List of IIHF World Championship medalists

The Ice Hockey World Championships is an annual event held by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). It was preceded by the European Championship which was held from 1910 to 1932. The first World Championship tournament was decided at the 1920 Summer Olympics. Subsequently, ice hockey was featured at the Winter Olympics, where the World Championship was decided when the two events occurred concurrently, until the 1968 Winter Olympics. The first three championships were contested at the Olympics, while the first World Championships that were an individual event were held in 1930.

From the 1920 Olympics until the 1976 World Championships, only amateur athletes were allowed to compete in the tournament. Because of this, players from the National Hockey League were not allowed to compete. In 1970, after a disagreement over the definition of amateur players, Canada withdrew from the tournament. [cite news | title = Summit Series '72 Summary | publisher = Hockey Hall of Fame | url = http://www.hhof.com/html/GamesSummarySUM1972.shtml | accessdate=2008-05-12] Starting in 1977, professional athletes were allowed to compete in the tournament and Canada re-entered.cite news | title = IIHF World Men's Championship | publisher = Hockey Canada | url = http://www.hockeycanada.ca/4/7/1/4/index1.shtml | accessdate=2008-05-12]

As of 2008, 72 tournaments have been staged. From 1920 to 1930, the Winter Olympics Ice Hockey Tournaments held counted as the World Championships and no tournaments in between were held. No championships were held from 1940 to 1946 due to World War II, nor during the Olympic years 1980, 1984 and 1988. Ten nations have won a gold medal at the World Championships and a total of thirteen have won medals. Canada has won 44 medals, including 24 gold, the most of any nation. [If the total medals won by Russia and the Soviet Union are combined, then they would also have won 24 gold.] The Soviet Union, which began competing in 1954 and last competed in 1991, captured a medal in every tournament they entered.cite news | title = International hockey timeline | publisher = International Ice Hockey Federation | url = http://www.iihf.com/iihf-home/history/the-iihf/timeline.html | accessdate=2008-05-12] In winning the 2006 World Championships, Sweden became the first nation in history to win an Olympic Gold as well as a separate World Championship in the same season. [cite news | title = Sweden Completes 'Double' at IIHF Worlds | publisher = The Sports Network | url = http://www.tsn.ca/canadian_hockey/story/?id=166553 |date=2006-05-21|author=Associated Press| accessdate=2008-05-12]

Champions

;Key

Medal table

For the purposes of this article, Russia and the Soviet Union; Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic; and Germany and West Germany are listed separately.

Countries in "italics" no longer compete at the World Championships.

ee also

* Triple Gold Club
* List of IIHF World Under-20 Championship medalists

References

;General
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*;Specific

External links

* [http://www.iihf.com/ International Ice Hockey Federation]