Winter Olympics Timeline The Winter Olympics Timeline covers major moments in Winter Games History. For a more detailed look, read the articles in full below, or search for Winter Olympics Timeline in this archive.
1928: St. Moritz, Switzerland Sonia Henie of Norway, the world's first figure skating diva, wins her first gold medal at the age of 15. Read Article Norse Girl Winner Decatur Evening Herald, February 19, 1928 1932: Lake Placid, NY Eddie Eagan, a member of the U.S. four-man bobsled team and former gold medalist in boxing (Antwerp, 1920), becomes the only athlete in Olympic history to earn medals in both Summer and Winter events. Read Article American's Olympic Four-Man Bobsled Team The Gettysburg Times, February 8, 1932 1936: Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Adolph Hitler, the newly appointed Chancellor of Germany, presides over the opening ceremonies. Read Article (pictured on right) Crowd of 80,000 Sees Hitler Open 1936 Olympiad The Hammond Times, February 6, 1936 1940 & 1944: Winter Games cancelled due to World War II Read Article (pictured on right) Finland Officially Cancels 1940 Olympic Games Syracuse Herald Journal, April 24, 1940 1952: Oslo, Norway The "Olympic" flame was lit over the games for the first time. Read Article (pictured on right) 100 Skiers Bear Olympic Torch on 170-Mile Journey Syracuse Herald Journal, February 13, 1952 1956: Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy Tenley Albright wins gold in women's figure skating and Hayes Jenkins leads the American medal sweep in men's figure skating. Read Articles (pictured on right) U.S. Has 2d Medal Syracuse Herald Journal, February 2, 1956 Hayes Jenkins Wins Olympic Medal Syracuse Herald Journal, February 1, 1956 1960: Squaw Valley, California The US Hockey team wins an unexpected gold medal. Read Article (pictured on right) U.S. Hockey Club Takes 1st Place Steven's Point Daily Journal, February 29, 1960 1968: Grenoble, France Peggy Fleming wins the only gold medal for the United States taking the figure skating competition in a unanimous victory. Read Article (pictured on right) Peggy Fleming Brings U.S. First Gold Medal of Winter Olympics The Post Crescent, February 11, 1968 1976: Innsbruck, Austria Dorothy Hamill wins the gold in women's figure skating. Read Article Dorothy Hamill's win gives U.S. third gold medal The Frederick Post, February 14, 1976 1980: Lake Placid, NY The U.S. Hockey team stuns the world by defeating the Soviet Union 4-3 to advance to the gold medal game. Read Article (pictured on right) Miracle on Main Street Syracuse Herald-Journal, February 23, 1980 American speed skater Eric Heiden becomes the first Olympian ever to win gold in five individual events in the same games. Read Article Heiden skates to record 5th gold medal Syracuse Herald Journal, February 23, 1980 1984: Sarajevo, Yugoslavia Scott Hamilton wins gold in men's figure skating. Read Article So-so effort good enough for Hamilton The News, February 17, 1984 1988: Calgary, Alberta, Canada American figure skater Brian Boitano earns a controversial gold medal, defeating his friend Brian Orser (Canada) in a 5-4 judging tie break. Read Article Boitano wins gold for U.S. The Daily Intelligencer, February 21, 1988 American speed skater Bonnie Blair wins the first of her five gold medals in the women's 500m event. Read Article Blair enjoys a golden moment The Daily Intelligencer, February 23, 1988 1992: Albertville, France Bonnie Blair wins two more gold medals in the 500m and 1,000m speed skating events. Read Article (pictured on right) Record-setting Blair is golden again � barely The Daily Herald, February 25, 1992 Kristi Yamaguchi becomes the first American to win gold in figure skating since Dorothy Hamill. Read Article Yamaguchi grabs gold... The Daily Herald, February 22, 1992 1994: Lilehammer, Norway Bonnie Blair finishes off her amazing Olympic run by repeating as champion of the 500m and 1,000m. Read Article Win in 1,000 gives Blair her 5th gold The Daily Herald, February 24, 1994 Dan Jansen, seven time world speed skating champion, finally breaks his Olympic curse by winning the 1,000m event in world-record time. Read Article JANSEN: U.S. skater finally strikes gold The Daily Herald, February 19, 1994 1998: Nagano, Japan Tara Lipinski, 15, becomes the youngest competitor ever to win gold in an individual event in the Winter Games. Read Article (pictured on right) Tara's Gold The Post-Standard, February 21, 1998 The U.S. Women's Hockey Team defeats Canada 3-1 to take the inaugural gold medal in Women's Hockey. Read Article A golden victory for USA women's hockey The Gettysburg Times, February 19, 1998 2002: Salt Lake City, Utah Sarah Hughes, 16, scores one of the largest upsets in Olympic history, taking the gold in figure skating. Read Articles Hughes captures the gold The Intelligencer, February 22, 2002 Vonette Flowers becomes the first African-American in history to win Winter gold. Flowers power The Intelligencer, February 20, 2002		Newspaper Articles (click to view readable full images) The Hammond Times February 6, 1936 Syracuse Herald Journal April 24, 1940 Syracuse Herald Journal February 13, 1952 Syracuse Herald Journal February 1, 1956 Steven's Point Daily Journal February 29, 1960 The Post Crescent February 11, 1968 Syracuse Herald-Journal February 23, 1980 The Daily Herald February 25, 1992 The Post-Standard February 21, 1998