The United States of America has sent athletes to every celebration of the Winter Olympic Games. The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee for the United States.
| United States at the Winter Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | USA |
| NOC | United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee |
| Medals Ranked 2nd |
|
| Winter Olympics appearances (overview) | |
Hosted Games
editThe United States has hosted the Winter Games on four occasions, more than any other nation. It is scheduled to host for a fifth time in 2034.
| Games | Host city | Dates | Nations | Participants | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 Winter Olympics | Lake Placid, New York | February 7–15 | 17 | 252 | 14 |
| 1960 Winter Olympics | Squaw Valley, California | February 2–20 | 30 | 665 | 27 |
| 1980 Winter Olympics | Lake Placid, New York | February 13–24 | 37 | 1,072 | 38 |
| 2002 Winter Olympics | Salt Lake City, Utah | February 8–24 | 77 | 2,399 | 78 |
| 2034 Winter Olympics | February 10–26 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
Medal tables
editHost country
Medals by Winter Games
edit| Games | Athletes | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Gold medals | Total medals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 Chamonix | 24 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| 1928 St. Moritz | 24 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
| 1932 Lake Placid | 64 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 1 |
| 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen | 55 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 6 |
| 1948 St. Moritz | 69 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 4 |
| 1952 Oslo | 65 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 2 |
| 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo | 67 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
| 1960 Squaw Valley | 79 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 2 |
| 1964 Innsbruck | 89 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 8 |
| 1968 Grenoble | 95 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 8 |
| 1972 Sapporo | 103 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 6 |
| 1976 Innsbruck | 106 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 3 | 3 |
| 1980 Lake Placid | 101 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 3 | 3 |
| 1984 Sarajevo | 107 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 4 |
| 1988 Calgary | 118 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 9 |
| 1992 Albertville | 147 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 5 | 6 |
| 1994 Lillehammer | 147 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 13 | 5 | 5 |
| 1998 Nagano | 186 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 5 | 6 |
| 2002 Salt Lake City | 202 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 34 | 3 | 2 |
| 2006 Turin | 211 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 25 | 2 | 2 |
| 2010 Vancouver | 216 | 9 | 15 | 13 | 37 | 3 | 1 |
| 2014 Sochi | 222 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 28 | 4 | 2 |
| 2018 Pyeongchang | 241 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 23 | 4 | 4 |
| 2022 Beijing | 224 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 25 | 3 | 4 |
| 2026 Milano Cortina | Future event | ||||||
| 2030 French Alps | Future event | ||||||
| 2034 Salt Lake City | Future event | ||||||
| Total | 114 | 121 | 95 | 330 | 2 | 2 | |
Best results
edit- Gold medals – 10 (2002 Winter Olympics)
- Total medals – 37 (2010 Winter Olympics)
Medals by winter sport
edit| Sport | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Speed skating | 30 | 22 | 19 | 71 |
 Alpine skiing | 17 | 21 | 10 | 48 |
 Figure skating | 17 | 16 | 21 | 54 |
 Snowboarding | 17 | 8 | 10 | 35 |
 Freestyle skiing | 11 | 13 | 9 | 33 |
 Bobsleigh | 8 | 11 | 9 | 28 |
 Ice hockey | 4 | 12 | 2 | 18 |
 Short track speed skating | 4 | 7 | 9 | 20 |
 Skeleton | 3 | 4 | 1 | 8 |
 Nordic combined | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
 Cross-country skiing | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
 Curling | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
 Luge | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
 Ski jumping | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (14 entries) | 114 | 122 | 96 | 332 |
Updated on December 31, 2021
*This table includes two medals – one silver awarded in the ice hockey and one bronze awarded in the figure skating events at the 1920 Summer Olympics.
The United States has never won an Olympic medal in the following current winter sport: biathlon.
Flagbearers
editMedals by winter sport
editCurrent sports
editIce hockey
edit| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 Antwerp | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||
| 1924 Chamonix | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||
| 1928 St Moritz | did not participate | ||||||
| 1932 Lake Placid | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||
| 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||
| 1948 St Moritz | participated unofficially | ||||||
| 1952 Oslo | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||
| 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||
| 1960 Squaw Valley | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
| 1964 Innsbruck | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1968 Grenoble | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1972 Sapporo | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||
| 1976 Innsbruck | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1980 Lake Placid | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
| 1984 Sarajevo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1988 Calgary | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1992 Albertville | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1994 Lillehammer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1998 Nagano | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
| 2002 Salt Lake City | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |||
| 2006 Turin | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||
| 2010 Vancouver | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |||
| 2014 Sochi | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||
| 2018 Pyeongchang | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
| 2022 Beijing | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||
| Total | 4 | 12 | 2 | 18 | |||
Russia–United States rivalry
editRussia (in all its incarnations) and the United States each have won more Olympic medals than any other nation.[1][2] Russia topped the overall medal count at 7 Summer Olympics and 8 Winter Olympics, while the United States placed first at 19 Summer Olympics and 1 Winter Olympics.
Medal totals of the Soviet Union/Unified Team/Russia/OAR/ROC and the United States since 1956, when the Soviet Union started to compete, are presented below.
Overall, the United States (1924–present) has won 114 gold and 330 total medals, and Russia (1956–present) has won 140 gold and 386 total medals.
Ice hockey
editThe 1980 hockey game between the U.S. and USSR was dubbed the "Miracle on Ice", when American college players defeated the heavily favored seasoned professionals from the Soviet Union on the way to a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.[3] The Soviet Union had won the gold medal in five of the six previous Winter Olympic Games, and were the favorites to win once more. Though ice hockey is not a major sport in most areas of the United States, the "Miracle" is often listed as one of the all-time greatest American sporting achievements. The U.S. also won the gold medal in the 1960 Games at Squaw Valley, California, defeating the Soviet Union, Canada, Czechoslovakia, and Sweden along the way. However, since this victory is not as well known as the 1980 win, it has come to be known as the "Forgotten Miracle".[4][5]
The U.S. and the Soviet Union next met at the Olympics in 1988. As in 1980, the Soviets were represented by their star-studded veterans, while the Americans fielded a team of college players. The Soviets won the encounter 7–5 and went on to win the gold medal, while the U.S. placed seventh.
The two teams met again at the 1992 Olympics in a semi-final match. There, the Unified Team (the successor to the Soviet Union) won 5–2. While some stars had left the Soviet Union to play in the NHL, the Unified Team still boasted many veterans from their domestic professional league, while the Americans were represented primarily by college players. The Unified Team eventually won the gold medal, while the U.S. placed fourth.
The U.S. and Russia (the successor to the Unified Team) met twice at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. The Americans won both games 5–2 en route to the tournament championship.
The U.S., coached by Herb Brooks, and Russia, coached by Slava Fetisov, met twice in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, which included a 2–2 round-robin draw and a 3–2 semi-final win for the Americans. The semi-final match was played 22 years to the day after the "Miracle on Ice" game.[6] The U.S. eventually won silver, while Russia won bronze.
The two teams met in the quarterfinals of the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, with the U.S. earning a decisive 5–3 victory.
The U.S. and Russia played each other in a round-robin game at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. The game was tied 2–2 after overtime before the Americans prevailed in an eight-round shootout, with T. J. Oshie scoring on 4 of 6 attempts for the United States. The match has been dubbed by some as the "Marathon on Ice" due to its length.[7] Both teams, however, failed to medal; the Americans finished fourth (losing in the semis to Canada and to Finland in the bronze medal game), while the Russians placed fifth (losing to Finland in the quarterfinals).
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Countries With the Most Olympic Medals". Statista.
- ^ "All-time medal table for the Winter Olympic Games from 1924 to 2022". Statista.
- ^ J. N. Washburn (July 21, 1974). "Soviet Amateur Athlete: A Real Pro". The New York Times.
- ^ Burnside, Scott (February 8, 2010). "Hockey's miracle before the 'Miracle'". ESPN. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
- ^ "The Morning Skate: The Forgotten Miracle of 1960". The New York Times. December 11, 2009. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
- ^ "USA holds off Russia 3–2 to advance to gold medal game". CNN. Archived from the original on June 5, 2002. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
- ^ "Team USA Beats Russia In 'Marathon On Ice'". Team USA. Archived from the original on February 15, 2014.
External links
edit- "United States of America". International Olympic Committee.
- "United States". Olympedia.com.
- "Olympic Analytics/USA". olympanalyt.com.