The Beginning and Development of the Winter Olympics 冬奥会的起源和发展

房彦昊

The Olympic Winter Games （official name） is a major international sporting event that occurs once every four years. Unlike the Summer Olympics， the Winter Olympics feature sports practised on snow and ice. It includes the biathlon （skiing and shooting）， bobsled， ice hockey， luge （tobogganing）， ski jumping， and ice skating and skiing events. Demonstration sports may also be included.

[2] The IOC Congress decided that the host nation of the 1924 Summer Olympics， France， would host a separate “International Winter Sports Week” under the patronage of the IOC. Chamonix was chosen to host this “week” of events. The Games proved to be a success when more than 250 athletes from 16 nations competed in 16 events. In 1925 the IOC decided to create a separate Olympic Winter Games and the 1924 Games in Chamonix was retroactively designated as the first Winter Olympics.

[3] Until 1992， the Winter and Summer Olympic Games were held in the same years， but in accordance with a 1986 decision by the International Olympic Committee （IOC） to place the Summer and Winter Games on separate four-year cycles in alternating even-numbered years， the next Winter Olympics after 1992 was in 1994.

[4] The Winter Games have evolved since its inception. Sports and disciplines have been added and some of them， such as Alpine skiing， luge， short track speed skating， freestyle skiing， skeleton， and snowboarding， have earned a permanent spot on the Olympic programme. Others （such as curling and bobsleigh） have been discontinued and later reintroduced， or have been permanently discontinued （such as military patrol， though the modern Winter Olympic sport of biathlon is descended from it）. Still others， such as speed skiing and skijoring， were demonstration sports but never incorporated as Olympic sports.

[5] The rise of television as a global medium for communication enhanced the profile of the Games. It created an income stream， via the sale of broadcast rights and advertising， which has become lucrative for the IOC. This allowed outside interests， such as television companies and corporate sponsors， to exert influence.

[6] The Winter Olympics has been hosted on three continents by eleven different countries. The Games have been held in the United States four times （1932， 1960， 1980， 2002）; in France three times （1924， 1968， 1992）; and in Austria （1964， 1976）， Canada （1988， 2010）， Japan （1972， 1998）， Italy （1956， 2006）， Norway （1952， 1994）， and Switzerland （1928， 1948） twice. Also， the Games have been held in Germany （1936）， Yugoslavia （1984）， and Russia （2014） once.

[7] No city in the southern hemisphere has hosted or even been an applicant to host the Winter Olympics; the major challenge preventing one hosting the games is the dependence on winter weather， and the traditional February timing of the games falls in the middle of the southern hemisphere summer.

[8] Twelve countries—Austria， Canada， Finland， France， Great Britain， Hungary， Italy， Norway， Poland， Sweden， Switzerland and the United States—have sent athletes to every Winter Olympic Games. Six of those—Austria， Canada， Finland， Norway， Sweden and the United States—have earned medals at every Winter Olympic Games， and only one—the United States—has earned gold at each Games. Norway leads in terms of number of gold medals and overall number of medals.

冬季奧林匹克运动会（正式名称）是一项每四年举办一次的重要国际体育赛事。与夏季奥运会不同的是，冬奥会项目都在冰雪上进行。项目有冬季两项（滑雪与射击）、雪车、冰球、雪橇（平底雪车）、跳台滑雪、滑冰和滑雪等，也包含纯观赏类项目。

[2]国际奥委会全会决定赞助1924年夏季奥运会主办国法国独立举办“国际冬季运动周”。运动周选址于沙莫尼。来自16个国家的250名运动员角逐16个项目，结果大获成功。1925年，国际奥委会决定创立一个单独的冬季奥运会，同时将1924年在沙莫尼举办的赛事追认为第一届冬奥会。

[3] 1992年之前，冬奥会与夏奥会都在同一年举办。1986年，国际奥委会决定，每四年一次的冬季和夏季奥运会于间隔的偶数年交叉进行，所以1992年之后的下一届冬奥会在1994年举办。

[4]创办之后的冬奥会一直在改变，增加了大项和小项，其中高山滑雪、雪橇、短道速滑、自由式滑雪、钢架雪车和单板滑雪成为了永久性的奥林匹克项目。其他一些项目（冰壶、雪车）被取消过之后又重新恢复，或被永久性的移除（例如军事巡逻，但之后成为现代冬奥会中的冬季两项的前身）。仍有一些，比如速度滑雪和狗拉雪橇从未正式设项，但仍然属于观赏类项目。

[5]作为一种全球交流媒介，电视的普及大大增加了奥运会的曝光率。转播权的销售以及广告也为国际奥委会带来了稳定的丰厚收入。这给像电视台和公司赞助商等外部利益方提供了提升影响力的机会。

[6]三个大陆11个国家曾经主办过冬奥会。举办的国家和年份有：美国4次（1932，1960，1980，2002），法国3次（1924，1968，1992），奥地利（1964，1976）、加拿大（1988，2010）、日本（1972，1998）、意大利（1956，2006）、挪威（1952，1994）和瑞士（1928，1948）各2次，德国（1936）、南斯拉夫（1984）和俄罗斯（2014）各1次。

[7]南半球国家从未主办过冬奥会或提出主办申请，不能主办的主要挑战是冬奥会依赖于冬季气候，而且冬奥会通常的举办时间在二月份，恰巧是南半球的盛夏。

[8]每届冬奥会都派出运动员参加的国家有12个：奥地利、加拿大、芬兰、法国、英国、匈牙利、意大利、挪威、波兰、瑞典、瑞士和美国。其中6个在每届冬奥会都获得过金牌：奥地利、加拿大、芬兰、挪威、瑞典和美国。而美国是唯一在每届奥运会上都获得过金牌的国家。挪威排在历史金牌总数和奖牌总数的第一位。