Medalists and Medals at the Winter Olympics

From 1924 until now, the Winter Olympics have changed and evolved a lot over the years. And from the 16 countries that participated then to the 92 that will be present at PyeongChang 2018, too.

Of those 92, only 12 countries have been present in all editions: Austria, Canada, Finland, Norway, Sweden, the United States, France, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Switzerland.

And of these, only the first 6 have achieved Medals in all the Olympic Winter Games. In fact, only the United States has achieved any Gold in all and each of its shares. Yes indeed, who leads the Medal Table is Norwayboth in total number of Medals (329 before PyeongChang 2018), and in Golds (118).

As a curiosity, The smallest country that has Medals in the Winter Olympic Games is Liechtenstein. He won the first one in Innsbruck 1976 and has a total of 9, all of them in Alpine Skiing. In addition, it is the only country that has Medals in Winter and not in Summer. And also the only one who has achieved them all in a single sport.

But all these Medals would not be possible without the most important thing: The Medalists Themselves. The athletes who give their best in each competition and who fight to write their own page in this Olympic History. Some have managed to write especially important pages…

1. The First Winter Olympic Games Medalist was Charles Jewtraw.

On January 26, 1924, the first Chamonix Winter Week Medals were distributed. The first event was the 500 meters in Speed ​​Skating. When American Charles Jewtraw crossed the finish line ahead of his opponents, he not only won the test. Also became the First Medalist of what would later be the First Winter Olympic Games in History.

2. Norwegian Sonja Henie held the record for youngest Winter Olympic Champion at 70 years.

He achieved his first Olympic Figure Skating Gold at the 1928 St. Moritz Olympic Games, at the age of 15. She thus became the youngest champion so far.

AND remained so until Nagano 1998, when Tara Lipinski surpassed her at 15 years, 8 months and 10 days. In turn, she would be surpassed by Yulia Lipnitskaya in Sochi 2014. The Russian was 6 days younger than the American when she won Gold in the Team Event.

Sonja Henie defended the Olympic Title in 1932 and 1936. Those 3 consecutive Gold Medals is still an Olympic result not achieved by any other skater individual.

3. There are 4 Olympic Medalists who are in Summer and Winter.

Actually there are 5, but Gillis Grafström cannot really be counted, because all his Medals are in Figure Skating. He conquered the first of them in Antwerp 1920, when Figure Skating was part of the Summer Olympic Games. Later he won another 3 Medals, in the same discipline, but already in a Winter Olympic Games.

Eddie Eggan achieved in Lake Placid 1932 the Gold Medal in Bobsleigh to 4. Thus he became the First Olympic Champion who was in Summer and Winter Sports. This, thanks to the fact that in Antwerp 1920 he had managed to climb to the top of the Boxing Podium.

Only 4 years later, in Berlin 1936, another athlete repeated the feat of winning Medals in both calls. Was Jacob Tullin Thamsthe First Olympic Ski Jumping Champion in History, and who in Germany, achieved Silver in Sailing along with the rest of the Norwegian team.

We had to wait until 1988 for history to repeat itself. In Calgary, Christa Luding-Rothenburger won her 2nd and 3rd Speed ​​Skating Medals. When the Seoul Olympics came around, she competed in Track Cycling and achieved Silver in Sprint. She with this she became the First Person to get Summer and Winter Olympic Medals in the same year.

Finally, there is Clara Hughes. She is the Only Athlete to Win Multiple Medals at both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. In Atlanta 1996, she won 2 Road Cycling Medals. And between Salt Lake City 2002, Turin 2006 and Vancouver 2010, he added 4 Medals in Speed ​​Skating.

4. Lidia Skoblikova is the skater with the most Gold Medals in the same Winter Olympics.

It is since Innsbruck 1964 when he won all the Golds in Speed ​​Skating (500, 1,000, 1,500 and 3,000 meters). At that time he was the person with the most Olympic Medals achieved in a single edition. Since Lake Placid 1980 he is the 2nd, only behind fellow skater Eric Heiden, who managed 5.

Skoblikova, with those 4 Medals, she also became the first to win 6 Olympic Goldssince he had achieved another 2 in Squaw Valley 1960 (1,500 and 3,000 meters).

5. Francisco Fernández Ochoa won the First Gold Medal for Spain in the Winter Olympics.

Actually the only one to this day (January 2018). She got it in her second Olympic participation, in Sapporo 1972. There he competed in Giant and Slalom. In the latter it was where he was proclaimed Champion.

That Paquito Fernández Ochoa Medal, which was how he was known, was the Third Olympic Gold in the history of Spain, including the two Summer ones previously achieved.

In 2002, Johann Mühlegg, nicknamed Juanito, won another 3 Golds in Cross Country Skiing. However, they were withdrawn for doping.

6. The Southern Hemisphere had no Winter Olympic Medals until Albertville 1992.

that year, New Zealand alpine skier Annelise Coberger won Silver in Slalom. It was not only the First Winter Olympic Medal for his country, but for the entire Hemisphere. To this day (January 2018), it is still the Only New Zealand Medal in a Winter Olympic Games.

10 years later, in Salt Lake City 2002, came the First Winter Olympic Gold for the Southern Hemisphere. It was thanks to Short Track skater, Steven Bradbury. The Australian took victory in the 1,000 meters after his opponents fell on the last lap.

In this 4th participation in a Winter Olympic Games, Bradbury not only won the First Gold for Australia and its Hemisphere, but would establish the expression “Do a Bradbury” (Doing a Bradbury) to refer to successes and eventful or unexpected victories.

7. In Salt Lake City 2002, Georg Hackl became the First Medalist in 5 consecutive editions.

German Luge pilot, won his first Silver in Calgary 1988. In the following 3 editions, he was able to proclaim himself Champion, and finally in 2002, he repeated Silver, becoming the First Athlete to win Medals in 5 consecutive Winter Olympic Games.

Besides, in Nagano 1998 he obtained the victory after finishing first in the 4 descents. Something that no other man had achieved until then (although there was a woman, the Soviet Vera Zozula).

Although he tried to add the 6th consecutive Medal in Turin 2006, on that occasion he failed to reach the Podium.

8. The oldest Champion in a Winter Olympics is the Norwegian Ole Einar Bjørndalen.

The “King of Biathlon”, as he is known, won Sprint Gold in Sochi 2014, at the age of 40. That was his 12th Olympic medal, which also placed him as athlete with more medals along with his compatriot Bjørn Dæhlie, a cross-country skier.

Just a few days later, he moved to the top of that ranking by getting his 13th Medal since Nagano 1998. He won Gold in the Mixed Relay.

But those are not the only Bjørndalen Records. In Salt Lake City 2002, he became the The only Biathlete who won all the Biathlon events in the same edition (at that time Sprint, Pursuit, Individual and Relay). Since Vancouver 2010, he is also the most successful biathleteafter surpassing the 9 Medals of the German Uschi Disl.

Although he tried to increase these numbers by going to PyeongChang 2018, the results did not accompany him throughout the season and the Norwegian team decided to leave him out of the call.

What new milestones will be achieved? Perhaps one of these records will be broken and we will have to redo the entry for the next edition. Spain may finally get its second medal in the Winter Olympics. Or maybe some other country will reach the first