Switzerland at the Winter Olympic Games
Switzerland first ventured at the Winter Olympic Games in Chamonix, France in 1924 and has taken part at all Winter Olympics since then. It is one of three nations to have taken part in all Winter and Summer editions of the Olympic Games. The small nation is strong in sports such as alpine skiing, bobsleigh, snowboarding, ski jumping, cross-country skiing, and freestyle skiing.
In the inaugural edition of the Games in Chamonix, France, the Swiss athletes captured two gold medals in the four-man event in bobsleigh and the men’s event in military patrol.
Notable Swiss athletes include Erich Schärer, Verena Schneider and Simon Ammann. Seven-time world champion Schärer captured 4 medals (2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze). Schneider is considered as the most successful alpine ski racer in Switzerland, and the third most successful female ski racer of all time behind Lindsey Vonn and Annemarie Moser-Pröll. She was voted as "Swiss Sportswoman of the Century." Ski jumper, Simon Ammann, won four individual Winter Olympic gold medals between 2002 and 2010, and had also earned the distinction of being the only ski jumper to have completed the gold double–double at the Winter Games.
Trivia
- Switzerland is one of three nations to have taken part in all Winter and Summer editions of the Olympic Games (the others are France and Great Britain).
- Swiss downhill skier Vreni Schneider, whose herniated disk had kept her from winning anything at the previous Games in 1992, won medals in all three alpine skiing events in 1994, bringing her total to five.
Related Pages
- About Sport in Switzerland
- Switzerland at the Summer Olympics
- More Winter Olympics Countries
- Winter Olympics main page.
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