1976 Winter Olympics

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 (10 disciplines)
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 (French: Les XIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) (German: Olympische Winterspiele 1976), 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, which were awarded to Innsbruck after Denver, the original host city, withdrew in 1972.

Host selection

The cities of Denver, Colorado, United States; Sion, Switzerland; Tampere, Finland; and Vancouver (with the Garibaldi mountains), Canada, made bids for the Games.

The games were originally awarded to Denver on May 12, 1970, but a 300% rise in costs and worries about environmental impact led to Colorado voters' rejection on November 7, 1972, by a 3 to 2 margin, of a $5 million bond issue to finance the games with public funds.^[1][2][3]

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 neighbouring Vancouver's successful bid for the 2010 games.

Salt Lake City, Utah, a 1972 Winter Olympics final candidate who would eventually host in 2002 Winter Olympics, offered itself as a potential host after the withdrawal of Denver. The IOC, still reeling from the Denver rejection, declined and selected Innsbruck, which had hosted the 1964 Winter Olympics games twelve years earlier, on February 4, 1973.^[4][5]

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.

Original 1976 Winter Olympics bidding results[6]
City	Country	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3
Denver	United States	29	29	39
Sion	Switzerland	18	31	30
Tampere	Finland	12	8	—
Vancouver—Garibaldi	Canada	9	—	—

Mascot

Schneemann, the mascot of the Games

The mascot of the 1976 Winter Olympics is a Tyrolean snowman called Schneemann and represents the Games of Simplicity.

Highlights

• First Games under the presidency of Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin
• 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 US won the gold in Figure Skating, and inspired the popular "wedge" haircut.^[7]
• Elegant British skater John Curry altered his routine to appeal to Olympic judges, winning gold.^[8]
• 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.^[9]
• Soviet speed skater Tatiana Averina won four medals. The U.S. team won six medals in speed skating.^[10]
• In the 4-man bobsled, the East German team won 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.^[11]
• 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.
• The Soviet Union won the most medals with 13 gold, 6 silver, and 8 bronze.
• Bobsleigh and luge competed on the same track for the first time ever.

Venues

Bergisel in 2004

• Axamer Lizum – Alpine skiing except men's downhill
• Bergiselschanze – Ski jumping (large hill), Opening Ceremonies
• Eisschnellaufbahn – Speed skating
• Kombinierte Kunsteisbahn für Bob-Rodel Igls – Bobsleigh, Luge
• Messehalle – Ice hockey
• Olympiahalle – Figure skating, Ice hockey, Closing Ceremonies
• Patscherkofel – Alpine skiing (men's downhill)
• Seefeld – Biathlon, Cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, Ski jumping (normal hill)

Medals awarded

There were 37 events contested in 6 sports (10 disciplines). Ice dancing made its debut to the Olympics. See the medal winners, ordered by sport:

Alpine skiing (6) () Biathlon (2) () Bobsleigh (2) () Cross-country skiing (7) () Figure skating (4) ()

Ice hockey (1) () Luge (3) () Nordic combined (1) () Ski jumping (2) () Speed skating (9) ()

Participating nations

37 nations participated in the 1976 Winter Olympic Games. The '76 Winter Olympics 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 and San Marino participated in their first Winter Olympic Games.

Andorra Argentina Australia Austria Belgium Bulgaria Canada Chile Republic of China Czechoslovakia Finland France East Germany

West Germany Great Britain Greece Hungary Iceland Iran Italy Japan South Korea Lebanon Liechtenstein Netherlands

New Zealand Norway Poland Romania San Marino Soviet Union Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey United States Yugoslavia

Medal count

(Host nation highlighted)

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Soviet Union	13	6	8	27
2	East Germany	7	5	7	19
3	United States	3	3	4	10
4	Norway	3	3	1	7
5	West Germany	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

• 1976 Winter Paralympics
• 1976 Summer Paralympics
• 1976 Summer Olympics

• Winter Olympic Games
• Olympic Games
• International Olympic Committee
• List of IOC country codes

References

1. "Colorado only state ever to turn down Olympics". Denver.rockymountainnews.com. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
2. "The Games that got away – 2002 Winter Olympics coverage". Deseretnews.com. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
3. "'76 Olympics: where now?". Deseret News (Salt Lake City, Utah). November 8, 1972. p. D1.
4. "Innsbruck, Austria gets 76 Olympic Winter Games". Spartanburg Herald (South Carolina). Associated Press. February 5, 1973. p. B1.
5. "Innsbruck given Winter Olympics". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. February 5, 1973. p. 25.
6. "Past Olympic host city election results". GamesBids. Archived from the original on March 17, 2011. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
7. Dorothy Hamill bio. Factmonster.com. Retrieved on July 7, 2011.
8. Olympic.org
9. Infoplease. Infoplease (2009-02-01). Retrieved on July 7, 2011.
10. Kiat.net. Kiat.net. Retrieved on July 7, 2011.
11. CBC.CA. CBC.CA. Retrieved on July 7, 2011.

External links

• "Innsbruck 1976". Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee.
• "Results and Medalists". Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee.
• The Official Report of the XIIth Winter Olympic Games 1976 at Innsbruck – from LA84Foundation
• Present photos of Innsbruck Olympic sites
• Rocky Mountain News – Colorado only state ever to turn down Olympics – October 12, 1999
• The program of the 1976 Innsbruck Winter Olympics
• Alpine Ski Maps.com – winter map of Innsbruck area