1964 Winter Olympics

The 1964 Winter Olympics, also called Innsbruck 1964, were held in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964. This was a big winter sports event with athletes from 36 countries. Over a thousand athletes competed in six different sports and thirty-four events. This was more events than the Winter Olympics in 1960.

For the first time, luge races were part of the Winter Olympics. Three new countries from Asia joined the games for the first time: North Korea, India, and Mongolia. The Soviet Union won the most medals, with eleven gold medals and twenty-five in total. Two Soviet athletes, Lidia Skoblikova in speed skating and Klavdiya Boyarskikh in cross-country skiing, won all the races in their events.

Before the games began, there wasn’t enough snow, so the Austrian army helped bring snow from nearby areas. Unfortunately, during the games, two athletes passed away during training. Despite these sad moments, the 1964 Winter Olympics were remembered for the amazing sportsmanship and new records set by athletes from many nations.

Bid and background for the Games

Host city selection

The city of Innsbruck first tried to host the Winter Olympics in the 1950s for the 1960 Winter Olympic Games. Although many thought Innsbruck would win, the International Olympic Committee chose Squaw Valley in the United States.

Innsbruck tried again for the 1964 Winter Games. On 26 May 1959, during a meeting in Munich, West Germany, Innsbruck won the bid with 49 votes. The other cities, Calgary in Canada with 9 votes and Lahti in Finland, did not receive as many votes.

Political situation

Even though the Berlin Wall was built in 1961, the International Olympic Committee allowed athletes from both East and West Germany to compete together as the United Team of Germany. The IOC also talked about whether South Africa could join the Olympics, but decided they could not because of unfair rules in their sports.

During the Games, new countries joined the Olympic movement. The national Olympic committees of Algeria, Congo, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone were recognized. Also, some people used the Games to share political messages. Five students from Iran were arrested for carrying signs against their leader, and twenty more were arrested for asking for freedom for people in their country.

Organization

The 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, had an organizing committee formed on June 2, 1959. Heinrich Drimmel, President of the Austrian Olympic Committee and Federal Minister of Education, led the committee, with Friedl Wolfgang as secretary-general. The committee included a general assembly, a board of directors, and an executive committee, along with eight sub-committees to handle finance, construction, sports, transport, accommodation, medical services, lodging, administration, and checks.

The Games cost about one billion schillings, or 40 million US dollars, shared by the organizing committee, the Austrian government, the region of Tyrol, and the city of Innsbruck. Efforts were made to save on temporary setups and invest in facilities that could be used after the Games. Key expenses included 75 million schillings for the Olympiaeisstadion, 15 million for the Bergisel Ski Jump renovation, and 10 million for the Olympic Sliding Centre Innsbruck. Developing ski slopes and cross-country trails cost 29 million, and the Olympic village, planned as a leisure center, cost 174 million. A total of 225 million was spent improving roads in the area.

This was the third Winter Olympics broadcast on television and the second time exclusive broadcast rights were sold. The rights brought in US$937,000, a big jump from US$50,000 in the 1960 Games. Thirty countries aired the Games. ABC in the United States paid nearly 15.4 million schillings, which was 64% of the revenue. The Eurovision network spent about 7.6 million for 16 countries, Soviet television spent 600,000 Rbls, and the Intervision network US$550,000 for six Western European countries. In Canada, the CTV Television Network paid CA$5,000 for exclusive rights.

Schedule

The 1964 Winter Olympics took place over twelve days, from January 29 to February 9, in Innsbruck, Austria. There were thirty-four events, more than the twenty-seven at the previous Winter Olympics. New events included three luge races and two ski jumping events. Bobsled returned after not being part of the 1960 Games. A new women’s 5-kilometer race was added to cross-country skiing. Ice stock sport, a game similar to curling, was shown as a demonstration sport. Many people watched alpine skiing and ice hockey.

In the weeks before the Games, warm weather melted the snow. To help, thousands of soldiers brought snow from near the Italian border to the ski slopes. The Opening Ceremony happened on January 29 in front of about 50,000 people. The President of Austria officially started the Games. An athlete named Paul Aste took an important promise for all athletes. An alpine skier lit the Olympic flame in the stadium, and Tyrolean orchestras played music during the ceremony.

† The numeral indicates the number of event finals for each sport held that day.

Events

Biathlon

Main article: Biathlon at the 1964 Winter Olympics

The biathlon appeared for the second time in the Olympics. The only event was a 20-kilometer cross-country ski race with four shooting ranges. Soviet athlete Vladimir Melanin won the event, missing none of his shots. His teammate Aleksandr Privalov came second, and Norwegian Olav Jordet won the bronze medal. Finland's Veikko Hakulinen was fastest in skiing but missed shots and finished lower.

Bobsleigh

Main article: Bobsleigh at the 1964 Winter Olympics

Bobsleigh returned to the Olympics after not being included in 1960. It was held at the Olympic Sliding Centre Innsbruck. British athletes Robin Dixon and Tony Nash received help from Italian Eugenio Monti to fix their bobsleigh. They later won gold, with Italians Sergio Zardini and Romano Bonagura taking silver and Monti and Sergio Siorpaes bronze. In the four-man event, Canada’s Vic Emery team won gold, surprising everyone.

Nordic combined

Main article: Nordic combined at the 1964 Winter Olympics

The Nordic combined event was held in Seefeld in Tirol. Athletes performed jumps and then a cross-country ski race. Norway’s Tormod Knutsen overtook Germany’s Georg Thoma in the ski race to win gold. Soviet Nikolay Kiselyov took silver, and Thoma bronze.

Ice hockey

Main article: Ice hockey at the 1964 Winter Olympics

Ice hockey was played at the Olympiaeisstadion and Messehalle. The Soviet Union won all their games to take gold. Canada, Czechoslovakia, and Sweden followed, with Sweden getting silver and Czechoslovakia bronze. Canada protested the ranking method and skipped the medal ceremony.

Luge

Main article: Luge at the 1964 Winter Olympics

Luge was included for the first time, replacing skeleton. Three events were held. Germany’s Thomas Köhler won the men’s race, with teammates Klaus Bonsack and Hans Plenk close behind. Germany’s Ortrun Enderlein won the women’s race, and Austria’s Josef Feistmantl and Manfred Stengl took gold in the doubles.

Figure skating

Main article: Figure skating at the 1964 Winter Olympics

Figure skating took place at the Olympiaeisstadion. Computers were used to show scores quickly. Germany’s Manfred Schnelldorfer won the men’s event. Netherlands’ Sjoukje Dijkstra won the women’s event. The Soviet pair Ludmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov won gold, with Canadians and Germans sharing silver and Americans taking bronze after later medal changes.

Speed skating

Main article: Speed skating at the 1964 Winter Olympics

Speed skating was held outdoors at the Olympiaeisstadion. America’s Terry McDermott surprised to win the 500 meters. Soviet Ants Antson took gold in the 1,500 meters. Norway’s Knut Johannesen won the 5,000 meters, and Sweden’s Jonny Nilsson won the 10,000 meters. Soviet Lidia Skoblikova won all four women’s events, setting new records each time.

Ski jumping

Main article: Ski jumping at the 1964 Winter Olympics

Two ski jumping events were held: normal hill and large hill. Finland’s Veikko Kankkonen won the normal hill, with Norway’s Toralf Engan second and Torgeir Brandtzæg third. Engan won the large hill, with Kankkonen second and Brandtzæg third again.

Alpine skiing

Main article: Alpine skiing at the 1964 Winter Olympics

Most alpine skiing events were at Axamer Lizum. Austria’s Egon Zimmermann won the men’s downhill. France’s François Bonlieu won the men’s giant slalom, with Austria’s Karl Schranz second and Josef Stiegler third. Stiegler also won the slalom. In women’s events, Austria’s Christl Haas won the downhill. France’s Goitschel sisters won the slalom and giant slalom, with America’s Jean Saubert also winning medals.

Cross-country skiing

Main article: Cross-country skiing at the 1964 Winter Olympics

Cross-country skiing was held near Seefeld in Tirol. Finland’s Eero Mäntyranta won the 15 and 30 kilometer races. Sweden’s Sixten Jernberg won the 50 kilometer and the relay, ending his career with nine medals. Soviet skiers dominated the women’s events, with Klavdiya Boyarskikh winning three gold medals.

Closing Ceremony

For the first time in Olympic history, the Closing Ceremony was held at the Olympiaeisstadion instead of the Olympic Stadium. On February 9, the flags of Greece, Austria, and France were raised while their national anthems played. The President of the IOC, Avery Brundage, officially closed the Games, and the Olympic flame was put out.

Games highlights

The 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, began with a special concert by the Vienna Philharmonic, led by Karl Böhm. They played beautiful pieces by Beethoven and Mozart.

Innsbruck usually has lots of snow, but this year there was not enough. The Austrian army helped by making ice bricks and moving snow to the places where athletes would compete.

Many amazing athletes won medals. Lidia Skoblikova from the Soviet Union won all the women's speed skating races. In bobsledding, an Italian athlete named Eugenio Monti helped Britain’s team by lending them a piece they needed to fix their bobsled. Egon Zimmermann from Austria won gold in men’s downhill skiing. Norway’s Knut Johannesen set a new record in speed skating. Klavdiya Boyarskikh from the USSR won three gold medals in cross-country skiing, and Finland’s Eero Mäntyranta won two.

In skiing, two sisters from France, Christine and Marielle Goitschel, took the top two places in both slalom and giant slalom races. Ski jumping had a new event, and luge was held for the first time at the Olympics. East and West Germany competed together as one team for the last time. The closing ceremonies were held in a different place than the opening ceremonies, and for the first time, they took place inside a building.

Medals

Fourteen of the thirty-six countries that took part in the 1964 Winter Olympics won at least one medal. The Soviet Union did very well, winning twenty-five medals in total—eleven gold, eight silver, and six bronze. This was more than any other country and a new record for the Winter Olympics. The host country, Austria, came in second with twelve medals, including seven in alpine skiing. Norway was third with fifteen medals.

Most decorated athletes

Main article: List of 1964 Winter Olympics medal winners

The Soviet athletes also stood out for winning the most medals. Speed skater Lidia Skoblikova and cross-country skier Klavdiya Boyarskikh were the top two medal winners.

Medal count

These are the top ten nations that won medals at these Games:

  *   Host nation (Austria)

Podium sweeps

Venues

Main article: Venues of the 1964 Winter Olympics

Several special places were made ready for the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria. New snowy slopes for alpine skiing were built near the village of Axamer Lizum, about twenty kilometers from Innsbruck. There was a special track for bobsleigh and luge in Igls, seven kilometers south of Innsbruck. This track was the first to use artificial ice. The Olympiaeisstadion, a big ice rink with eleven thousand seats, was finished in 1963 and held figure skating and many ice hockey games. Other hockey games took place at the Messehalle. The speed skating area, also with artificial ice, was set up outside the Olympiaeisstadion.

The ski jumping events happened at the Toni-Seelos-Olympiaschanze in Seefeld in Tirol and the Bergisel Ski Jump in Innsbruck. The Bergisel ski jump was rebuilt with concrete. The tracks for cross-country skiing and biathlon were also in Seefeld. The opening ceremony was held at the foot of the Bergisel ski jump, and the closing ceremony was at the Olympiaeisstadion. A special area for athletes called the Olympic Village was built outside the city with eight tall buildings.

• Axamer Lizum – Alpine skiing (except the men's downhill)
• Bergiselschanze – opening ceremonies and ski jumping (large hill)
• Bob und Rodelbahn Igls – bobsleigh, luge
• Eisschnellaufbahn – speed skating
• Messehalle – ice hockey
• Olympiahalle – closing ceremonies, figure skating, ice hockey
• Patscherkofel – Alpine skiing (men's downhill)
• Seefeld – biathlon, cross-county skiing, Nordic combined, ski jumping (normal hill)

Participating nations

A total of 36 nations sent athletes to Innsbruck, six more than in Squaw Valley in 1960 Winter Olympic Games. The total number of athletes was 1,091, up from 665 four years earlier. Mongolia, India and North Korea participated in the Winter Games for the first time. Belgium, Greece, Iran, Romania and Yugoslavia returned to this competition after missing it in 1960. On the other hand, South Africa and New Zealand, which took part in Squaw Valley, did not compete in Innsbruck. Athletes from West Germany (FRG) and East Germany (GDR) competed together as Unified Team Germany from 1956 to 1964.

Number of athletes by National Olympic Committees

Prior fatalities

Sadly, two people passed away during training before the 1964 Winter Olympics began. Australian alpine skier Ross Milne had an accident while training, and British luge slider Kazimierz "Kay" Skrzypecki also passed away during a training session.

On February 15, 1961, a plane carrying the United States figure skating team and some of their family members, coaches, and officials crashed in Brussels, Belgium. This accident happened while they were traveling to the World Championships in Prague. Because of this, the 1961 World Championships were canceled, and a new skating program had to be created. Even though most American figure skaters were quite young in 1964, they still managed to win two medals.

There were also a few injuries before the Olympics started. Liechtenstein Alpine skiers Wolfgang Ender broke his leg, and Edmund Schaedler fractured his arm. German tobogganer Josef Fleischmann also had a crash during practices.

After the Games

In the 1970s, the city of Denver in the United States was chosen to host the 1976 Winter Olympics but later decided not to. Many cities wanted to take over, and Innsbruck was chosen again. This was mainly because the places built for the 1964 Games were still there, saving money, and because everyone thought the Games were well organized back then. After the 1964 Olympics, these same places were used for many other sports events, like the Four Hills Tournament, Bobsleigh and Luge World Cup events, the Winter Universiade, the Ice Hockey World Championship in 2005, and the first Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2012.