History of the Olympic Winter Games

The Olympics came to Canada for a third time in 2010, as Vancouver was the site of the XXI Olympic Winter Games (Montreal had hosted the Summer Games in 1976 and Calgary the Winter Games in 1988). While the buildup to the Vancouver Games lacked the political tumult of the then-recent Salt Lake City and Beijing Games, there was nevertheless an issue that made the event’s organizers and athletes uneasy during the months leading up to the Games: the weather. In the month before the Games began, Vancouver experienced its warmest January since 1937, when record keeping began, and snow cover on some of the skiing and snowboarding courses was far below the Olympic standard. Some events were rescheduled, and snow was brought in to fill the affected courses. Ultimately, the weather fears proved to be mostly unwarranted. It was another Olympic site, however, that became the focus of heavy criticism after an overly fast sliding track led to the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili when he was thrown from the track during a training run hours before the opening ceremonies.

Over 2,500 athletes from a record (for the Winter Games) 82 NOCs attended the Vancouver Olympics. Canada led all countries with 14 gold medals, the highest gold tally in Winter Games history, while the United States set another record with 37 total medals. Only one new event, ski cross, a freestyle skiing event derived from snowboarding, made its debut at the Vancouver Games.

The individual who captured the most medals at the Vancouver Games was Norway’s Marit Bjørgen, who won five medals in cross-country skiing events, including three golds. The Alpine events were dominated by skiers from the United States, who won eight total medals, including golds for Lindsey Vonn (downhill) and Bode Miller (super combined). Miller (with an additional silver in the super G and a bronze in the downhill) and Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal (with gold in the super G, silver in the downhill, and bronze in the giant slalom) captured the most Alpine medals. Simon Ammann of Switzerland won both the individual normal hill and the individual large hill ski jumping gold medals, becoming the first man to sweep the events in two Olympics (he first did so at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games). Snowboarder Shaun White of the U.S. captured his second consecutive men’s half-pipe gold, while Australia’s Torah Bright won the women’s half-pipe.

In figure skating, American Evan Lysacek won the men’s singles event, and South Korea’s Kim Yu-Na took the women’s singles gold medal in a competition that featured one of the Games’ most memorable moments when Joannie Rochette of Canada skated in the short program just two days after the sudden death of her mother. Her emotional performance helped vault Rochette to a bronze medal in the event. China’s Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo took first place in pairs to give the country its first gold in figure skating. Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir surprisingly triumphed in the ice dancing event, becoming not only the first non-Europeans to win the Olympic ice dancing gold but also the youngest winners in the event’s Olympic history. In short-track speed skating, Wang Meng of China won three golds (women’s 500 meters, 1,000 meters, and 3,000-meter relay) and Apolo Anton Ohno’s three medals (silver in the men’s 1,500 meters, bronze in the 1,000 meters, and bronze in the 5,000-meter relay) gave him an American record of eight career Winter Olympic medals.

German bobsledders André Lange and Kevin Kuske won the two-man race to capture their fourth career gold medals, the most for anyone in that sport’s Olympic history. Another lifetime medal mark was set when biathlete Ole Einar Bjørndalen of Norway won two medals (silver in the 20-km individual and gold in the 4 × 7.5-km team relay) in Vancouver, bringing his all-time medal total to 11, the most ever for a biathlete. Canada’s record-setting 14th gold at the Vancouver Games came in dramatic fashion on the final day of competition as the country’s beloved men’s hockey team defeated the U.S. in the gold medal game, with National Hockey League superstar Sidney Crosby scoring the winning goal in sudden death overtime.

Sochi, Russia, 2014

The Sochi Games marked the first time that the Winter Olympics were held in Russia. The country had previously been home to the Olympics when Moscow hosted the 1980 Summer Games. Sochi was awash in controversy in the months leading up to the Games, as the choice of a city with a temperate climate as a Winter Games site led to concerns about whether there would be adequate snow cover. Moreover, the construction of venues and other buildings ran far behind schedule, and preparations were plagued by allegations of mismanagement and corruption. Russia reportedly spent $51 billion on the Games, a total that surpassed any paid by a previous host country. In addition, there were numerous security threats in the buildup to the Games, as well as political unrest in nearby Ukraine, and the June 2013 passage of an anti-homosexuality bill in the Russian parliament raised the possibility of protests derailing the Olympics. A mechanical failure during the opening ceremonies prevented one of the rings in a light display of the Olympic logo from deploying, which was seen as foreboding by many media members, but the Sochi Olympics nevertheless progressed as smoothly as any other contemporary Winter Games.

The Sochi Olympics featured approximately 2,800 athletes from 88 national Olympic committees (NOCs), which was a record for the most participating NOCs in the Winter Olympics. The athletes participated in the most events in Winter Games history—98, which included 12 new events, notably women’s ski jumping and slopestyle (a combination of downhill racing and the tricks of freestyle) disciplines of skiing and snowboarding for both men and women.

The most-dominant showing by a single country in one sport at any Winter Games took place in speed skating at Sochi as the Dutch team shattered the Olympic record by winning 23 of the 36 medals that were awarded in the sport. (The previous record holder was the Austrian Alpine skiing team that won 14 medals at the Turin 2006 Winter Olympic Games.) The most-decorated athlete of the 2014 Olympics was Dutch speed skater Ireen Wüst, who tallied five total medals (two golds and three silvers). Her countryman Sven Kramer added to his career Olympic medal count by taking two golds (both in Olympic record time) and one silver. In short-track speed skating, Russia’s Viktor Ahn (who previously competed in the Olympics for South Korea under his given name, Ahn Hyun-Soo) won three gold medals to increase his lifetime Olympic tally to six and establish himself as arguably the greatest short-track speed skater of all time.

The Russian team had a controversial win in women’s figure skating, where unheralded Russian Adelina Sotnikova upset defending Olympic champion Kim Yu-Na of South Korea, despite the latter’s having skated what many observers thought was a winning program. The Alpine skiing events featured two notable finishes by Americans of disparate ages as Bode Miller became—at age 36—the oldest Alpine medalist ever when he took the bronze in the supergiant slalom while Mikaela Shiffrin’s victory in the slalom made the 18-year-old the youngest Olympic slalom champion in history.

Norway and Sweden controlled the cross-country events, as the two countries each took 11 medals, with Marit Bjørgen of Norway winning three gold medals to bring her career Olympic gold total to six, tying her with Lidiya Skoblikova and Lyubov Yegorova for most all-time for a female Winter Olympian. The overall individual Winter medal record was also set at Sochi when Norwegian biathlete Ole Einar Bjørndalen captured gold medals in the 10-km sprint and mixed team relay and a bronze in the 4 × 7.5 km relay to bring his career Olympic total to 14 medals. Another biathlete, Darya Domracheva of Belarus, made headlines for winning the first Winter Olympic gold medals for a female athlete in her country’s history and also becoming the first female biathlete to win three golds in a single Olympiad.

The Canadian men’s and women’s ice hockey teams each captured a gold medal. The country also swept the curling events, with the women’s team becoming the first women’s curling squad to go undefeated through an Olympic competition.

Pyeongchang county, South Korea, 2018

The 2018 Winter Olympics were held in Pyeongchang county, South Korea. It was the second time the country had hosted an Olympic Games, after the Seoul 1988 Summer Olympics. Pyeongchang became the third Asian location to host the Winter Olympics, after Japan hosted at Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in 1998.

The 2018 Games featured 102 events across 15 Olympic winter sports. Four new events were added: men’s and women’s snowboard Big Air, mixed doubles curling, men’s and women’s speed skating mass start, and mixed-team Alpine skiing. A total of 92 Olympic committees sent more than 2,900 athletes to the Games, and 30 countries won at least one medal. Six countries—Ecuador, Eritrea, Kosovo, Malaysia, Nigeria, and Singapore—made their Winter Games debut at Pyeongchang.

Russia was notably absent from the Pyeongchang Games. In December 2017 the IOC announced that the Russian Olympic Committee would be suspended from the Pyeongchang Games because it was found to have flouted anti-doping procedures at the 2014 Sochi Games. However, Russian athletes who qualified for individual events and passed doping screenings were allowed to compete in 2018 under the name Olympic Athlete from Russia (OAR) and used the Olympic flag as their symbol and the Olympic anthem during medal ceremonies.

In a symbolic peace gesture, South Korea welcomed North Korean athletes for the event. North Korea sent a contingent of athletes, along with a cheering squad and a performance-art troupe, to the Games. The two countries marched together under a unified Korea flag at the opening ceremony and fielded a joint team in the women’s ice hockey event.

The standout performer at the Games was Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjørgen, who won a total of 5 medals, including 2 golds, 1 silver, and 2 bronzes. Bjørgen’s overall tally of 15 medals after Pyeongchang made her the most decorated Winter Olympian of all time. Biathlete Martin Fourcade of France and cross-country skier Johannes Høsflot Klæbo of Norway were the only athletes to win 3 gold medals. Alpine skier Marcel Hirscher of Austria and short-track speed skater Choi Minjeong of South Korea won 2 gold medals each. Dutch speed skater Ireen Wüst won a gold medal in the 1,500-meter event, becoming the first athlete to medal in the same event at four consecutive Games (she placed third in 2006, first in 2010, and second in 2014). Canadian ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir became the figure skaters with the most medals in Olympic history (5 each) when they won gold in the ice dance and team events.

Norway topped the overall medal table with 14 gold, 14 silver, and 11 bronze medals for a total of 39. Germany and Canada won a total of 31 and 29 medals each, which included 14 and 11 golds, respectively.

Beijing 2022

In 2022 Beijing became the first city to have hosted both the Summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics, having previously hosted the Summer Games in 2008. Most of the events were closed to the public because of health protocols related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Several countries, including the United States, Canada, and India, declared a diplomatic boycott of the Games and did not send any officials or ministers to attend. The United States and others cited China’s alleged atrocities, including forced internment and sterilization, against the Uyghur minority population in the Uyghur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, as the reason for their boycott. China criticized the move as a politicization of the Olympics, and, in a choice interpreted by skeptical observers in the West as a defiant gesture, it assigned cross-country skier Dinigeer Yilamujiang, a Uyghur from Xinjiang, to light the Olympic flame at the opening ceremonies.

The Games took place more than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic. As with the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games (delayed until 2021), stringent safety and health protocols were followed at the Beijing Games. Athletes and Olympics staff were required to undergo daily testing. All the competition venues, stadiums, catering, and accommodations were closed to the public, and participants also used separate transportation. Athletes who were not vaccinated were required to quarantine for 21 days upon arrival. Overseas fans were not allowed, and only a few Chinese spectators, subject to health regulations and processes, were allowed in certain events.

The 2022 Games featured 109 events across 15 Olympic winter sports. Seven new events were added: women’s monobob, men’s and women’s freestyle skiing Big Air, and mixed team events in short-track speed skating, ski jumping, freestyle skiing aerials, and snowboard cross. The Beijing Games were the most gender-balanced Olympics to that point, with more than 45 percent of the 2,834 participants being women. A total of 91 Olympic committees sent athletes to the Games, 29 of which won at least one medal. Although Russia was banned from sending athletes because of sanctions related to doping, Russian athletes were allowed to compete under the “Russian Olympic Committee” name.

Standout performers at the Games included Eileen (Ailing) Gu, an American-born skier competing for China who won two gold medals and one silver medal in freestyle skiing events, and Nathan Chen, an American figure skater who set a world record in the individual short program en route to winning an individual gold and also earned a team gold medal. Biathletes Johannes Thingnes Bø (Norway), Quentin Fillon Maillet (France), and Marte Olsbu Røiseland (Norway) and cross-country skier Alexander Bolshunov (ROC) won the most medals at the Games with five each. Bø had the most gold medals with four.

Milano Cortina 2026

The Winter Olympics returned to relatively normalcy in 2026 as full audiences returned after the rocky years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Italy hosted the Olympics for the fourth time, following Winter editions in Cortina d’Ampezzo in 1956 and Turin in 2006 and the Summer Games in Rome in 1960. Events of the 2026 Games were held primarily in the city of Milan (Milano) and the Alpine mountain resort town of Cortina d’Ampezzo, with additional competitions being held in the small communities of Rasen-Antholz, Bormio, Livigno, Predazzo, and Tesero.

The Milano Cortina Games featured 116 events across 16 winter sports. Making its Olympic debut at the Games was ski mountaineering, or skimo, in which participants first wear boots and climbing skins to ascend a slope and then descend using downhill skiing techniques. Some 2,900 athletes from 90 countries participated in the Games. Qualifying athletes from Russia and Belarus participated under the designation Individual Neutral Athletes, a continuation of a policy that began at the 2024 Paris Summer Games in response to the Russia-Ukraine War.

Norway was the most successful national Olympic committee in Milano Cortina, setting new records for total medals (41) and gold medals (18) won at a Winter Olympics. Six of those first-place finishes belonged to Norwegian cross-country skier Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, who won every event he entered. His six victories set a record for most gold medals won by an individual at a single Winter Olympics; his career 11 gold medals are second only to American swimmer Michael Phelps, who has 23. (See list of athletes with the most Olympic medals.)

The U.S. team finished with the second most total medals (33) and golds (12). Figure skater Alysa Liu won the gold medal in women’s singles and helped the United States capture gold in the team event. The Americans also won both the men’s and women’s ice hockey tournaments. It was the first gold medal for the U.S. men’s team since the Miracle on Ice in 1980. Other notable medalists included Oriol Cardona Coll of Spain, who won the gold medal in the ski mountaineering sprint, his country’s first Winter Olympics gold medal since 1972. Federica Brignone of Italy overcame a serious knee injury in 2025 to win two gold medals, in super-G and giant slalom, at Milano Cortina.

The next Winter Games are scheduled to be held in the French Alps in 2030.