In the opening parade the athletes carried all their equipment. So you have people dragging their teammates in a bobsled and people carrying their skis and their hockey sticks. |
In the ski jump someone did the math wrong, and for 50 years the wrong person had the bronze medal. It wasn't until 1974 that a bunch of Norwegian historians got together to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Winter Games, and one of them looked at the statistics in the ski jump and realized that an American, Anders Haugen, had actually won the bronze medal, and a Norwegian had gone to his grave thinking he had won. But Haugen was still alive--he was 85--and he finally got his bronze medal. |
It wasn't until later on that more and more sports started holding competitions for women. Now the only event women don't take part in is ski jumping, and I've heard that there may be a time pretty soon when women start ski jumping also. |
It's much more computer driven, so that hopefully now judging can't be corrupted as easily. But the other side is the obvious things like jumps and spins end up being rewarded, so skaters who may be more graceful and less athletic might not get as many points as the athletic skaters. |
The newest sport this year is called snowboard cross, and it involves four snowboarders competing at the same time, down the same course. It's very acrobatic, with jumps and spins and all kinds of moves. There was a clear decision by the International Olympic Committee to try to attract a younger audience, and to go for these sports, which televise really well. And I think they've revitalized the games and interest in the games. |