The 1928 Winter Olympics, referred to by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the II Olympic Winter Games, were held in St. Moritz, Switzerland, from February 11 through February 18, 1928. A total of 464 athletes from 25 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in these Games. Overall, 14 events were contested in 8 disciplines. Athletes competed in skeleton for the first time, but unlike the previous Olympic Games there was no curling competition and military patrol was a demonstration event rather than a medal event.[1][2] Both men and women competed in these Games, although women were only allowed to compete in the figure skating ladies' singles and pairs events.[3]
Eighty-three individual athletes won medals, but the ones representing Norway far surpassed their competitors in the medal count, winning fifteen medals to the six won by the nearest NOC, the United States. The only three other NOCs that had medalists in more than one event were Sweden, Finland, and Austria. Twelve of the 25 participating NOCs secured at least one medal, and among these, six NOCs won at least one gold medal.[4]
Sonja Henie of Norway won the gold medal in the women's individual figure skating competition, the first of three consecutive Winter Olympics where she would do so. She was only 15 years old when she competed at the 1928 Games, setting the record for the youngest person to win an Olympic medal, a record she held for 74 years. Competing with an injured knee, Swedish figure skater Gillis Grafström won the men's individual competition for the third consecutive Winter Games. In the 50–km cross-country skiing competition, Swedish athletes took all three medals. Per-Erik Hedlund won the race, which took place during unusual weather conditions (temperatures rose from 0 to 25 °C (32 to 77 °F)]), by a span of 13 minutes.[1] Norwegian speed skater Bernt Evensen topped the medal count, winning one gold, one silver, and one bronze medal. Four athletes won two medals each: Johan Grøttumsbråten and Ivar Ballangrud of Norway, Clas Thunberg of Finland, and Jennison Heaton of the United States. Both Grøttumsbråten and Thunberg were multiple medal winners in the previous Olympic Games as well.[4]
Bobsleigh
edit
| Event[5] | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Five-man |
 United States (USA)USA II Billy Fiske Clifford Gray Geoffrey Mason Richard Parke Nion Tucker |
United States (USA) USA I Thomas Doe David Granger Jennison Heaton Lyman Hine Jay O'Brien |
 Germany (GER)Germany II Hans Heß Sebastian Huber Hanns Kilian Valentin Krempl Hanns Nägle |
Cross-country skiing
edit| Event[6] | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 km |
Johan Grøttumsbråten Norway
|
Ole Hegge Norway
|
Reidar Ødegaard Norway
|
| 50 km |
Per-Erik Hedlund Sweden
|
Gustaf Jonsson Sweden
|
Volger Andersson Sweden
|
Figure skating
edit
| Event[7] | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's singles |
Gillis Grafström Sweden
|
Willy Böckl Austria
|
Robert van Zeebroeck Belgium
|
| Ladies' singles |
Sonja Henie Norway
|
Fritzi Burger Austria
|
Beatrix Loughran United States
|
| Pairs[8] |
 France (FRA)Andrée Joly Pierre Brunet |
 Austria (AUT)Lilly Scholz Otto Kaiser |
Austria (AUT) Melitta Brunner Ludwig Wrede |
Ice hockey
edit
Nordic combined
edit| Event[10] | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's individual |
Johan Grøttumsbråten Norway
|
Hans Vinjarengen Norway
|
Jon Snersrud Norway
|
Skeleton
edit
| Event[11] | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's individual |
Jennison Heaton United States
|
John Heaton United States
|
David Carnegie Great Britain
|
Ski jumping
edit| Event[12] | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's individual |
Alf Andersen Norway
|
Sigmund Ruud Norway
|
Rudolf Burkert Czechoslovakia
|
Speed skating
editIn the 10,000-meter race, Irving Jaffee was leading the competition, having outskated Norwegian defending world champion Bernt Evensen in their heat, when rising temperatures thawed the ice.[13] In a controversial ruling, the Norwegian referee canceled the entire competition. Although the International Olympic Committee reversed the referee's decision and awarded Jaffee the gold medal, the International Skating Union later overruled the IOC and restored the ruling.[14] Evensen, for his part, publicly said that Jaffee should be awarded the gold medal, but that never happened.
| Event[15] | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 metres |
Bernt Evensen Norway Clas Thunberg  Finland
|
none awarded | John Farrell United States Jaakko Friman FinlandRoald Larsen Norway
|
| 1500 metres |
Clas Thunberg Finland
|
Bernt Evensen Norway
|
Ivar Ballangrud Norway
|
| 5000 metres |
Ivar Ballangrud Norway
|
Julius Skutnabb Finland
|
Bernt Evensen Norway
|
| 10000 metres |
The competition was cancelled because of thawing ice.[13] | ||
Statistics
editMedal leaders
editAthletes who won multiple medals are listed below.[16]
| Athlete | Nation | Sport | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johan Grøttumsbråten |  Norway (NOR)
|
Cross-country skiing & Nordic combined | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Clas Thunberg |  Finland (FIN)
|
Speed skating | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bernt Evensen | Norway (NOR)
|
Speed skating | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Jennison Heaton | United States (USA)
|
Skeleton & Bobsleigh | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Ivar Ballangrud | Norway (NOR)
|
Speed skating | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "St. Moritz 1928". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 2009-10-08. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
- ^ "Chamonix 1924". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 2009-10-04. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
- ^ Comité Olympique Suisse (1928). Résultats des Concours des IImes Jeux Olympiques d'hiver (PDF) (in French). Lausanne: Imprimerie du Léman. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-17. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
- ^ a b "All the medalists since 1896". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 2016-05-10. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
- ^ "Four/Five, Men". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
- ^ "Cross Country Skiing at the 1928 Winter Olympics". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 21 March 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
- ^ "Figure Skating at the 1928 Winter Olympics". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 21 March 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
- ^ "Pairs, Mixed". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 21 March 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
- ^ "Ice Hockey, Men". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 21 March 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
- ^ "Nordic Combined at the 1928 Winter Olympics". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 21 March 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
- ^ "Skeleton at the 1928 Winter Olympics". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 21 March 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
- ^ "Ski Jumping at the 1928 Winter Olympics". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 21 March 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
- ^ a b Horvitz, Peter S. (2007). The Big Book of Jewish Sports Heroes: An Illustrated Compendium of Sports History and The 150 Greatest Jewish Sports Stars. SP Books. ISBN 9781561719075. Retrieved February 27, 2011.
- ^ Siegman, Joseph M. (September 15, 1906). The International Jewish Sports Hall ... SP Books. ISBN 9781561710287. Retrieved February 27, 2011.
- ^ "Speed Skating at the 1928 Winter Olympics". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 21 March 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
- ^ "1928 Winter Olympics". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 21 March 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
External links
edit
- "St Moritz 1928". Olympics.com. International Olympic Committee.