1976 Winter Olympics

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XII 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. The bridge and the Olympic rings symbolize the link that ties the many peoples of the world with friendship through the Olympic Games. The top of the coat of arms has two indents which match two of the Olympic rings and represent the 1964 and 1976 Winter Games which Innsbruck celebrates.
Host city	Innsbruck, Austria
Nations participating	37
Athletes participating	1123 (892 men, 231 women)
Events	37 in 6 sports
Opening ceremony	February 4
Closing ceremony	February 15
Officially opened by	President Rudolf Kirchschläger
Athlete's Oath	Werner Delle-Karth
Judge's Oath	Willy Köstinger
Olympic Torch	Christl Haas and Josef Feistmantl
Stadium	Bergisel

The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated February 4-15, 1976 in Innsbruck, Austria. It was the second time the Tyrolean city hosted the Games.

Following the Munich Massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics, security was tight for the 1976 games.

Host selection

The cities of Denver, Colorado, United States; Sion, Switzerland; Tampere, Finland; and Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, made bids for the Games.

The games were originally awarded to Denver in May 1970, but a 300 percent rise in costs and worries about environmental impact led to Colorado voters' rejection in November 7, 1972, by a 3 to 2 margin, of a $5 million bond issue to finance the games with public funds.^[1][2]

Denver officially withdrew on November 15, and the IOC then offered the games to Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, but they too declined owing to a change of government following elections. (Whistler would go on to be associated with neighboring Vancouver's successful bid for the 2010 games.)

Salt Lake City, Utah, which would eventually host in 2002, offered itself as a potential host after the withdrawal of Denver. The IOC, still reeling from the Denver rejection, declined and selected Innsbruck on February 5, 1973; it had hosted the 1964 games nine years earlier.

The chart below displays the original vote count for the 69th IOC meeting at Amsterdam, Netherlands, in 1970, before the Denver rejection and the installation of Innsbruck, Austria, as alternate host.^[3]

Original 1976 Winter Olympics Bidding Results
City	NOC Name	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3
Denver, Colorado	United States	29	29	39
Sion	Switzerland	18	31	30
Tampere	Finland	12	8	-
Vancouver-Garibaldi, British Columbia	Canada	9	-	-

Highlights

• Austrian favorite Franz Klammer won the men's downhill event in alpine skiing in 1:45.73, after great pressure from his country and defending champion Bernhard Russi of Switzerland.
• Dorothy Hamill of the U.S. won the gold in Figure Skating, and inspired the popular "wedge" haircut.^[4]
• Elegant British skater John Curry altered his routine to appeal to Olympic judges, winning gold.^[5]
• American skater Terry Kubicka attempted - and completed - a dangerous backflip in figure skating.
• Rosi Mittermaier of West Germany nearly swept the women's alpine skiing events, earning two golds and a silver, missing the third gold by 0.13 seconds.^[6]
• Soviet Tatiana Averina speed skater won four medals. The U.S. team won six medals in speed skating.^[7]
• In the 4-man bobsled, the East German team won for the first of three consecutive titles.
• The USSR won its fourth straight ice hockey gold medal; for the second consecutive Olympics Canada refused to send a team.
• 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.^[8]
• A second cauldron for the Olympic flame was built to represent the 1976 Games, and together with the 1964 Winter Games cauldrons were lit.
• The Soviet Union won the most medals with 13 gold, 6 silver, and 8 bronze.
• The mascot was the Tyrolean snowman.
• Bobsleigh and luge competed on the same track for the first time ever.

Venues

Bergisel, as it looks today

• Bergisel - ski jumping
• Igls bobsleigh and luge track
• Patscherkofel - men's alpine skiing - downhill
• Axamer Lizum - women's alpine skiing, men's alpine skiing (giant slalom and slalom)

Winter map - Innsbruck area

Medals awarded

Ice dancing made its debut to the Olympics.

See the medal winners, ordered by sport:

• Alpine skiing
• Biathlon
• Bobsleigh
• Cross-country skiing
• Figure skating
• Ice hockey
• Luge
• Nordic combined
• Ski jumping
• Speed skating

Participating nations

37 nations participated in the 1976 Winter Olympic Games. The '76 Winter Olympics marked the final time the Republic of China 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 and San Marino participated in their first Winter Olympic Games.

Medal count

(Host nation highlighted)

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Soviet Union	13	6	8	27
2	East Germany (GDR)	7	5	7	19
3	United States	3	3	1	7
4	Norway	3	3	1	7
5	West Germany (FRG)	2	5	3	10
6	Finland	2	4	1	7
7	Austria	2	2	2	6
8	Switzerland	1	3	1	5
9	Netherlands	1	2	3	6
10	Italy	1	2	1	4

See also

• Olympic Games
• Summer Olympic Games
• International Olympic Committee
• IOC country codes
• 1976 Winter Paralympics
• 1964 Winter Olympics

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: 1976 Winter Olympics

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ [2]
3. ^ Compliments from the International Olympic Committee Vote History web page.
4. ^ Dorothy Hamill bio
5. ^ Olympic.org
6. ^ Infoplease
7. ^ Kiat.net
8. ^ CBC.CA

• The Official Report of the XIIth Winter Olympic Games 1976 at Innsbruck - from amateur athletic foundation

External links

• Olympic.org - official site
• Present photos of Innsbruck Olympic sites
• Rocky Mountain News - Colorado only state ever to turn down Olympics - 12-Oct-1999
• The program of the 1976 Innsbruck Winter Olympics
• Alpine Ski Maps.com - winter map of Innsbruck area