The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event held in Innsbruck, Austria, from 4 to 15 February 1976. A total of 1,123 athletes representing 37 National Olympic Committees (NOC) participated in 37 events from 10 different sports and disciplines.[1] Two events were contested for the first time: the figure skating discipline of ice dancing, and the men's 1,000 metres in speed skating.[1][2]
| 1976 Winter Olympics medals | |
|---|---|
| Location | Innsbruck,  Austria |
| Highlights | |
| Most gold medals |  Soviet Union (13) |
| Most total medals | Soviet Union (27) |
| Medalling NOCs | 16 |
Sixteen NOCs won at least one medal, and twelve of them secured at least one gold. The Soviet Union clinched the first place in the gold and overall medal counts, with 13 and 27, respectively. Moreover, the Soviet team also collected the most silver (6) and bronze (8) medals. The host nation, Austria, concluded its participation with a total of six medals (two golds, two silvers, and two bronzes).
Liechtenstein won its first Olympic medals: two bronzes by Willi Frommelt and Hanni Wenzel in the alpine skiing slalom events.[3][4] East German athletes achieved gold medal sweeps in luge and bobsleigh,[5] which accounted for five of the country's seven Olympic titles. Alpine skier Rosi Mittermaier won the women's downhill and slalom events to give West Germany's two gold medals in these Games. She came close to winning a third in the giant slalom, which would have made her the first woman to win all three Olympic alpine skiing events.[1][6] Cross-country skier Helena Takalo contributed three of Finland's seven medals by reaching podium place finishes in all of the women's events.[2] Two Dutch speed skaters were responsible for five of their country's six medals: Piet Kleine won the men's 10,000 metres and came second in the 5,000 metres, while Hans van Helden secured bronze medals in the same events and also in the 1,500 metres.[7] Before these Games, Great Britain's last Winter Olympic medal had been a gold at the 1964 Games, also held in Innsbruck.[8] Twelve years later in the same city, the British team won again a single gold medal, this time by figure skater John Curry in the men's singles with a still-standing record total score.[1][9] The two bronze medals won by Swedish athletes were not enough to prevent this team's performance from becoming the weakest ever in the nation's Winter Olympic history.[10]
Andorra and San Marino sent their first delegations to the Winter Olympics,[11][12] whereas the Republic of China competed for the second and last time before its return as Chinese Taipei at the 1984 Winter Olympics; none of these teams medalled.
Medal table
editgold medal sweep in luge
The medal table is based on information provided by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and is consistent with IOC convention in its published medal tables. By default, the table is ordered by the number of gold medals won by an NOC. The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze medals. If nations are still tied, equal ranking is given and they are listed alphabetically.
* Host nation (Austria)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soviet Union | 13 | 6 | 8 | 27 |
| 2 |  East Germany | 7 | 5 | 7 | 19 |
| 3 |  United States | 3 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| 4 |  Norway | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| 5 |  West Germany | 2 | 5 | 3 | 10 |
| 6 |  Finland | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| 7 | Austria* | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 8 |  Switzerland | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| 9 |  Netherlands | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 10 |  Italy | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 11 |  Canada | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 12 |  Great Britain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 |  Czechoslovakia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 |  Liechtenstein | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
 Sweden | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| 16 |  France | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (16 entries) | 37 | 37 | 37 | 111 | |
Change by doping
editGalina Kulakova of the Soviet Union finished 3rd in the women's 5 km ski event, but was disqualified due to a positive test for banned substance ephedrine. She claimed that this was a result of using the nasal spray that contained the substance. Both the FIS and the IOC allowed her to compete in the 10 km and the 4×5 km relay.[13] This was the first stripped medal at the Winter Olympics.
| Olympics | Athlete | Country | Medal | Event | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 Winter Olympics | Galina Kulakova |  Soviet Union
|
|
Cross-Country Skiing, Women's 5 km | [14] |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d "Innsbruck 1976 Winter Olympics". Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 13 August 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
- ^ a b Hughes, Mike (12 February 1976). "In Olympic 1,000 meter event – Mueller wins speed skating event". Daily Record. Ellensburg, Washington. p. 6. Archived from the original on 29 March 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
- ^ "Sports Successes/Highlights". Portal Principality of Liechtenstein. Principality of Liechtenstein – Government Spokesperson's Office. Archived from the original on 11 September 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ^ "For figure skating gold medal – Hamill appears unbeatable". Anchorage Daily News. Associated Press. 12 February 1976. p. 16. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ^ Tupper, Fred (14 February 1976). "Russian six takes title; U.S. medal bid fails; Russians win title; U.S. medal bid fails". The New York Times. p. S1. Archived from the original on 22 July 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ^ "Hamill captures gold; Rosi's sweep foiled". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. 14 February 1976. p. 15. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Speed skating at the 1976 Innsbruck Winter Games". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Great Britain at the 1964 Innsbruck Winter Games". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ^ "John Curry". The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. Archived from the original on 23 June 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Sweden". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 16 July 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ^ "San Marino and Olympism" (PDF). Olympic Review (111). International Olympic Committee: 29. January 1977. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 August 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
- ^ "Andorra and Olympism" (PDF). Olympic Review (178). International Olympic Committee: 503. August–September 1982. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 August 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "1976 Winter Olympics medal table". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 20 January 2011.
- ^ Temple, Wick. "Russian star stripped of medal after use of drug" Archived 2022-05-23 at the Wayback Machine. The Day. February 9, 1976.
External links
edit- "Innsbruck 1976". Olympics.com. International Olympic Committee.
- "1976 Winter Olympics". Olympedia.com. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
- "Olympic Analytics/1976_2". olympanalyt.com. Archived from the original on 2021-08-13. Retrieved 2020-08-21.
- Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "1976 Innsbruck Winter Games". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 23 July 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
- "1976 Innsbruck". Olympic.ca. Canadian Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2010.