The 1949 Winter Deaflympics (german: Winter-Deaflympics 1949) officially known as the I International Winter Games for the Deaf (german: I Internationale Winterspiele für Gehörlose) is an international multi-sport event that was held from 26 January 1949 to 30 January 1949. This event was hosted by

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

History

This event was introduced as a result of the success of the Summer Deaflympics which was introduced in 1924. The event held just after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and the Games held coinciding the 1949 Summer Deaflympics. Only 5 Nations participated at the inaugural Winter Deaflympics including the host nation

. The other nations were

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

and

Cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

were the only sports being introduced at the competition. Women were not allowed to participate at the inaugural Winter Deaflympics.

Medal table

References

{{Deaflympics Deaflympics February 1949 sports events in Europe International sports competitions hosted by Austria 1949 in multi-sport events 1949 in Austrian sport Multi-sport events in Austria Parasports in Austria