History
Fast Facts
Host City: Oslo, NorwayOpening date: Feb. 14, 1952
Closing date: Feb. 25, 1952
Nations: 30
Athletes: 694 (585 Men, 109 Women)
22 events in 6 sports
Norway, which had led the medal standings at four of the previous five Winter Olympics, was selected to host the 1952 edition.
Lack of snow in the days leading up to the Games was worrisome, but a major storm arrived just in time to allow all events to go on as scheduled.
The Olympic torch was brought by relay for the first time, as 89 skiers took turns carrying it from Morgedal, the town where the first ski binding had been invented by Sondre Nordheim.
The last member of the relay team was Eigil Nansen, grandson of Fridtjof Nansen, the explorer who skied across Greenland in 1888. After Nansen carried the torch into the Olympic stadium, the Olympic flame was lit by another explorer, Olav Bjaaland. He and Roald Amundsen had been the first men to get to the South Pole, in 1911.
Women's cross-country skiing was on the program for the first time, along with the giant slalom for both men and women. For Norwegian fans, though, the major attraction was ski jumping. A crowd estimated at nearly 150,000 people watched as Arnfinn Bergman gave the host country its sixth consecutive gold medal in the event.
Andrea Mead Lawrence led the very successful U. S. team, winning gold medals in the slalom and giant slalom. Dick Button claimed his second gold in figure skating and Ken Henry added a speed skating gold. The U. S. also won six silver medals. One of the silver medalists was 16-year-old Tenley Albright, in women's figure skating.
Controversy arose in the four-man bobsled event. Two German teams qualified for the competition, but the Germans decided to put their four heaviest athletes together on one team weighing more than 1,000 pounds. That team won the gold medal. The international governing body quickly added weight limits to its rules.
Once again, Norway was the top nation, with 16 medals. The United States finished second with 11.
