The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games (german: XII. Olympische Winterspiele, french: XIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1976 ( bar, Innschbruck 1976, label= Austro-Bavarian), was a winter
multi-sport event
A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of interna ...
celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from February 4 to 15, 1976. The Games were awarded to Innsbruck after
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, the original host city, withdrew in 1972. This was the second time the
Tyrol
Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...
ean capital had hosted the Winter Olympics, having first done so in
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...
.
Host selection
The cities of
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, Colorado, United States;
Sion, Switzerland
, neighboring_municipalities= Ayent, Conthey, Grimisuat, Grône, Les Agettes, Nax, Nendaz, Saint-Léonard, Salins, Savièse, Vernamiège, Vex
, twintowns =
Sion (; german: Sitten ; it, Seduno; la, Sedunum) is a Swiss town, a mun ...
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
(with most events near Mount Garibaldi), British Columbia, Canada, made bids for the Games. The host was decided at the 69th IOC meeting in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
, Netherlands, on May 12, 1970.
In a statewide referendum on 7 November 1972,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
voters rejected funding for the games, and for the first time a city awarded the Games rejected them. Denver officially withdrew on 15 November, and the IOC then offered the games to Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, but they too declined owing to a change of government following elections.
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...
offered to host the games, but the IOC, still reeling from the Denver rejection, declined and selected Innsbruck to host the 1976 Winter Olympics, which had hosted the
1964 Winter Olympics
The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games (german: IX. Olympische Winterspiele) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1964 ( bar, Innschbruck 1964, label=Austro-Bavarian), was a winter multi-sport event which was celebr ...
games twelve years earlier, on 5 February 1973.
Mascot
The mascot of the 1976 Winter Olympics was Schneemann, a
snowman
A snowman is an anthropomorphic snow sculpture of a man often built in regions with sufficient snowfall and is a common winter tradition. In many places, typical snowmen consist of three large snowballs of different sizes with some additional ...
in a red Tyrolean hat. Designed by Walter Pötsch, Schneeman was purported to represent the 1976 Games as the "Games of Simplicity". It was also regarded as a good-luck charm, to avert the dearth of snow that had marred the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck.
Highlights
* First Games under the presidency of
Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin
Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin, (30 July 1914 – 25 April 1999) was an Irish journalist, author, sports official, and the sixth President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). He succeeded his uncle as Baron Killanin in the Peer ...
*Austrian favorite
Franz Klammer
Franz Klammer (born 3 December 1953) is a former champion alpine ski racer from Austria. Klammer dominated the downhill event for four consecutive World Cup seasons (1975– 78). He was the gold medalist at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsb ...
won the men's downhill event in alpine skiing in 1:45.73, after great pressure from his country and defending champion
Bernhard Russi
Bernhard Russi (born 20 August 1948) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Switzerland. Born in Andermatt in the canton of Uri, he is an Olympic, World Cup, and World champion in the downhill event.Switzerland.
*
Dorothy Hamill
Dorothy Stuart Hamill (born July 26, 1956) is a retired American figure skater. She is the 1976 Olympic champion and 1976 World champion in ladies' singles.
Early life
Hamill was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Chalmers and Carol Hamill. Her fat ...
of the US won the gold in figure Skating, and inspired the popular "wedge" haircut.
*Elegant British figure skater
John Curry
John Anthony Curry, (9 September 1949 – 15 April 1994) was a British figure skater. He was the 1976 European, Olympic and World Champion. He was noted for combining ballet and modern dance influences into his skating.
Early life
Curry was ...
altered his routine to appeal to Olympic judges, winning gold.Olympic.org /ref>
*American figure skater
Terry Kubicka
Terry Kubicka (born April 3, 1956) is an American retired figure skater who is known as the first American to perform the difficult triple Lutz jump. He is the 1974 Prague Skate champion, 1975 Skate Canada International bronze medalist, and 197 ...
attempted – and completed – a dangerous backflip in figure skating.
*
Rosi Mittermaier
Rosa Anna Katharina Mittermaier-Neureuther (; 5 August 1950 – 4 January 2023) was a German alpine skier. She was the overall World Cup champion in 1976 and a double gold medalist at the 1976 Winter Olympics.
Mittermaier competed in alpine ...
of
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
nearly swept the women's alpine skiing events, earning two golds and a silver, missing the third gold by 0.13 seconds.
*Soviet speed skater Tatiana Averina won four medals.
*In the 4-man bobsled, the East German team won the first of three consecutive titles.
*The USSR won its fourth straight
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...
gold medal; for the second consecutive Olympics, Canada refused to send a team, protesting the rules that allowed the USSR to field professional players while limiting Canada to amateurs. Sweden also joined the boycott.
*Sports technology, in the guise of innovative perforated skis, sleek hooded suits and streamlined helmets appeared in alpine skiing, speed skating and ski jumping, making headlines in Innsbruck.CBC.CA CBC.CA. Retrieved on July 7, 2011.
*A second cauldron for the Olympic flame was built to represent the 1976 Games. Both it and the cauldron from the 1964 games were lit together.
*
Bobsleigh
Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...
and luge competed on the same track for the first time ever.
*
Galina Kulakova
Galina Alexeyevna Kulakova (russian: Галина Алексеевна Кулакова, born 29 April 1942) is a Soviet former cross-country skier, arguably the best skier on distances shorter than 10 km in the early 1970s. She won four Ol ...
of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
finished 3rd in the women's 5 km ski event, but was disqualified due to a positive test for banned substance
ephedrine
Ephedrine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is often used to prevent low blood pressure during anesthesia. It has also been used for asthma, narcolepsy, and obesity but is not the preferred treatment. It is of unclear benefit in ...
. She claimed that this was a result of using the nasal spray that contained the substance. Both the
FIS
FIS or fis may refer to:
Science and technology
* '' Fis'', an ''E. Coli'' gene
* Fis phenomenon, a phenomenon in linguistics
* F♯ (musical note)
* Flight information service, an air traffic control service
* Frame Information Structure, a Se ...
and the IOC allowed her to compete in the 10 km and the 4×5 km relay. This was the first stripped medal at the Winter Olympics.
*The Austrian anthem was played three times at the closing ceremony during the beginning, the victory ceremony and the handover ceremony to honor the three verses of the anthem.
Olympiahalle
Olympiahalle is a multi-purpose arena located in Am Riesenfeld in Munich, Germany, part of Olympiapark. The arena is used for concerts, sporting events, exhibitions or trade fairs. The seating capacity for the arena varies from 12,150 up to 14,0 ...
Patscherkofel
Patscherkofel is a mountain and ski area in the Alps, in state of Tyrol, Tyrol in western Austria, 7 km (4 mi.) south of Innsbruck. The peak rises to a summit elevation of Height above mean sea level, above sea level. The town of Igls a ...
There were 37 events contested in 6 sports (10 disciplines).
Ice dance made its Olympic debut.
See the medal winners, ordered by sport:
Participating nations
37 nations participated in the 1976 Winter Olympic Games. The games marked the final time the Republic of China (Taiwan) participated under the Republic of China flag and name. After most of the international community recognized the People's Republic of China as the legitimate government of all China, the ROC was forced to compete under the name Chinese Taipei, under an altered flag and to use its National Banner Song instead of its national anthem.
Andorra
, image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg
, symbol_type = Coat of arms
, national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...
and San Marino participated in their first Winter Olympic Games.
Number of athletes by National Olympic Committees
Medal count
These are the top ten nations that won medals at the 1976 Winter Games.