From Chamonix to Salt Lake City: History of the Winter Olympics

An overview of the Winter Olympics, written by an expert par excellence, with all the results and an emphasis on skating, the winter sport in which the Netherlands traditionally excels. With results of all Olympic events. The history of the Winter Olympics is less old than that of the Summer Games. It was not until 1924, after thirty years of struggle, that recognition followed and the first edition, in Chamonix, France, could be held. For a long time, opposition came mainly from Norway and Sweden, who protected their national interests. In this overview, sports historian Johannes Lolkama describes the political history as well as the development and growth of the Winter Games from 1924 to 2002. The main part of the book, however, is formed by the reports of all the individual editions between 1924 and 2002, with all the results (medal winners and Dutch and Belgian performances). But the emphasis in this book is on the speed skating event, the only sport in which the Low Countries tend to excel and win medals during the Winter Games: from Ard Schenk to Bart Veldkamp (now a Belgian speed skater) and from Yvonne van Gennip to Marianne Timmer. From Chamonix to Salt Lake City is an extremely well-documented history of the Winter Games. In preparation, Lolkama did research in the archives of the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne and in numerous other Olympic archives. The book concludes with a preview of the Winter Games in Turin 2006.