1964 Winter Olympics

Olympics infobox|1964|Winter
Name = IX Olympic Winter Games

Size = 150
Optional caption = The emblem represents the coat of arms
of Innsbruck, which shows the bridge on the Inn River
that connects the old town and the Hötting district.
Host city = Innsbruck, Austria
Nations participating = 36
Athletes participating = 1091
(892 men, 199 women)
Events = 34 in 6 sports
Opening ceremony = January 29, 1964
Closing ceremony = February 9, 1964
Officially opened by = President Adolf Schärf
Athlete's Oath = Paul Aste
Judge's Oath =
Olympic Torch = Joseph Rieder
Stadium = Bergisel
The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964. The games included 1091 athletes from 36 nations, and the Olympic Torch was carried by Joseph Rieder, [ "Olympic Winter Games Innsbruck 1964" (history), kiat.net, webpage: [http://kiat.net/olympics/history/winter/w09innsbruck.html KIAT-Innsbruck] .] a former alpine skier who had participated in the 1956 Winter Olympics.

The games were affected by the deaths of Australian alpine skier Ross Milne and a British luge slider, during training, and by the deaths, 3 years earlier, of the entire US figure skating team and family members (see: "Prior tragedies", below).

Host city selection

Innsbruck had two other candidate cities to go against for the 1964 Winter Olympics. Here are the resulting vote count that occurred at the 55th IOC Session in Munich, West Germany, on May 26, 1959, compliments of [http://www.aldaver.com/votes.html the International Olympic Committee Vote History] web page.

Prior tragedies

Two tragedies prior to the 1964 Winter Olympics affected the outcome and mood of the Games:

* Australian alpine skier Ross Milne and a British luge slider died during training shortly before the Games started. The organising committee said that Ross caught an edge and subsequently crashed into a tree. The IOC suggested that inexperience may have played a role in Ross's death, whereas Australian manager John Wagner suggested that overcrowding played a role, saying that he tried to slow down "on a spot which was not prepared for stopping or swinging" to avoid a crowd of contestants. His brother Malcolm Milne competed at the 1968 and 1972 Winter Olympics.

* On February 15, 1961, the entire US Figure Skating team and several family members, coaches, and officials were killed when Sabena Flight 548 crashed in Brussels, Belgium en route to the World Championships in Prague. This tragedy sent the US skating program into a period of rebuilding. The loss of the U.S. team was considered so catastrophic for the sport that the 1961 World Championships were cancelled, and impacted later Winter Olympics.

References

* "Australia and the Olympic Games" by Harry Gordon. ISBN 0-7022-2627-0

ee also

*Olympic Games
*Summer Olympic Games
*International Olympic Committee

External links

* [http://www.marcolympics.org/jeux/1964/winter/index.php The program of the 1964 Innsbruck Winter Olympics]