1964 Winter Olympics
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| IX Olympic Winter Games | |
 The emblem represents the coat of arms of Innsbruck, which shows the bridge on the Inn River that connects the old town and the Hötting district. |
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| Host city | Innsbruck, Austria |
| Nations participating | 36 |
| Athletes participating | 1091 (892 men, 199 women) |
| Events | 34 in 6 sports |
| Opening ceremony | January 29 |
| Closing ceremony | February 9 |
| Officially opened by | Adolf Schärf |
| Athlete's Oath | Paul Aste |
| Olympic Torch | Joseph Rieder |
| Stadium | Bergisel |
The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games, were celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964. The games included 1091 athletes from 36 nations, and the Olympic Torch was carried by Joseph Rieder, [1] a former alpine skier who had participated in the 1956 Winter Olympics.
The games were affected by the deaths of Australian alpine skier Ross Milne and a British luge slider, during training, and by the deaths, 3 years earlier, of the entire US figure skating team and family members (see: Prior tragedies, below).
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[edit] Games highlights
- Lydia Skoblikova takes a full clean sweep in the women's speed skating events, an achievement not matched by a man until Eric Heiden in the 1980 Lake Placid Games.
- Egon Zimmermann of Austria takes the gold medal in the mens downhill alpine skiing event.
- In the 4 man bobsled the Canadian team take the gold medal with a total winning time of 4:14.46.
- Knut Johannesen wins the mens 5,000m in an Olympic record time of 7:38.40.
- The USSR win the games with a total of 11 medals.
[edit] Medal winners
[edit] Demonstration sport
[edit] Participating nations
36 nations sent athletes to compete in Innsbruck. India, Mongolia, and North Korea participated in the Winter Games for the first time. Athletes from West Germany (FRG) and East Germany (GDR) competed together as the United Team of Germany from 1956 to 1964.
[edit] Medal count
Main article: 1964 Winter Olympics medal count
These are the top ten nations that won medals at these Games:
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Soviet Union |
11 | 8 | 6 | 25 |
| 2 |  Austria (host nation) |
4 | 5 | 3 | 12 |
| 3 |  Norway |
3 | 6 | 6 | 15 |
| 4 |  Finland |
3 | 4 | 3 | 10 |
| 5 |  France |
3 | 4 | 0 | 7 |
| 6 |  United Team of Germany |
3 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| 7 |  Sweden |
3 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| 8 |  United States |
1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 9 |  Netherlands |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 |  Canada |
1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
[edit] Prior tragedies
Tragedies, immediately prior to the 1964 Winter Olympics, affected the outcome and mood of the games:
- Australian alpine skier Ross Milne and a British luge slider died during training. The organising committee said that Ross caught an edge and subsequently crashed into a tree. The IOC suggested that inexperience may have played a role in Ross's death, whereas Australian manager John Wagner suggested that overcrowding played a role, saying that he tried to slow down "on a spot which was not prepared for stopping or swinging" to avoid a crowd of contestants. His brother Malcolm Milne competed at the 1968 and 1972 Winter Olympics.
- On February 15, 1961, the entire US Figure Skating team and several family members, coaches, and officials had been killed in the crash of Sabena Flight 548 in Brussels, Belgium en route to the World Championships in Prague. This tragedy sent the US skating program into a period of rebuilding. The loss of the U.S. team was considered so catastrophic for the sport that the 1961 World Championships were cancelled, and impacted later Winter Olympics.
[edit] References
- "Australia and the Olympic Games" by Harry Gordon. ISBN 0-7022-2627-0
[edit] See also
| Sports • Medal counts • NOCs Medalists • Symbols |
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| Summer Games: 1896, 1900, 1904, 19061, 1908, 1912, (1916)2, 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, (1940)2, (1944)2, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024 |
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| Winter Games: 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, (1940)2, (1944)2, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 | ||
| Recent and Upcoming Games Athens 2004 — Turin 2006 — Beijing 2008 — Vancouver 2010 — London 2012 |
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