Ultimate guide to the Winter Olympics

The Winter Olympics has a rich history that dates back more than a century. The Olympics has its roots in Ancient Greece, but it wasn’t until the turn of the twentieth century that there was a call to include winter disciplines in the Olympic games. As the home of all things winter and sporting, we thought we’d put together the ultimate guide to the Winter Olympics, covering everything from the origins of this amazing competition, to the medal standings, the locations and evolution of the games, the latest happenings from Beijing, and of course, what lies ahead for 2026 in Cortina D’Ampezzo. It’s all right here at Ridestore. So, without any further waffling, let’s get into it!

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Where were the 2022 Winter Olympics held?

The 2022 Winter Olympics were the most recent games, and were held in Beijing. This was significant for a number of reasons, both physically and metaphorically. It may seem strange to host the Winter Olympics in a city most famous for its smog and sprawling metropolis.

Is it cold in Bejing?

And while it does get hot there in the summer with an average high of around 30℃ and an average low of around 20℃, the winter experiences a good seasonal swing and gets as cold as 3℃ for its average high and as low as -7℃ for its average winter low.

However, due to its location and the way that cold air currents from Siberia and the Arctic commonly sweep down, it’s not uncommon for it to get down to -20℃. In fact, the coldest ever temperature was recorded in January of 2021 at a balmy -27℃! The highest ever recorded temperature there has been 42℃, in July. Luckily, not in the same year!

The 2022 Winter Games ran from February 4th to 20th 2022, and despite there being little in the way of snow (Beijing has a very small amount of annual snowfall, and the majority of the snow for this year’s game was manufactured and then trucked in to build the various courses), temperatures were blisteringly cold. Some events were called off or cancelled, and many were postponed or moved. The four-man biathlon was one such event where the temperatures reached -17℃ on the morning of the event, with a scheduled drop to -20℃ by the time the event started, with a predicted windchill of -30℃!

It was so cold at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, that a Finnish cross-country skier finished the race, and then had to be medically treated for a case of, er, frozen penis. Talk about commitment!

What the Beijing Winter Games meant for the Olympics

Beyond the frostbite and rescheduling, the winter games at Beijing was a howling success, and saw lots of firsts. Most notably, the winter games appearing in Beijing marked the first time that a city had hosted both the summer and winter games. A few cities had hosted more than one winter games, but never both the summer and the winter, so it was a big boon for China. They had already poured a staggering $52.7B dollars — yep, that’s billion — into the 2008 summer games, and were able to reuse much of their existing infrastructure for the 2022 Winter Games. While the winter games are generally ‘cheaper’ (South Korea spent a measly $15.4 billion on the 2018 PyeongChang games, for example), the costs are still enough to bankrupt most small countries. As such, the list of countries actually able to host the ever-growing games isn’t that large.

China’s flourishing economy and its large presence on the world stage, along with the friction between many first-world nations in regard to the global climate change strategy, have all been points of contention recently. While more than 100 nations attended the COP26 Summit in Glasgow to put in place plans to halt climate change, the leaders of both Russia and China were not in attendance. These two countries are large consumers of fossil fuels, so for their leaders to not attend was a huge blow to the summit. However, the Winter Games showed that China did in fact have a commitment to the world, and helped in some ways to rebuild some bridges in the international community.

There were some boycotts of a political nature, but the athletes were all keen to make the trip and represent their countries, and as usual, the athleticism, camaraderie, and sportsmanship was commendable, despite a few hiccoughs, disputes, and other sticking points.

What happened at the 2022 Olympics?

There were definitely some high moments and some low moments at the 2022 Winter Games. Diplomatic boycotts were the biggest news in the run-up, with many countries citing the human rights situation in China as their reason for not travelling. This was surrounded by criticism of the choice of China as a host and their politicisation of the games. There was a lot of talk of censorship going on among the athletes, wherein only positive comments were aired, and many interviews were scripted to conform to this. But it’s all a bit murky, and only detracts from the mind-bending shows of athleticism on display.

Results controversy

The conversation surrounding some of the decisions made by the judges of various sports has been one that’s not been far from peoples’ lips since the games concluded. The mixed team ski jumping was overshadowed by the preliminary disqualification of several previous olympic medalists due to their jumpsuits being too loose, meaning they could not even compete. The athletes complained afterwards, with one of them citing that they wore the same suit two days prior without any issues, in another event. The decision stood, and none of the teams whose athletes were disqualified managed to earn a medal as a result.

In the mixed 2,000 metre short track speed skating event, the US, who placed second, were disqualified after the event finished for interfering with other skates, which allowed the Chinese team to place second, advanced to the next round, and then ultimately claim the gold medal. The US athletes expressed their dissatisfaction, but the call stood.

In the 1,000 metre short-track speed skating, the South Korean athlete who placed first in heat 1 was disqualified after the event, and in heat 2, his fellow countryman was also disqualified, allowing two Chinese athletes to advance to the next round. There, the Hungarian athlete who won was disqualified, meaning the two Chinese athletes claimed gold and silver medals. Both the South Korean team and the Hungarian team filed complaints against the International Skating union, but both were rejected on the basis that rulings could not be overturned.

During the men’s 5,000 metres relay short-track speed skating event, the Chinese team fell with ten laps remaining. It was ruled there was contact between the skate of a Canadian athlete and that of a Chinese athlete, so despite finishing in last place, the Chinese team was advanced to the next round.

In the men’s snowboard slopestyle, Max Parrot of Canada claimed gold despite missing a grab on his winning run, which was missed by the judging panel due to the lack of filming angles provided by the organisers. Su Yiming of China got silver, with fellow Canadian Mark McMorris claiming bronze.

In the men’s snowboard halfpipe, Ayumu Hirano executed the world’s first triple cork as part of a completed run (it had previously been done in isolation, but never as part of a complete run), with the commentators and judges failing to recognise the trick, mislabelling it as a double-cork and scoring it as such. As the only athlete in the world who successfully performed this trick, the inability of the judges to be able to identify and award it threw into question their suitability as judges. Ultimately, Hirano was forced to repeat this extremely dangerous trick, and on doing so, was eventually awarded the gold medal.

Quarantine controversy

However, the controversies didn’t stop there. There were some issues surrounding the quarantine procedures and the care the athletes in quarantine received. Some athletes even went as far as to say the officials intentionally quarantined them in order to prevent them competing. Polish short track speed skater Natalia Maliszewska suffered from an unnecessary apprehension as the result of incorrecting testing and results, while Finnish ice hockey player Marko Antilla was quarantined without food. Belgian skeleton athlete Kim Meyelemans finished her quarantine, but instead of being allowed back to the Olympic Village, was taken to another quarantine facility without explanation, forcing the IOC to intervene and rescue her.

Catering Controversy

The standard of catering also came under heavy scrutiny, especially when athletes finishing their runs and events were offered nuts, crisps, and chocolates, with no hot food in sight. In many other places, including the Main Media Centre and other restaurants in the Olympic Village, the quality of food was berated by many, including the staff. The US delegation even brought their own dried food, such as pasta, anticipating these issues.

The 2022 Winter Games and COVID-19

Of course, among other things, the issues surrounding COVID-19 were persistent throughout it all. Qualifying events for curling and hockey were disrupted, a number of athletes failed to compete in their disciplines due to quarantine and other COVID-related incidents. The Chinese government created an ‘Olympics Bubble’ which meant that all media and staff arrived two weeks priort to the games and were contained within the Olympic Village, unable to interact with the greater population, to prevent the spread of infection. This was an unprecedented undertaking, and while it proved ultimately disruptive and the organisation and execution of the games was heavily criticised, to be able to host the largest Winter Olympic games in history, in the midst of a global pandemic, regardless of the issues, was a tremendous feat.

How long are the Winter Olympics?

The Winter Olympics ran from the 2nd to the 20th of February of 2022, marking 18 days of competition. With more disciplines than ever before, Beijing 2022 was the largest Winter Olympic games in history. The Paralympics followed shortly after, running between the 4th and 13th of March, with 9 days of competition which showcased the best display of winter Para athletics ever seen.

How many events are there in the Winter Olympics?

The Winter Olympic Games are a huge gathering that happens once every four years. There are now 15 different disciplines in all, including qualifying, preliminary, and medal events for both men and women. Check out our full list below for each sport and the number of events held in each sport.

The Winter Paralympic Games features five sports, including wheelchair curling, Para ice hockey, Para alpine skiing, Para snowboard, and Para nordic ski — which included Para biathlon and Para cross-country skiing. Beijing saw the biggest Paralympic games ever, with an increased maximum of 748 Para athletes and 82 medal events, two more than there were at PyeongChang for the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games. There will also be an increase from 2018, with 234 spaces available for women, which, if all filled, means a 76% increase from the 133 women who competed at the 2018 games in PyeongChang.

List of sports & events in the 2022 Winter Olympics

History of the Winter Olympics

The history of the Winter Olympics doesn’t date back as far as Ancient (or Classical) Greece — no curling at Athens circa 400BC, sorry to say!

But it is still an interesting story that was shaped by the world wars, the physical locations of the Summer Olympic Games around the turn of the 20th century, and some coincidental nepotism to boot. So let’s dig into the history of the Winter Olympics a little more, shall we?

© Comité International Olympique (CIO)

When did the summer and winter Olympics split?

Way back when everyone got together to ring in the new year for the big ‘1900’, the Summer Olympics had already had its first outing … just four years earlier in 1896, in Athens, Greece. At the same time, the Nordic Games was being conceived. So the idea was put into play for an event to take place in Stockholm in 1901, hosted by the Swedish Central Association for the Promotion of Sports. Or the SCFIF is that’s too long. As if the acronym is any better!

The brainchild of Viktor Balck, Swedish sporting superstar, the games included disciplines such as ski jumping, downhill racing, cross-country skiing, skeleton, speed skating, figure skating, hockey, and the old favourite, curling! It also included a few non-snowy sports like fencing, swimming, and long-distance horse riding, and some now defunct and more abstract sports like horse-driven sledging, Glima (Nordic folk wrestling), hunting, reindeer skiing (skijoring), military sports, car racing, motorcycle racing, ballooning, kick sledging, and pulka racing! If you ask us, this sounds excellent.

Balck was also a member of the International Olympic Committee and was good friends with Olympic Games founder Pierre de Coubertin. Despite creating the Nordic Games, Balck wanted to get figure skating into the summer Olympics, too. Being the President of the International Skating Union and determined to raise the profile of ice skating in the global eye, this was no surprise. Using his friendship with Coubertin, he successfully integrated figure skating into the 1908 Summer Olympics, held in London. There was a men’s and women’s discipline, and two medals were handed out to Ulrich Salchow (10-time world champion) and Madge Syers.

As the 1912 games approached, set to be held in Stockholm, Sweden (where the Nordic Games were held), an Italian count named Eugenio Brunetta d’Esseaux (IOC Committee Secretary) proposed an entire extra week of specific winter sports be held alongside the summer sports. However, this was met with opposition as the Swedish organisers wished to uphold the integrity of their own Nordic games. Also, it was the middle of summer and hosting winter sports would prove difficult as there’d be no snow or ice to use for it… 

Grenoble 1968

In 1916, the idea was proposed again and accepted, with a week earmarked for speed skating, figure skating, ice hockey, and nordic skiing planned. Except there was one issue — World War One happened. And the games were supposed to be held in Berlin. Not ideal. The games were entirely cancelled, not surprisingly. Though in 1920, the first post-war Olympic Games were held in Antwerp, Belgium, and included figure skating once again and an ice hockey tournament. On account of their participation in the war, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey were banned from competing.

It seemed after the success of these additions to the 1920 games that the IOC were more amenable to the Winter Sports Week idea, and so for the 1924 Olympic games, held in Paris, France, a whole eleven days of events were added, hosted in Chamonix, France, in the shadow of Mont Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps, and Europe — the epicentre of the ski world even today. Fitting!

More than 250 athletes from 16 countries competed in 16 events. And though this was technically part of the summer games, it was retroactively dubbed the first Winter Olympic games. The follow-up was held separately from the summer games in St. Moritz, Switzerland, plagued with weather issues. However, it was the first — unofficially — true Winter Olympics. 

What year was the first Winter Olympics?

The first Winter Olympics is credited to France in 1924 as they hosted a specific ‘Winter Sports Week’ in Chamonix, following the conclusion of the summer disciplines. However, the first truly separated games took place in St. Moritz, Switzerland, four years later in 1928, and was a total mess due to the weather with events being cancelled on account of a freak blizzard that disrupted the opening ceremony, followed by unseasonably warm weather which challenged the rest of the events, and cancelled the 10,000m speed skating competition entirely due to unstable ice conditions.

In 1932, the USA hosted the games in Lake Placid, New York. However, fewer nations and athletes competed versus 1928 as a selection of European countries were still recovering from the strains of the first world war and were in the midst of the Great Depression, so they couldn’t muster the funds to send their athletes across the Atlantic to compete.

Amsterdam 1988

Where were the previous Winter Olympics held?

Innsbruck 1964

Winter Olympics medal table

Though the Winter Olympics have been running since 1924, they’ve not always been as large and well-attended as they are now. Many countries have attended religiously, while some are relative newcomers. Others competed as one country, then as another, while some have never competed. So, with all that in mind, here’s a rundown of the global historical medals table leaders as they stand now.

Overall medal count

Grenoble 1968

Certain countries aren’t a surprise to see up there. Norway has a rich history of winter sports and invented Nordic skiing. Their early dominance in the first games gave them a lead that they’ve worked hard to maintain all these years. And with another win in 2022 in Beijing, they continue to prove that their small population means nothing once they’re out on the ice (and snow!). The US has hosted some poorly attended games, where they dominated, especially in the earlier years. Their large population and a heavy focus on winter sports is also a boon for finding great athletes!

Germany holds the third spot and occupies numbers 13 and 18 on East Germany and West Germany rankings. If their medals were pooled, they would have 416 medals, with 152 golds, 149 silvers, and 113 bronze medals. This would take them to the top spot, ahead of Norway. It’s made even more impressive that this is from a total of 19 games (14 as Germany, and 6 as the separated East and West Germany), versus Norway and the US’s 24 games.

The Soviet Union and Russia would have a combined 314 medals, taking them to second place; however, it’s important to note that the USSR contained Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. And after its dissolution, those countries went on to compete independently. As such, it’s difficult to make any clear assumptions or combinations. We’ll just have to see how things shake out in another one hundred years!

Interestingly, countries like Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands have small populations in comparison to the US, Russia, Canada, and even Germany. So it’s a surprise to see them in the top ten. But it just goes to show you can never discount the little guy! 2022 saw Netherlands move up from the 10th to the 9th spot on the world rankings table, with Russia’s ban following the doping scandals still in effect. Some athletes were allowed to compete under independent banners, but no medals tallied towards Russia’s counts in 2022, allowing Netherlands to surpass them.

More interestingly, despite being in the top ten, some of these countries have never won a medals table for any single Olympics. Norway still holds the record, with nine wins, with the Soviet Union just behind with seven thanks to their mid-1900s dominance, from ‘56 to ‘88, where they won seven of nine games. Following the dissolution of the USSR, however, they won’t be able to claim an eighth, giving Norway some breathing room.

Germany trails behind with three wins, beating Russia with two (they have some work to do to catch Norway!). The US, Sweden, East Germany, and Canada all hold one each and finish out the list of countries who have ‘won’ a Winter Olympic games.

Of course, we understand that there's a big difference between winning a gold, silver or bronze medal, so here's a rundown of which countries have won most medals of each type.

Which country has won the most gold medals?

Which country has won the most silver medals?

Which country has won the most bronze medals?

FAQs

How is the host city for the Winter Olympics chosen?

The International Olympic Committee accepts bids from cities worldwide. After rigorous evaluations, a host city is selected seven years ahead of the games.

 How have the Winter Olympics evolved over time?

From its inception, the Winter Olympics have seen numerous changes and advancements, such as the inclusion of new sports disciplines, advancements in athletic equipment and training methods, and improvements in hosting capabilities. The use of technology has also increased dramatically, enhancing event organization, performance measurement, and viewer experiences.

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