The Winter Olympic Games were held in Innsbruck, Austria, in 1976, between February 4-15. The IOC initially granted the 1976 Winter Games to Denver in May 1970, but in 1972 Colorado voters rejected a $5 million bond issue to finance the undertaking. Consequently Denver immediately withdrew as host and the IOC selected Innsbruck, the site of the 1964 Games, to take over.
37 Nations with 1123 participants competed in 37 events. On the medal tally, The U.S.S.R. and East Germany ranked first and second, while the United States moved up to tie in a distant third-place.
Trivia
- Ice dancing made its debut at these Games.
- Austrian Franz Klammer won gold in downhill skiing.
- The Russian ice hockey team won its fourth straight gold medal.
- America's Dorothy Hamill and Britain's John Curry won the gold medals in figure skating.
Related Pages
- About the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck in 1964
- More Winter Olympics Host Countries
- Winter Olympics main page.
- Sport in Austria