The 1924 Chamonix games were retroactively designated the first Winter Olympics by the IOC in 1926, establishing winter multi-sport competition as a permanent Olympic tradition.
Key Facts
- Official designation
- I Olympic Winter Games
- Dates
- 25 January – 5 February 1924
- Number of official events
- 16 events
- Number of official sports
- 6 sports
- Retroactive IOC recognition
- May 6, 1926 (26th IOC session)
- Organizer
- French Olympic Committee
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Winter sports had long been excluded from Summer Olympics due to seasonal constraints. At the 1921 IOC convention in Lausanne, delegates called for greater equality for winter sports. As France was already hosting the 1924 Summer Olympics, it was decided to organize an 'International Week of Winter Sport' in Chamonix to showcase winter athletic competition on an international stage.
The competitions were held in Chamonix and Haute-Savoie, France, from 25 January to 5 February 1924, comprising 16 official events across six sports. Organized by the French Olympic Committee, the games also featured a closing ceremony at which Pierre de Coubertin awarded gold medals in 'Alpinism' to members of the 1922 British Mount Everest expedition.
Although not initially called the Winter Olympics, the IOC retroactively granted the Chamonix games that status at its 26th session on May 6, 1926. This established a Winter Olympics tradition held in the same year as the Summer Games, a practice that continued through 1992, after which Winter and Summer Olympics were staggered into a two-year alternating cycle.
Result
at Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, France