nations competed in 16 different events. Athletes from Finland and Norway dominated by winning 28 medals in total, which was more than the remaining 14 countries combined.

The Winter Games in Chamonix proved highly successful, laying the foundation for St. Moritz in Switzerland to host the second iteration in 1928. Following the most recent Winter Olympics in 2022, there have been 24 iterations of the event, while the 25th will take place in 2026 and see the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo share hosting duties.

The Winter Olympic Sports List – What Are the Key Disciplines?

At the time of writing, the Winter Olympic sports list includes 16 different disciplines. These unlock a variable number of events, which may be contested by males, females or open to competitors of both genders. Here’s the full list of Olympic Games winter sports and the events in which medals are contested:

As we can see, a total of 15 disciplines spawned 109 separate medal events in 2022, when the Chinese city of Beijing assumed hosting duties. Eight of these disciplines also featured in the first-ever Winter Olympics, although curling was dropped from the Games for 74 years before being reintroduced in 1998.

The newest additions to the Winter Olympic sports list include freestyle skiing, which made its debut at the 1992 Games in Albertville, France. Short track speed skating also made its first Olympic appearance here, while this discipline underpinned nine events in 2022. Snowboarding debuted in Nagano in 1998, while ski mountaineering is being introduced in time for the aforementioned 2026 Games. We’ll touch more on this a little later in the guide.

Who Are the Most Successful Nations at the Winter Olympics?

Now that we’ve addressed the current, most popular Winter Olympic sports, it’s time to look at the event’s most successful nations. Unsurprisingly, the niche nature of some Olympic Games winter sports are more suited to certain teams and geographical regions, especially those in Nordic countries, Austria and Switzerland. Here’s a glimpse at the 10 nations with the most Winter Olympic medals.

Unsurprisingly, it’s 2022 hosts Norway who top the all-time Winter Olympics medals’ table. They’ve appeared in all 24 iterations of the Winter Games, winning 405 medals in total and an impressive 148 golds. They’ve also earned 134 silvers and 123 bronze medals. On average, the Norwegian team has won an average of 16.8 medals per event, while they nation has topped the medals’ table on 10 separate occasions.

The United States is ranked second in the Winter Olympics medal table. They’ve won 330 medals in total and 114 golds, while topping the medals’ table once during the 1932 Games in Lake Placid, New York. Of course, the United States has won an astonishing 3,094 Olympic medals since 1896, including 2,764 in the Summer Games.

If we delve deeper into Winter Olympic Games history, we can see that the unified nation of Germany has won 267 medals in just 13 appearances (at a rate of 20.53 per iteration). However, East and West Germany largely competed as separate nations until 1992, featuring in six different Winter Olympic iterations.

Between them, they amassed 149 medals during these Games, with East Germany winning 110 and West Germany 39. In total, German representatives have won 416 medals at a rate of 21.89 per Games, with tally the second highest in the event. What’s more, their combined tally of 154 golds supersedes the number won by Norway at the Winter Olympics.

The Most Decorated Winter Olympians

Not only does the full list of Winter Olympic events include some relatively niche disciplines, but many of the event’s most decorated athletes often fly under the radar. However, the Winter Games have witnessed some incredible feats of skill and endurance through the years, while several athletes have managed to win medals across multiple iterations. Here’s an introduction to the three most decorated Winter Olympians!

• Bjørn Dæhlie (Norway): Three of the five most decorated Winter Olympians are Norwegian, with former cross-country skier Bjørn Dæhlie heading this list. She has won 15 medals at the Winter Games in total, including eight golds, four silvers and three bronze medals. She also ranks first in the all-time Cross-Country World Cup rankings with 114 individual victories. Dæhlie topped the medal table at the 2010 Winter Olympics too, claiming five medals overall and three golds. Dæhlie is a five-time Olympian who last appeared at the Pyeongchang Games in 2018.
• Ole Einar Bjørndalen (Norway): Next up is the retired biathlete Ole Einar Bjørndalen, who has won 13 Winter Olympic medals and remains the most successful male athlete at the Games. The Norwegian has won eight Olympic gold and four silvers, alongside a single bronze medal. Known respectfully as the “King of Biathlon”, Bjørndalen is the most successful athlete at the Biathlon World Championships too, having won an astonishing 45 medals in total. He claimed 95 World Cup wins during his career too, enabling him to rank first on the Biathlon World Cup tour.
• Ireen Wüst (Netherlands): Dutch athlete Ireen Wüst ranks third on the all-time Winter Olympics medal table, matching Bjørndalen’s career tally of 13 medals. She claimed a total of six golds in speed skating events, alongside five silvers and two further bronze medals. Wüst is also considered to be the most successful speed skating Olympian at the Winter Games, having won at least one gold medal in each of her five consecutive appearances. Wüst also has the distinction of being both the youngest and the oldest Dutch Olympic gold medalist, winning her first gold aged 19 in 2006 and her final one in 2022 at the age of 35.

The Last Word – A Look Ahead to the 2026 Winter Olympics

With the dust having now settled on the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, all eyes will turn towards the next iteration of the Winter Olympics. This will take place between the 6th and 22nd of February in 2026, with the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo sharing hosting duties.

As we’ve touched on, this iteration will see the addition of ski mountaineering, meaning that eight sports and 16 different disciplines will be contested in Italy. In total, athletes will compete in 116 separate medal events here, which is the most of any Winter Olympics since its inception in 1924.

This will be the 25th iteration of the Winter Olympics, which continues to command a large global viewership and remains incredibly popular in Nordic countries and Eastern Europe. The 2026 Games will therefore add to the enduring legacy of the Winter Olympics, while enabling a new generation of athletes to carve their names into history!