History
Fast Facts
Host City: St. Moritz, SwitzerlandOpening date: Jan. 30, 1948
Closing date: Feb. 9, 1948
Nations: 28
Athletes: 669 (529 Men, 77 Women)
22 events in 7 sports
World War II forced a 12-year hiatus, but the Olympics resumed in 1948. The IOC permanently abandoned the notion of having a single host country in each Olympiad. While London hosted the Summer Games, St. Moritz was chosen as the site for the Winter Olympics.
It was a sensible selection. Having hosted the Games just 20 years before, the Swiss town had all the facilities needed. And Switzerland, as a neutral country, had suffered no damage during the war.
A major controversy over control of U. S. ice hockey threatened cancellation of the tournament. The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and Amateur Hockey Association (AHA) both sent teams to St. Moritz and the IOC, unable to decide which was the legitimate U. S. representative, tried to avoid controversy by simply not holding a hockey tournament at all.
But the Swiss organizers protested and the tournament went on. The AHA team was allowed to compete, but none of its games counted in the standings.
Another controversy arose when some of the U. S. bobsleds were sabotaged. No culprit was ever found and the sleds were repaired well enough so that American teams won a total of four medals, including a gold.
Despite those problems, the 1948 Winter Games were unquestionably successful, with 28 countries sending 669 athletes. Alpine skiing was expanded, with the downhill and slalom added to the combined event for both men and women. Gretchen Fraser of the U. S. was the surprise winner of the first Gold Medal in the women's slalom.
Another American champion was Harvard freshman Dick Button, who won the gold in men's figure skating. Barbara Ann Scott of Canada was the women's champion.
Canada reclaimed the Olympic hockey championship with a makeshift team. The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association decided that a competitive team of amateurs couldn't be put together. A squadron leader in the Royal Canadian Air Force stepped into the breach, assembling a team called the RCAF Flyers, made up college and senior league players.
In the round-robin tournament, Canada and Switzerland had identical 7-0-1 records, but Canada was awarded the gold medal because it had a differential of 64 goals over opponents, compared to 62 for Switzerland.
Norway and Sweden were the top nations, with 10 medals apiece.
