A lot has changed since the 1920s.
Over the past century, we've seen countless Olympic sports added and removed from the event lineup, a remarkable increase in the scale of the competitions, and tons of historic moments from world-renowned athletes at the Olympic Games. The 2026 Winter Olympics are sure to bring even more unforgettable moments in the coming weeks, with the opening ceremony marking the official start of the Games on Friday, Feb. 6, in Milan, Italy.
To celebrate this, we wanted to go back and see just how far the Winter Olympics have come since their start in 1924. We've assembled photos from each year the Winter Olympics have taken place, so you can see for yourself how the global event has evolved over the past century.
1. Chamonix, France (1924) — The first Winter Games were originally called the "International Winter Sports Week," and they included only 16 nations, 260 athletes (13 women, 247 men), and 16 events.
2. St. Moritz, Switzerland (1928) — This was the first year that Japanese athletes competed in the Winter Games, and skeleton (tobogganing) was introduced as an official event.
Related: Olympians Are Showing Off Their Rooms At The Winter Games, And Simone Biles Has Reacted
3. Lake Placid, USA (1932) — The first year a three-tier victory podium was used at the Winter Games, and British figure skater Mollie Phillips became the first woman to carry her country's flag during the opening ceremony.
4. Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany (1936) — The first year that the Olympic flame was lit at the Winter Games site, and the year alpine skiing was introduced as an Olympic sport.
5. St. Moritz, Switzerland (1948) — The first use of the "Magic Eye," where photoelectric cells automatically triggered timing. A light beam was projected across the finish line, and when an athlete broke the beam, the timer stopped.
6. Oslo, Norway (1952) — The first year women's cross-country skiing was included as an Olympic sport, and the first time a dedicated Olympic Village was built for the Winter Games.
7. Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy (1956) — The last Winter Games to hold all events outdoors, and the first to have a live television broadcast of the Games to Europe. Italian alpine skier Giuliana Chenal-Minuzzo also became the first woman to take the Olympic Oath.
8. Squaw Valley, USA (1960) — The first year to use instant replay, in which television footage was used to confirm a decision on the spot. Also, this was the year that the men's biathlon and women’s speed skating events were added as official competitions.
9. Innsbruck, Austria (1964) — This year initiated the tradition of lighting the Olympic torch in Olympia, Greece, and the inclusion of luging as an official event.
10. Grenoble, France (1968) — Norma Enriqueta Basilio from Mexico becomes the first woman in the history of the modern Olympic Games to light the Olympic Flame.
11. Sapporo, Japan (1972) — The first year the Games were held in Asia, and the first and only time a city that had been awarded to host the Olympics (Denver, Colorado) withdrew from hosting.
12. Innsbruck, Austria (1976) — Terry Kubicka executed the first legal backflip on ice in Winter Olympic history. It was later banned due to safety concerns, but Surya Bonaly famously performed an illegal backflip at the 1998 Nagano Olympics.
13. Lake Placid, USA (1980) — The United States ice hockey team made Olympic history, famously known as the "Miracle on Ice," when they defeated the four-time defending gold-medal Soviet Union team 4–3.
14. Sarajevo, Yugoslavia (1984) — Canadian skater Brian Orser was the first man to complete a triple axel at the Olympic Games.
15. Calgary, Canada (1988) — Jamaica's bobsled team, featuring Devon Harris, Dudley Stokes, Michael White, and Chris Stokes, makes its debut. The 1993 film, Cool Runnings, was inspired by the story of these four men.
16. Albertville, France (1992) — The first year that short-track speed skating and freestyle skiing were included as Olympic sports. This was also the year that Swiss speed skier Nicolas Bochatay died in a training accident on the second-to-last day of the Games.
17. Lillehammer, Norway (1994) — The Olympic Games moved to a new cycle to separate the Winter and Summer Olympics, which were previously held in the same year. This was also Tonya Harding's last appearance at the Winter Games before she received a lifetime ban from competitive figure skating.
18. Nagano, Japan (1998) — The first year snowboarding and women’s ice hockey events were introduced, and it was the first time NHL players were allowed to participate in men's hockey.
19. Salt Lake City, USA (2002) — The first year women's bobsledding was included as an Olympic sport, and Vonetta Flowers (a Team USA bobsledder) became the first Black athlete to win a Winter Olympic gold medal.
20. Turin, Italy (2006) — The first time the Games were broadcast on mobile phones and featured widespread online live streaming.
21. Vancouver, Canada (2010) — When Georgia's Nodar Kumaritashvili died after flying off the Olympic luge track during a training run hours before the start of the Games, he was honored during the opening ceremony. This was also the first time the Opening Ceremony was held indoors.
22. Sochi, Russia (2014) — The first year that the Russian Federation hosted the Games. A total of 12 new events were also added, including ski and snowboard slopestyle, ski halfpipe, snowboard parallel slalom, and women’s ski jumping.
23. PyeongChang, South Korea (2018) — The Games featured over 100 events for the first time, with 2,833 athletes from 92 teams. New events included big air snowboarding, mixed doubles curling, mass start speed skating, and mixed team alpine skiing.
24. And finally, Beijing, China (2022) — The Games followed strict "closed-loop" COVID-19 protocols, but they still included 91 nations, roughly 2,869 athletes (45% of which were women), and 109 medal events across 15 sports.
What has been your favorite Winter Olympics ever? Tell us about it in the comments!
Category: General Sports
