1932 Winter Olympics

The 1932 Winter Olympics, officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event in the United States, held in Lake Placid, New York. The games opened on February 4 and closed on February 15. It was the first of four Winter Olympics held in the United States; Lake Placid hosted again in 1980.

The games were awarded to Lake Placid in part by the efforts of Godfrey Dewey, head of the Lake Placid Club and son of Melvil Dewey, inventor of the Dewey Decimal System. California also had a bid for the 1932 Winter Games. William May Garland, president of the California X Olympiad Association, wanted the games to take place in Wrightwood and Big Pines, California. The world's largest ski jump at the time was constructed in Big Pines for the event, but the games were ultimately awarded to Lake Placid.

Highlights

 * The Games were opened by Franklin D. Roosevelt, then the Governor of New York. He would be elected President of the United States nine months later.
 * Billy Fiske (who would win his second gold medal at Lake Placid, having won his first at 16 in the 1928 Winter Olympics), carried the flag for the United States in the opening ceremonies. A founder of Aspen winter resort in Colorado, he was killed in 1940 flying in the Battle of Britain.
 * Sonja Henie won the second of three consecutive Olympic gold medals in figure skating. She also won gold in 1928 and 1936.
 * Irving Jaffee won the 5000 m and the 10000 m speedskating gold medals, beating previous champion and world record holder Ivar Ballangrud in the 10,000 m by 4.5 m.
 * Eddie Eagan became the only Olympian to win gold medals at both the summer and winter games in different sports. He won gold in boxing in the 1920 Antwerp summer games and gold in bobsleigh at Lake Placid. The bobsleigh race was held two days after the games' closing ceremonies due to unseasonably warm weather in the region the week prior.
 * The USA won the medal tally with a total of 12 medals (6 gold, 4 silver, and 2 bronze). This was the only time the US topped the medal tally at the Winter Olympics.
 * Seventeen countries participated.

Events


Medals were awarded in 14 events contested in 4 sports (7 disciplines).
 * Skating
 * Skating
 * Skating

Demonstration sports
The Games also included events in three demonstration sports.
 * Curling
 * Sled dog race
 * Speed skating (women)

Participating nations
Athletes from 17 nations competed in these Games, down from 25 nations at the previous Games in 1928. Argentina, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, and Yugoslavia did not send athletes to Lake Placid.

Medal count


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