St. Moritz 1948 Winter Olympic Games

The Winter Olympic Games of 1948 (officially the 5th Winter Olympic Games) were held in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The Second World War put a stop to the Olympic activities for twelve years. The best winter athletes assembled again in 1948 and the 5th Winter Olympic Games were hosted by St. Moritz for the second time.

Time and Place: St. Moritz (Switzerland), 30 January – 28 February 1948
Other candidates: Lake Placid (USA)
Participation: 28 countries, 669 athletes
Number of sports: 7 sports, 22 events
Number of Slovenian athletes: 17
Games opened by: Enrico Celio
Olympic oath: Riccardo Torriani (hockey player)

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Trivia from the St. Moritz 1948 Winter Olympic Games

After the 1936 Games in Germany, the Winter Olympics were scheduled to visit the land of the rising sun for the first time, but Sapporro had to cancel the 1940 Games due to the China-Japan war. For a while it seemed Garmisch would host the Games again, but that did not happen due to the Second World War. In 1946, the International Olympic Committee revived the Olympic ideas, entrusting the 1948 Summer Games to London and the Winter Games to St. Moritz. Both venues hosted the Olympics for the second time.

 

St. Moritz hosted the games before in 1928, so they merely modernized the facilities and prepared the setting for interesting Games. There were 28 participating countries without German and Japanese presence. As many as 13 countries won medals with the Scandinavians again firmly in the lead. The hosts did good as well, picking up 10 medals.

 

Alpine skiing events finally took their rightful place in the Olympic program. After a somewhat truncated program with a decimated group of participants in 1936, the sport of alpine skiing got a more complete program. Skiers competed in slalom, downhill and combined competition. The premier alpine hero of his time became Henri Orellier, winning three medals. The French skier was also the most successful participant of the Games. Other successful athletes included Swedish cross country skier Martin Lundström, Austrian alpine skier Trude Beiser, Canadian ice skater Barbara Scott and her compatriots in the hockey team who reclaimed their place on the throne.