Olympics

One of the major sport events in the world that comes in third place, according to the viewers and publicity, right after the Summer Olympics and FIFA World Cup is the Winter Olympics. This international competition started in 1924 in France and its organization takes place every 4 years.

The tradition is the same as with the Summer Olympics, there’s an Olympic torch and Olympic flag that unites all the countries in the world and invites them to take their participation in the Games with one purpose – to promote the World Peace. This year, the 22^nd Winter Olympics are knocking at the door so prepare yourselves with some of the most interesting facts about the biggest winter event in sports.

10.  At the Winter Olympics in Sochi 2014,  athletes that will win a gold medal on 15th February, will be awarded with special gold medals that contain pieces of the meteorite that fell in Chelyabinsk, exactly one year earlier (15 February 2013).

9. . Georg Hackl from Germany better known as The Speeding Sausage, won the gold medal in Nagano (1998) in the discipline Luge. He became the first male athlete to win the gold medal and having the fastest time in the all 4 runs.

8. Exactly 20 years, Winter and Summer Olympics are not organized in the same year. This was the case until the Games in Lillehammer in 1994 when the organization spllited.

7. At the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010, the athletes were supplied with 100.000 condoms, but at the end, they ran out of condoms.

6. The most successful athlete at the Winter Olympics in Bjorn Daehlie from Norway. He won 12 medals in the discipline cross-country skiing. 8 of those medals were gold.

5. In 1988, Jamaican bobsled team debuted at the Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada. Even though their bobsled lost control and flipped, they were considered as heroes of the Games. Their feat was the inspiration for the movie Cool Runnings. 

4. Sochi in Russia will be the warmest city ever to host the Winter Olympics. The average temperature will be 8°C.

3. The youngest athlete ever to take part in the Winter Olympics was Tara Lipinski from USA. She was 15 years when she debuted. On the other hand, Carl August Kronlund with 58 was the oldest ever to participate. He also won a silver medal at his debut in 1924.

2. Luke Henri Steyn from Zimbabwe has qualified for the Winter Olympics in Sochi in the discipline Alpine Skiing. He will be the first athlete to represent his country at Winter Olympics.

1. Winter or Summer, it doesn’t matter. Clara Hughes, Eddie Eagan, Jacob Thams and Christa Luding-Rothenburger didn’t minded this and are on the short list of unique athletes who has won Olympic medals at both Summer and Winter Olympic Games.