1932 Winter Olympics — 3rd Winter Olympics, in Lake Placid, New York, United States
The 1932 Winter Olympics were the first Winter Games held outside Europe and introduced the podium medal ceremony tradition still used today.
Key Facts
- Official designation
- III Olympic Winter Games
- Opening date
- February 4, 1932
- Closing date
- February 13, 1932
- First Winter Games outside Europe
- Yes — held in North America for the first time
- Medal podium ceremony origin
- Introduced at these games, based on 1930 British Empire Games pedestals
- Key organizer
- Godfrey Dewey, head of the Lake Placid Club
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Lake Placid secured the right to host the 1932 Winter Olympics largely through the efforts of Godfrey Dewey, head of the Lake Placid Club, defeating a competing California bid that had proposed venues at Wrightwood and Big Pines, where the world's largest ski jump of the time had already been constructed.
The III Olympic Winter Games were held in Lake Placid, New York, from February 4 to February 13, 1932, marking the first time the Winter Olympics took place outside Europe. The games featured multiple winter sports disciplines and drew international competitors to the United States.
The games established the practice of awarding Olympic medals at podium ceremonies, as proposed by Melville Marks Robinson and modeled on pedestals used at the 1930 British Empire Games. This format became a permanent fixture of Olympic tradition. Lake Placid later hosted the Winter Olympics again in 1980, becoming one of only a few cities to host twice.
Result
at Lake Placid, New York, United States