List of flag bearers for Germany at the Olympics
Table:
#
Event year
Season
Flag bearer
Sport

32
2018
Winter
Eric Frenzel
Nordic combined

31
2016
Summer
Timo Boll
Table tennis

30
2014
Winter
Maria Höfl-Riesch
Alpine skiing

29
2012
Summer
Natascha Keller
Field hockey

28
2010
Winter
André Lange
Bobsleigh

27
2008
Summer
Dirk Nowitzki
Basketball

26
2006
Winter
Kati Wilhelm
Biathlon

25
2004
Summer
Ludger Beerbaum
Equestrianism

24
2002
Winter
Hilde Gerg
Alpine skiing

23
2000
Summer
Birgit Fischer
Canoe racing

22
1998
Winter
Jochen Behle
Cross-country skiing

21
1996
Summer
Arnd Schmitt
Fencing

20
1994
Winter
Mark Kirchner
Biathlon

19
1992
Summer
Manfred Klein
Rowing

18
1992
Winter
Wolfgang Hoppe
Bobsleigh

17
1964
Summer
Ingrid Krämer
Diving

16
1964
Winter
Georg Thoma
Nordic combined

15
1960
Summer
Fritz Thiedemann
Equestrianism

14
1960
Winter
Helmut Recknagel
Ski jumping

13
1956
Summer
Karl-Friedrich Haas
Athletics

Leveraging the given table and the article excerpts listed below.

Provide an answer to this question: What is the difference in event years between the two flag bearers whose sport was a combination of cross-country skiing and ski jumping ? Respond with the correct answer (omit explanations) in JSON format as {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Use only the information given.

The 2018 Winter Olympics , officially known as the XXIII Olympic Winter Games ( French : Les XXIIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver ; Korean : 제23회 동계 올림픽 , romanized : Jeisipsamhoe Donggye Ollimpik ) and commonly known as PyeongChang 2018 , was an international winter multi-sport event that was held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County , Gangwon Province , South Korea , with the opening rounds for certain events held on 8 February 2018 , the day before the opening ceremony . Pyeongchang was elected as the host city in July 2011 , at the 123rd IOC Session in Durban , South Africa . This was the second time that South Korea had hosted the Olympic Games , having previously hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul , but it was only the first Winter Olympics to be held in the country . It was the first of three consecutive Olympics to be held in East Asia , the following two being Tokyo 2020 ( summer ) and Beijing 2022 ( winter ) . It was the third time that an East Asian country had hosted the Winter Games , after Sapporo ( 1972 ) and Nagano ( 1998 ) , both of these cities in Japan . It was also the first Winter Olympics to be held in mainland Asia . The Games featured 102 events over 15 disciplines , a record number of events for the Winter Games . Four events made their Olympic debut in 2018 : big air snowboarding , mass start speed skating , mixed doubles curling , and mixed team alpine skiing . A total of 2,914 athletes from 92 NOCs competed , including the national debuts of Ecuador , Eritrea , Kosovo , Malaysia , Nigeria and Singapore . After a state-sponsored doping program was exposed following the 2014 Winter Olympics , the Russian Olympic Committee was suspended , but selected athletes were allowed to compete neutrally under the special IOC designation of Olympic Athletes from Russia ( OAR ) . North Korea agreed to participate in the Games despite tense relations with South Korea ; the two nations paraded together at the opening ceremony as a unified Korea , and fielded a unified team ( COR ) in the women 's ice hockey . Norway led the total medal tally with 39 , followed by Germany 's 31 and Canada 's 29 .
Eric Frenzel ( born 21 November 1988 ) is a German nordic combined skier who has been competing since 2000 .
Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing and ski jumping . Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics and the FIS Nordic Combined World Cup are ongoing .
The 2016 Summer Olympics ( Portuguese : Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016 ) , [ a ] officially known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( Portuguese : Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada ) and commonly known as Rio 2016 , was an international multi-sport event that was held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil , with preliminary events in some sports beginning on 3 August . These were the first Olympic Games ever to be held in South America and the fourth to be held in a developing country , after the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico , the 1980 Summer Olympics in the Soviet Union , and the 2008 Summer Olympics in China . More than 11,000 athletes from 205 National Olympic Committees took part , including first time entrants Kosovo , South Sudan , and the Refugee Olympic Team . With 306 sets of medals , the games featured 28 Olympic sports , including rugby sevens and golf , which were added to the Olympic program in 2009 . These sporting events took place at 33 venues in the host city and at five separate venues in the Brazilian cities of São Paulo , Belo Horizonte , Salvador , Brasília , and Manaus . These were the first Summer Olympic Games to take place under the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) presidency of Thomas Bach . The host city Rio de Janeiro was announced at the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen , Denmark , on 2 October 2009 . Rio became the first South American city ever to host the Olympic Games . These were the first games to be held in a Portuguese-speaking country , the first summer edition to be held entirely in the host country 's winter season , the first since 1968 to be held in Latin America , and the first since 2000 to be held in the Southern Hemisphere . The United States topped the medal table , winning the most gold and overall medals , 46 and 121 , as well as its 1,000th Summer Olympic gold medal overall . Great Britain finished second and became only the second country in modern Olympic history to increase its tally of medals in the Olympiad immediately after it had been host nation . China finished third .
Timo Boll ( German pronunciation : [ ˈtiːmo ˈbɔl ] ; born 8 March 1981 ) is a German professional table tennis player who plays with Borussia Düsseldorf and his ranking is second in the German Table Tennis National League . His ranking is No . 6 in the ITTF world rankings as of June 2019 . Boll ranks among the best German table tennis players of all time , having ranked world No . 1 in 2003 , 2011 and in March 2018 .
Table tennis , also known as ping-pong , is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball back and forth across a table using small rackets . The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net . Except for the initial serve , the rules are generally as follows : players must allow a ball played toward them to bounce one time on their side of the table , and must return it so that it bounces on the opposite side at least once . A point is scored when a player fails to return the ball within the rules . Play is fast and demands quick reactions . Spinning the ball alters its trajectory and limits an opponent 's options , giving the hitter a great advantage . Table tennis is governed by the worldwide organization International Table Tennis Federation ( ITTF ) , founded in 1926 . ITTF currently includes 226 member associations . The table tennis official rules are specified in the ITTF handbook . Table tennis has been an Olympic sport since 1988 , with several event categories . From 1988 until 2004 , these were men 's singles , women 's singles , men 's doubles and women 's doubles . Since 2008 , a team event has been played instead of the doubles .
The 2014 Winter Olympics , officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games ( French : Les XXIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver ) ( Russian : XXII Олимпийские зимние игры , tr . XXII Olimpiyskiye zimniye igry ) and commonly known as Sochi 2014 , was an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi , Krasnodar Krai , Russia , with opening rounds in certain events held on the eve of the opening ceremony , 6 February 2014 . Both the Olympics and 2014 Winter Paralympics were organized by the Sochi Organizing Committee ( SOOC ) . Sochi was selected as the host city in July 2007 , during the 119th IOC Session held in Guatemala City . It was the first Olympics to be held in a CIS state since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 . The Soviet Union was previously the host nation for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow . These were the first Olympic Games under the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) presidency of Thomas Bach . A record 98 events in fifteen winter sport disciplines were held during the Games . A number of new competitions - a total of twelve accounting for gender - were held during the Games , including biathlon mixed relay , women 's ski jumping , mixed-team figure skating , mixed-team luge , half-pipe skiing , ski and snowboard slopestyle , and snowboard parallel slalom . The events were held around two clusters of new venues : an Olympic Park constructed in Sochi 's Imeretinsky Valley on the coast of the Black Sea , with Fisht Olympic Stadium , and the Games ' indoor venues located within walking distance , and snow events in the resort settlement of Krasnaya Polyana . The 2014 Winter Olympics were the most expensive Games in the history of the Olympics . While originally budgeted at US $ 12 billion , major cost overruns , caused this figure to expand to US $ 51 billion , more than three times the cost of the 2012 London Olympics and even surpassing the estimated $ 44 billion cost of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing .
Maria Höfl-Riesch ( German pronunciation : [ maʁiːaː høːfl ʁiːʃ ] ; née Riesch , born 24 November 1984 ) is a former German World Cup alpine ski racer . She is a three-time Olympic champion , two-time world champion , and an overall World Cup champion . Höfl-Riesch made her World Cup debut in February 2001 and won gold medals in slalom and super combined at the 2010 Winter Olympics . She won the World Cup overall title in 2011 . At the 2014 Winter Olympics , she defended her super combined title to win her third Olympic gold medal , and also won a silver medal in the super-G .
Alpine skiing , or downhill skiing , is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings , unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country , Telemark , or ski jumping ) , which use skis with free-heel bindings . Whether for recreation or for sport , it is typically practised at ski resorts , which provide such services as ski lifts , artificial snow making , snow grooming , restaurants , and ski patrol . Off-piste skiers - those skiing outside ski area boundaries - may employ snowmobiles , helicopters or snowcats to deliver them to the top of a slope . Back-country skiers may use specialized equipment with a free-heel mode , including 'sticky ' skins on the bottoms of the skis to stop them sliding backwards during an ascent , then locking the heel and removing the skins for their descent . Alpine skiing has been an event at the Winter Olympic Games since 1936 .
The 2012 Summer Olympics , formally the Games of the XXX Olympiad and commonly known as London 2012 , was an international multi-sport event that was held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London , United Kingdom . The first event , the group stage in women 's football , began on 25 July at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff , followed by the opening ceremony on 27 July . 10,768 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees ( NOCs ) participated . Following a bid headed by former Olympic champion Sebastian Coe and then-Mayor of London Ken Livingstone , London was selected as the host city on 6 July 2005 during the 117th IOC Session in Singapore , defeating bids from Moscow , New York City , Madrid , and Paris . London became the first city to host the modern Olympics three times , having previously hosted the Summer Games in 1908 and in 1948 . Construction for the Games involved considerable redevelopment , with an emphasis on sustainability . The main focus was a new 200-hectare ( 490-acre ) Olympic Park , constructed on a former industrial site at Stratford , East London . The Games also made use of venues that already existed before the bid . The Games received general praise for their organisation , with the volunteers , the British military and public enthusiasm praised particularly highly . The opening ceremony , directed by Danny Boyle , received widespread acclaim throughout the world , particular praise from the British public and a minority of widely ranging criticisms from some social media sites . During the Games , Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time , winning his 22nd medal . Saudi Arabia , Qatar , and Brunei entered female athletes for the first time , so that every currently eligible country has sent a female competitor to at least one Olympic Games .
Natascha Keller ( born July 3 , 1977 in West Berlin ) is a German retired field hockey striker . She won a gold medal as a member of the German team at the 2004 Summer Olympics . She also competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics , 2000 Summer Olympics , 2008 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Olympics . In 1999 she received an award from the International Hockey Federation . She is the daughter of retired Olympic field hockey player Carsten Keller and granddaughter of player Erwin Keller . Her brothers Andreas Keller and Florian Keller , like her father and herself , were on gold medal winning field hockey teams . Keller has accumulated over 400 games for the Germany women 's national field hockey team , which makes her the country 's most capped female player in history . Keller was the flag bearer for Germany at the 2012 Summer Olympics , becoming the first field hockey athlete being honoured this way .
Field hockey is a widely played team sport of the hockey family . The game can be played on grass , watered turf , artificial turf or synthetic field , as well as an indoor boarded surface . Each team plays with ten field players and a goalkeeper . Players commonly use sticks made out of wood , carbon fibre , fibre glass or a combination of carbon fibre and fibre glass in different quantities ( with the higher carbon fibre stick being more expensive and less likely to break ) to hit a round , hard , plastic hockey ball . The length of the hockey stick is based on the player 's individual height , the top of the stick usually comes to the players hip , taller players typically have taller sticks . The sticks have a round side and a flat side only the flat face of the stick is allowed to be used , if the other side is used it results in a foul . Goalies often have a different kind of stick , however they can also use an ordinary field hockey stick . The specific goal-keeping sticks have another curve at the end of the stick , this is to give them more surface area to save the ball . The uniform consists of shin guards , shoes , shorts or a skirt , a mouthguard and a jersey . Today , the game is played globally , mainly in parts of Western Europe , South Asia , Southern Africa , Australia , New Zealand , Argentina , and parts of the United States ( primarily New England and the Mid-Atlantic states ) . Known simply as hockey in many territories , the term field hockey is used primarily in Canada and the United States where ice hockey is more popular . In Sweden , the term landhockey is used and to some degree also in Norway where it is governed by Norway 's Bandy Association .
The 2010 Winter Olympics , officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games ( French : Les XXIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver ) and commonly known as Vancouver 2010 , informally the 21st Winter Olympics , was an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 12 to 28 February 2010 in Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada , with some events held in the surrounding suburbs of Richmond , West Vancouver and the University Endowment Lands , and in the nearby resort town of Whistler . Approximately 2,600 athletes from 82 nations participated in 86 events in fifteen disciplines . Both the Olympic and Paralympic Games were organized by the Vancouver Organizing Committee ( VANOC ) , headed by John Furlong . The 2010 Winter Olympics were the third Olympics hosted by Canada and the first by the province of British Columbia . Canada hosted the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal , Quebec , and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary , Alberta . Metro Vancouver is the largest metropolitan area to host the Winter Olympics , although Calgary is the largest city to host the Winter Olympics . They will both be surpassed by Beijing in 2022 . Following Olympic tradition , the incumbent mayor of Vancouver Sam Sullivan received the Olympic flag during the closing ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin , Italy . The flag was raised on February 28 , 2006 , in a special ceremony and was on display at Vancouver City Hall until the Olympic opening ceremony . The event was officially opened by Governor General Michaëlle Jean , who was accompanied by the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge . For the first time , Canada won gold in an official sport at an Olympic Games hosted at home , having failed to do so at both the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary ( although Canada won the woman 's curling event in Calgary when it was still only a demonstration sport ) . Canada clinched their first gold medal on the second day of the competition and first topped the gold medal tally on the second to last day of competition and went on to become the first host nation since Norway in 1952 to lead the gold medal count .
André Lange ( German pronunciation : [ ˈlaŋə ] ; born 28 June 1973 ) is a retired German bobsledder and the most successful bob pilot of all time . Competing at the 2002 , 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics , he has won four gold and one silver medals . Lange originally started his sledding career as a luger , taking up bobsleigh in 1993 . At the 2002 Winter Olympics , Lange won the four-man event with teammates Carsten Embach , Enrico Kühn and Kevin Kuske . At the 2006 Winter Olympics , Lange also won gold in the four-man event with teammates Kevin Kuske , René Hoppe and Martin Putze , in addition to winning the two-man event with Kuske . He competed in the 2010 Winter Olympics , winning gold in the two-man and silver in the four-man events . Lange also won fourteen medals at the FIBT World Championships with eight golds ( Two-man : 2003 , 2007 , 2008 ; Four-man : 2000 , 2003 , 2004 , 2005 , 2008 ) , four silvers ( Two-man : 2000 , 2005 ; Four-man : 2001 , 2009 ) , and two bronzes ( Two-man : 2004 , Four-man : 2007 ) . At the Bobsleigh World Cup level , he has won three combined men 's championships ( 2000-1 , 2002-3 , 2003-4 ) , one two-man championship ( 2007-08 ) , and four four-man championships ( 2000-1 , 2002-3 , 2003-4 , 2007-8 ) . In April 2014 it was announced that Lange would become the head of the Thuringian Winter Sports Centre in Oberhof , which includes the DKB Ski Arena , the Oberhof sledding track , the Kanzlersgrund ski jumps and the town 's indoor ski area , following the retirement of the previous head Wolfgang Filbrich that July . In May 2017 he announced that he was leaving this role . In August 2017 the Korea Luge Federation announced that Lange would join the South Korean luge team as a coach in October on a five-month contract to assist head coach Steffen Sartor to help prepare them for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyongchang , South Korea .
Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow , twisting , banked , iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh . International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation , also known as FIBT from the French Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing . National competitions are often governed by bodies such as the United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation and Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton . The first bobsleds were built in St. Moritz , Switzerland , in the late 19th century by wealthy tourists from Victorian Britain who were staying at the Palace Hotel owned by Caspar Badrutt . The early sleds were adapted from boys ' delivery sleds and toboggans . These eventually evolved into bobsleighs , luges and skeletons . Initially the tourists would race their hand-built contraptions down the narrow streets of St. Moritz , however , as collisions increased growing opposition from St Moritz residents led to bobsledding being eventually banned from public highways . In the winter of 1884 , Badrutt had a purpose-built run constructed near the hamlet of Cresta . The Cresta Run remains the oldest in the world and is the home of the St. Moritz Tobogganing Club . It has hosted two Olympic Winter Games and is still in use . Modern Bobsleigh teams compete to complete a downhill route in the fastest times . An aggregate time from several runs is used to determine the winners .
The 2008 Summer Olympics , officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad ( Chinese : 第二十九届夏季奥林匹克运动会 ; pinyin : Dì Èrshíjiǔ Jiè Xiàjì Àolínpǐkè Yùndònghuì ) and commonly known as Beijing 2008 , was an international multi-sport event that was held from 8 to 24 August 2008 in Beijing , China . [ b ] A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees ( NOCs ) competed in 28 sports and 302 events ( one event more than those scheduled for the 2004 Summer Olympics ) . This was the first time that China had hosted the Summer Olympics , but the third time that the Games had been held in East Asia , following the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo , Japan , and the Seoul 1988 Summer Olympics . These were the second summer Olympic Games staged in a Communist country , after the Moscow 1980 Summer Olympics and the third in a developing country after the Mexico City 1968 Summer Olympics and the 1980 Summer Olympics in the Soviet Union and the first overall Olympics to be hosted by a Communist state since the former Yugoslavia hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo . Beijing was awarded the 2008 Games over four competitors on 13 July 2001 , having won a majority of votes from members of the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) after two rounds of voting . The Government of the People 's Republic of China promoted the Games and invested heavily in new facilities and transport systems . A total of 37 venues were used to host the events , including twelve constructed specifically for the 2008 Olympics . The equestrian events were held in Hong Kong , making this the third Olympics for which the events were held under the jurisdiction of two different NOCs . [ c ] The sailing events were contested in Qingdao , while the football events took place across several different cities . The official logo for the 2008 Games , titled Dancing Beijing , featured a stylised calligraphic character jīng ( 京 , means capital ) in reference to the host city . The Beijing Olympics was watched by 3,500,000,000 people worldwide and featured the longest distance for an Olympic Torch relay . The event sets numerous world and Olympics records in the history of sports , and is also the most expensive Summer Olympics of all time and second-most expensive overall , after the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi .
Dirk Werner Nowitzki ( German pronunciation : [ ˈdɪʁk ˈvɛʁnɐ noˈvɪtski ] ) ( born June 19 , 1978 ) is a German retired professional basketball player . An alumnus of the DJK Würzburg basketball club , Nowitzki was chosen as the ninth pick in the 1998 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks and was immediately traded to the Dallas Mavericks , where he played his entire 21-year National Basketball Association ( NBA ) career . Listed at 7 ft 0 in ( 2.13 m ) , Nowitzki is widely regarded as one of the greatest power forwards of all time and he is considered by many to be the greatest European player of all time . Nowitzki led the Mavericks to 15 NBA playoff appearances ( 2001-2012 ; 2014-2016 ) , including the franchise 's first Finals appearance in 2006 and its only NBA championship in 2011 . Known for his scoring ability , his versatility , his accurate outside shooting , and his trademark fadeaway jump shot , Nowitzki won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award in 2007 and the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award in 2011 . Nowitzki is the only player ever to play for a single NBA franchise for 21 seasons . He is a 14-time All-Star , a 12-time All-NBA Team member , the first European player to start in an All-Star Game , and the first European player to receive the NBA Most Valuable Player Award . Nowitzki is the highest-scoring foreign-born player in NBA history . He is the first Maverick voted onto an All-NBA Team and holds several all-time Mavericks franchise records . On December 10 , 2012 , he became the first non-American player to receive the Naismith Legacy Award . Following his retirement , Nowitzki stood sixth on the list of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders . In international play , Nowitzki led the German national basketball team to a bronze medal in the 2002 FIBA World Championship and silver in EuroBasket 2005 , and was the leading scorer and MVP in both tournaments .
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams , most commonly of five players each , opposing one another on a rectangular court , compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball ( approximately 9.4 inches ( 24 cm ) in diameter ) through the defender 's hoop ( a basket 18 inches ( 46 cm ) in diameter mounted 10 feet ( 3.048 m ) high to a backboard at each end of the court ) while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own hoop . A field goal is worth two points , unless made from behind the three-point line , when it is worth three . After a foul , timed play stops and the player fouled or designated to shoot a technical foul is given one or more one-point free throws . The team with the most points at the end of the game wins , but if regulation play expires with the score tied , an additional period of play ( overtime ) is mandated . Players advance the ball by bouncing it while walking or running ( dribbling ) or by passing it to a teammate , both of which require considerable skill . On offense , players may use a variety of shots - the lay-up , the jump shot , or a dunk ; on defense , they may steal the ball from a dribbler , intercept passes , or block shots ; either offense or defense may collect a rebound , that is , a missed shot that bounces from rim or backboard . It is a violation to lift or drag one 's pivot foot without dribbling the ball , to carry it , or to hold the ball with both hands then resume dribbling . The five players on each side at a time fall into five playing positions the tallest player is usually the center , the tallest and strongest is the power forward , a slightly shorter but more agile player is the small forward , and the shortest players or the best ball handlers are the shooting guard and the point guard , who implements the coach 's game plan by managing the execution of offensive and defensive plays ( player positioning ) . Informally , players may play three-on-three , two-on-two , and one-on-one . Invented in 1891 by Canadian-American gym teacher James Naismith in Springfield , Massachusetts , United States , basketball has evolved to become one of the world 's most popular and widely viewed sports . The National Basketball Association ( NBA ) is the most significant professional basketball league in the world in terms of popularity , salaries , talent , and level of competition . Outside North America , the top clubs from national leagues qualify to continental championships such as the EuroLeague and the Basketball Champions League Americas .
The 2006 Winter Olympics , officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games ( Italian : XX Giochi olimpici invernali ) and commonly known as Turin 2006 or Torino 2006 , was a winter multi-sport event which was held in Turin , Piedmont , Italy from February 10 to 26 , 2006 . This marked the second time that Italy had hosted the Winter Olympic Games , the first being the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo . Italy also hosted the Summer Olympics in 1960 in Rome . Turin was selected as the host city for the 2006 Games in June 1999 . The official motto of the XX Olympic Winter Games was Passion lives here . The official logo depicts a stylized profile of the Mole Antonelliana building , drawn in white and blue ice crystals , signifying the snow and the sky . The crystal web was also meant to portray the web of new technologies and the Olympic spirit of community . The Olympic mascots of the Games were Neve ( snow in Italian ) , a female snowball , and Gliz , a male ice cube . Italy will host the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo 20 years after these games .
Kati Wilhelm ( born 2 August 1976 in Schmalkalden ) is a German former professional biathlete . Like most German biathletes she is also a member of the German Armed Forces ( Bundeswehr ) with the rank of master sergeant ( Hauptfeldwebel ) . She currently resides in Steinbach-Hallenberg , also in the Federal State of Thuringia .
The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting . It is treated as a race where the contestant with the shortest total time wins . Depending on the competition , missed shots result in extra distance or time being added to the contestant 's total .
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( Greek : Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004 , Therinoí Olympiakoí Agónes 2004 ) , officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad and commonly known as Athens 2004 , was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens , Greece , from 13 to 29 August 2004 with the motto Welcome Home . The Games saw 10,625 athletes compete , some 600 more than expected , accompanied by 5,501 team officials from 201 countries . There were 301 medal events in 28 different sports . Athens 2004 marked the first time since the 1996 Summer Olympics that all countries with a National Olympic Committee were in attendance . 2004 also marked the return of the Olympic Games to the city where they began . Having previously hosted the Olympics in 1896 , Athens became one of only four cities to have hosted the Summer Olympic Games on two separate occasions at the time ( together with Paris , London , and Los Angeles ) . A new medal obverse was introduced at these Games , replacing the design by Giuseppe Cassioli that had been used since the 1928 Games . This rectified the long lasting mistake of using a depiction of the Roman Colosseum rather than a Greek venue . The new design features the Panathenaic Stadium . The 2004 Summer Games were hailed as unforgettable , dream games by IOC President Jacques Rogge , and left Athens with a significantly improved infrastructure , including a new airport , ring road , and subway system . There have been arguments ( mostly in popular media ) regarding the cost of the 2004 Athens Summer Games and their possible contribution to the 2010-2018 Greek government-debt crisis , however , there is little or no evidence for such a correlation . The 2004 Olympics were generally deemed to be a success , with the rising standard of competition amongst nations across the world .
Ludger Beerbaum ( born 26 August 1963 in Detmold , North Rhine-Westphalia ) is an internationally successful German equestrian who competes in show jumping and has been ranked the No . 1 Show Jumper in the world by the FEI on multiple occasions . He is also a four-time Olympic Gold medalist team and individual .
Equestrianism ( from Latin equester , equestr- , equus , 'horseman ' , 'horse ' ) , more often known as horse riding ( British English ) or horseback riding ( American English ) , includes the disciplines of riding , driving , or vaulting with horses . This broad description includes the use of horses for practical working purposes , transportation , recreational activities , artistic or cultural exercises , and competitive sport .
The 2002 Winter Olympics , officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 , was a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated from 8 to 24 February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City , Utah , United States . 2,399 athletes from 78 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines , held throughout 165 sporting sessions . The 2002 Winter Olympics and the 2002 Paralympic Games were both organized by the Salt Lake Organizing Committee ( SLOC ) , the first time in Olympic and Paralympic history that both events were organized by a single committee . Utah became the fifth state in the United States to host the Olympic Games , after Missouri , New York , California , and Georgia . These were the first Olympic Games under the IOC presidency of Jacques Rogge . The opening ceremony was held on February 8 , 2002 , and sporting competitions were held up until the closing ceremony on February 24 , 2002 . Production for both ceremonies was designed by Seven Nielsen , and music for both ceremonies was directed by Mark Watters . Salt Lake City became the most populous area ever to have hosted the Winter Olympics , although the two subsequent host cities ' populations were larger . Following a trend , the 2002 Olympic Winter Games were also larger than all prior Winter Games , with 10 more events than the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano , Japan . Norway won the most gold medals while Germany won the most number of medals . The Salt Lake Games faced a bribery scandal and some local opposition during the bid . Nevertheless , from sporting and business standpoints , this was one of the most successful Winter Olympiads in history ; records were set in both the broadcasting and marketing programs .
Mathilde Gerg ( born 19 October 1975 in Lenggries , Upper Bavaria ) is a German former alpine skier . She was Olympic Champion in the Slalom at the 1998 Winter Olympics , a highly surprising win as most of her career she was known as predominantly a speed specialist ; with 1998 being the one year of her career she was a top slalom contender with 2 wins and numerous podiums on the World Cup , finishing 3rd in points for the season . At the World Championships she was bronze medallist in Combined and Super-G at Sestriere 1997 , Bronze medallist in Super-G at St. Anton 2001 , and gold medallist in Nation Team Event at Bormio in 2005 . In 1994 Gerg was Junior World Champion and in 1997 and 2002 she won the World Cup in her favourite discipline , Super-G . Her 1997 Super G season title came due to decisive points leader Pernilla Wiberg going off course in the final Super G of the season . She also has twice won the combined season Crystal Globe , and twice narrowly missed the downhill season title , finishing 2nd in the points in both 2004 and 2005 . She was 2nd in the Overall title standings in 1999 , losing the Overall title to Alexandra Meissnitzer . Gerg retired from professional skiing , because of severe injuries , in November 2005 . Her cousin , Annemarie Gerg , was also a member of the German alpine ski team .
The 2000 Summer Olympics , officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and commonly known as Sydney 2000 or the Millennium Olympic Games/Games of the New Millennium , was an international multi-sport event held between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney , New South Wales , Australia . It was the second time the Summer Olympics were held in Australia , and also the Southern Hemisphere , the first being in Melbourne , Victoria , in 1956 .
Birgit Fischer ( born 25 February 1962 ) is a German kayaker , who has won eight gold medals over six different Olympic Games , a record she shares with Aladár Gerevich , spanning seven Olympiads : twice representing East Germany ( interrupted by the boycott of 1984 ) , then four times representing the reunited nation . After both the 1988 and 2000 games , she announced her retirement , only to return for the subsequent games . She has been both the youngest- and oldest-ever Olympic canoeing champion ( ages 18 and 42 ) . In 2004 , she was voted German sportswoman of the year . Fischer was born in Brandenburg an der Havel , then in East Germany . She attended an ASK ( army sports club ) boarding school in Potsdam , and worked as a sports instructor in the National People 's Army , attaining a rank of major by the time of German reunification in 1990 . She was married from 1984 to 1993 to canoeist Jörg Schmidt , silver medalist in the C-1 1000 m event at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul . She lives with their two children in Brandenburg . In 1999 she stood unsuccessfully as a candidate for the FDP in the European Parliament election . Fischer 's niece , Fanny , competed for Germany at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing , winning a gold in the K-4 500 m event . Fischer 's brother Frank won nine world championship medals between 1981 and 1986 . She also won 38 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medals between 1978 and 2005 , including 28 golds .
Canoe sprint is a sport in which athletes race canoes or kayaks on calm water .
The 1998 Winter Olympics , officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games ( French : Les XVIIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver ) ( Japanese : 第十八回オリンピック冬季競技大会 , Dai Jūhachi-kai Orinpikku Tōkikyōgi Taikai ) , and commonly known as Nagano 1998 , was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 that were centered in Nagano , Japan . The Games also took place in the nearby mountain communities of Hakuba , Karuizawa , Nozawa Onsen , and Yamanouuchi . The city of Nagano had previously been a candidate to host the 1940 Winter Olympics ( which were later cancelled ) , as well as the 1972 Winter Olympics , but each time Nagano was eliminated at the national level by Sapporo . The games hosted 2,176 athletes from 72 nations competing in 7 sports and 68 events . The number of athletes and participating nations were a record at the time . The Games saw the introduction of women 's ice hockey , curling and snowboarding . National Hockey League players were allowed to participate in the men 's ice hockey for the first time . Five countries , Azerbaijan , Kenya , Macedonia , Uruguay , and Venezuela made their debut at the Winter Olympics . The athlete who won the most medals at these games was the Russian cross-country skier Larisa Lazutina who won five medals , including three gold . The Norwegian cross-country skier Bjørn Dæhlie won four medals , including three gold , which took his total Olympic medal total to 12 , including eight gold , which is a record for Winter Olympics . In ice hockey , professionals from the North American National Hockey League participated for the first time . Despite their participation , the Czech men 's ice hockey team won the gold medal .
Jochen Behle ( born 7 July 1960 in Korbach , Hesse ) is a former ( West ) German cross-country skier who competed from 1982 to 1998 . Competing in six Winter Olympics , he earned his best career finish of fourth in the 4 x 10 km relay at Lillehammer in 1994 and his best individual finish of 11th in the 10 km event at those same games . Behle 's best finish at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships was fifth in the 10 km event at Falun in 1993 . His only World Cup victory was in a 50 km event in Canada in 1989 . In West Germany , the phrase Wo ist Behle ? ( Where is Behle ? ) became famous when during a TV broadcast of the 1980 Olympic Games in Lake Placid , the commentator could n't find Behle and worriedly repeated this question .
Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain , rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance . Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity ; however , some still use it as a means of transportation . Variants of cross-country skiing are adapted to a range of terrain which spans unimproved , sometimes mountainous terrain to groomed courses that are specifically designed for the sport . Modern cross-country skiing is similar to the original form of skiing , from which all skiing disciplines evolved , including alpine skiing , ski jumping and Telemark skiing . Skiers propel themselves either by striding forward ( classic style ) or side-to-side in a skating motion ( skate skiing ) , aided by arms pushing on ski poles against the snow . It is practised in regions with snow-covered landscapes , including Northern Europe , Canada , Russia , the United States , Australia and New Zealand . Competitive cross-country skiing is one of the Nordic skiing sports . Cross-country skiing and rifle marksmanship are the two components of biathlon , ski-orienteering is a form of cross-country skiing , which includes map navigation along snow trails and tracks .
The 1996 Summer Olympics , officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad , commonly known as Atlanta 1996 , and also referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games , were an international multi-sport event that was held from July 19 to August 4 , 1996 , in Atlanta , Georgia , U.S . These Games , which were the fourth Summer Olympics to be hosted by the United States , marked the centennial of the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens - the inaugural edition of the modern Olympic Games . They were also the first since 1924 to be held in a different year from a Winter Olympics , under a new IOC practice implemented in 1994 to hold the Summer and Winter Games in alternating , even-numbered years . More than 10,000 athletes from 197 National Olympic Committees competed in 26 sports , including the Olympic debuts of beach volleyball , mountain biking , and softball , as well as the new disciplines of lightweight rowing and women 's football ( soccer ) . 24 countries made their Summer Olympic debut in Atlanta , including eleven former Soviet republics participating for the first time as independent nations . The hosting United States led the medal count with a total of 101 medals , and the most gold ( 44 ) and silver ( 32 ) medals out of all countries . The U.S. topped the medal count for the first time since 1984 , and for the first time since 1968 in a non-boycotted Summer Olympics . Notable performances during competition included those of Andre Agassi - who became the first men 's singles tennis player to combine a career Grand Slam with an Olympic gold medal , Donovan Bailey - who set a new world record of 9.84 for the men 's 100 meters , and Lilia Podkopayeva - who became the second gymnast to win an individual event gold after winning the all-round title in the same Olympics . The festivities were marred by violence on July 27 , when Eric Rudolph detonated pipe bombs at Centennial Olympic Park - a downtown park that was built to serve as a public focal point for the Games ' festivities , killing 1 and injuring 111 . In 2003 , Rudolph confessed to the bombing and a series of related attacks on abortion centers and a gay bar , and was sentenced to life in prison . He claimed that the bombing was meant to protest the U.S. government 's sanctioning of abortion on demand . The Games turned a profit , helped by record revenue from sponsorship deals and broadcast rights , and reliance on private funding ( as opposed to the extensive public funding used on later Olympics ) , among other factors .
Arnd Schmitt ( born 13 July 1965 in Heidenheim an der Brenz ) is a German fencer and Olympic champion in the épée competition . He won a gold medal in the individual épée and a team silver medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul . He received an Olympic gold medal in épée team in 1992 . Schmitt was inducted into Germany 's Sports Hall of Fame in 2016 .
Fencing is a group of three related combat sports . The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil , the épée , and the sabre ( also saber ) ; winning points are made through the weapon 's contact with an opponent . A fourth discipline , singlestick , appeared in the 1904 Olympics but was dropped after that , and is not a part of modern fencing . Fencing was one of the first sports to be played in the Olympics . Based on the traditional skills of swordsmanship , the modern sport arose at the end of the 19th century , with the Italian school having modified the historical European martial art of classical fencing , and the French school later refining the Italian system . There are three forms of modern fencing , each of which uses a different kind of weapon and has different rules ; thus the sport itself is divided into three competitive scenes : foil , épée , and sabre . Most competitive fencers choose to specialize in one weapon only . Competitive fencing is one of the five activities which have been featured in every modern Olympic Games , the other four being athletics , cycling , swimming , and gymnastics .
The 1994 Winter Olympics ( Norwegian : Olympiske vinterleker 1994 ) , officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games , was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer , Norway . Lillehammer failed to win the bid for the 1992 event , losing to Albertville . Lillehammer was awarded the 1994 Winter Olympics in 1988 , after beating Anchorage , United States ; Östersund , Sweden ; and Sofia , Bulgaria . Lillehammer is the northernmost city to ever host the Winter Games and the Olympic Games overall . The Games were the first to be held in a different year from the Summer Olympics , the first and only one to be held two years after the previous winter games . The Games were the second Winter Olympics hosted in Norway , after the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo , and the fourth Olympics in the Nordic countries , after the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm , Sweden , and the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki , Finland . Although many events took place in Lillehammer , skating took place in Hamar , some ice hockey matches were placed in Gjøvik , while Alpine skiing was held in Øyer and Ringebu . Sixty-seven countries and 1,737 athletes participated in six sports and sixty-one events . Fourteen countries made their debut in the Winter Olympics , of which nine were former Soviet republics . The Games also saw the introduction of stricter qualifying rules , reducing the number of under-performing participants from warm-weather countries . New events were two new distances in short track speed skating and aerials , while speed skating was moved indoors . Nearly two million people spectated the games , which were the first to have the Olympic truce in effect .
Mark Kirchner ( born 4 April 1970 ) is a German former biathlete .
The 1992 Summer Olympics ( Spanish : Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992 , Catalan : Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992 ) , officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad , was an international multi-sport event held in Barcelona , Spain from 25 July to 9 August 1992 . Beginning in 1994 , the International Olympic Committee decided to hold the Summer and Winter Olympics in alternating even-numbered years . The 1992 Summer Olympics was the last occasion for the Summer and Winter Olympics to be staged in the same year . This Olympiad was the first since the end of the Cold War , and was unaffected by boycotts for the first time since the 1972 Olympiad . The Unified Team topped the medal table , winning 45 gold and 112 overall medals .
Manfred Klein ( born 22 August 1947 in Berlin ) is a competition rower and Olympic champion for West Germany . Klein coxed the eight which won the gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul . He received a bronze medal in 1992 .
Rowing , sometimes referred to as crew in the United States , is a sport whose origins reach back to Ancient Egyptian times . It involves propelling a boat ( racing shell ) on water using oars . By pushing against the water with an oar , a force is generated to move the boat . The sport can be either recreational for enjoyment or fitness , or competitive , when athletes race against each other in boats . There are a number of different boat classes in which athletes compete , ranging from an individual shell ( called a single scull ) to an eight-person shell with a coxswain ( called a coxed eight ) . Modern rowing as a competitive sport can be traced to the early 17th century when races ( regattas ) were held between professional watermen on the River Thames in London , United Kingdom . Often prizes were offered by the London Guilds and Livery Companies . Amateur competition began towards the end of the 18th century with the arrival of boat clubs at the British public schools of Eton College , Shrewsbury School , Durham School , and Westminster School . Similarly , clubs were formed at the University of Oxford , with a race held between Brasenose College and Jesus College in 1815 . At the University of Cambridge the first recorded races were in 1827 . Public rowing clubs were beginning at the same time ; in England Leander Club was founded in 1818 , in Germany Der Hamburger und Germania Ruder Club was founded in 1836 and in the United States Narragansett Boat Club was founded in 1838 and Detroit Boat Club was founded in 1839 . In 1843 , the first American college rowing club was formed at Yale University .
The 1992 Winter Olympics , officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games ( French : Les XVIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver ) , were a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 8 to 23 February 1992 in Albertville , France . They were the last Winter Olympics to be held the same year as the Summer Olympics , and the first where the Winter Paralympics were held at the same site . Albertville was selected as host in 1986 , beating Sofia , Falun , Lillehammer , Cortina d'Ampezzo , Anchorage and Berchtesgaden . The games were the third Winter Olympics held in France , after Chamonix in 1924 and Grenoble in 1968 , and the fifth Olympics overall in the country . Only some of the skating and the opening and closing ceremonies took place in Albertville , while the rest of the events took place in the villages of Courchevel , La Plagne , Les Arcs , Les Menuires , Les Saisies , Méribel , Pralognan-la-Vanoise , Tignes and Val d'Isère . Sixty-four nations with 1,801 athletes participated in the games , including the Unified Team which represented non-Baltic former Soviet republics . Germany participated as a unified team following reunification in 1990 , while five newly independent European countries debuted , as did six warm-weather countries . Short track speed skating , moguls and women 's biathlon made their debut as an Olympic sport . The games were the last Winter Games until 2014 to have demonstration sports , consisting of curling , aerials , ski ballet and speed skiing . It was the last Olympics to have an outdoor speed skating rink . The games were succeeded by the 1992 Winter Paralympics from 25 March to 1 April . Norwegians won every male cross-country skiing race , with Bjørn Dæhlie and Vegard Ulvang both collecting three gold .
Wolfgang Hoppe ( German pronunciation : [ ˈhɔppə ] ; born 14 November 1957 , Apolda , Thuringia ) is an East German former decathlete , bob pilot and 36-time international medal winner who competed from the early 1980s to the late 1990s . Competing in four Winter Olympics , he won six medals with two golds ( Two-man : 1984 , Four-man : 1984 ) , three silvers ( Two-man : 1988 , Four-man : 1988 , 1992 ) , and one bronze ( 1994 ) . At the opening ceremonies of the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville , Hoppe carried the flag of Germany , who was competing as a unified nation in the Winter Olympics for the first time since the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen . Hoppe also won fourteen medals at the FIBT World Championships with six golds ( Two-man : 1985 , 1986 , 1989 ; Four-man : 1991 , 1995 , 1997 ) , one silver ( Four-man : 1987 ) , and seven bronzes ( Two-man : 1983 , 1987 , 1990 , 1991 , 1993 ; Four-man : 1989 , 1996 ) . He also won the Bobsleigh World Cup championship in combined men 's ( 1991-92 ) , two-man ( 1990-91 ) , and four-man ( 1991-92 , 1995-96 ) . Hoppe a former army major retired from bobsledding after the 1997 FIBT World Championships to become coach of the German national team , coaching such athletes as Susi Erdmann , Sandra Kiriasis , Gabriele Kohlisch , and André Lange . In October 1986 , he was awarded a Star of People 's Friendship in gold ( second class ) for his sporting success . He is the brother of motocross racer and 37-time medal winner Heinz Hoppe . [ citation needed ]
The 1964 Summer Olympics , officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad ( Japanese : 第十八回オリンピック競技大会 , Hepburn : Dai Jūhachi-kai Orinpikku Kyōgi Taikai ) , was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo , Japan , from 10 to 24 October 1964 . Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics , but this honour was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan 's invasion of China , before ultimately being cancelled because of World War II . The 1964 Summer Games were the first Olympics held in Asia , and the first time South Africa was barred from taking part due to its apartheid system in sports . ( South Africa was , however , allowed to compete at the 1964 Summer Paralympics , also held in Tokyo , where it made its Paralympic Games debut . ) Tokyo was chosen as the host city during the 55th IOC Session in West Germany , on 26 May 1959 . These games were also the first to be telecast internationally without the need for tapes to be flown overseas , as they had been for the 1960 Olympics four years earlier . The games were telecast to the United States using Syncom 3 , the first geostationary communication satellite , and from there to Europe using Relay 1 . These were also the first Olympic Games to have color telecasts , albeit partially . Certain events like the sumo wrestling and judo matches , sports huge in Japan , were tried out using Toshiba 's new colour transmission system , but only for the domestic market . History surrounding the 1964 Olympics was chronicled in the 1965 documentary film Tokyo Olympiad , directed by Kon Ichikawa . The games were scheduled for mid-October to avoid the city 's midsummer heat and humidity and the September typhoon season . The previous Olympics in Rome in 1960 started in late August and experienced hot weather .
Ingrid Gulbin ( née Krämer then Engel-Krämer , born 29 July 1943 ) is a diver from East Germany , a multiple Olympic champion who won Olympic gold medals in both springboard and platform .
Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard , usually while performing acrobatics . Diving is an internationally recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games . In addition , unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime . Diving is one of the most popular Olympic sports with spectators . [ citation needed ] Competitors possess many of the same characteristics as gymnasts and dancers , including strength , flexibility , kinaesthetic judgment and air awareness . Some professional divers were originally gymnasts or dancers as both the sports have similar characteristics to diving . Dmitri Sautin holds the record for most Olympic diving medals won , by winning eight medals in total between 1992 and 2008 .
The 1964 Winter Olympics , officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games ( French : Les IXes Jeux olympiques d'hiver ) ( German : Olympische Winterspiele 1964 ) , was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Innsbruck , Austria , from January 29 to February 9 , 1964 . The Games included 1091 athletes from 36 nations , and the Olympic Torch was carried by Joseph Rieder , a former alpine skier who had participated in the 1956 Winter Olympics . The Games were affected by the deaths of Australian alpine skier Ross Milne and British luge slider Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypeski , during training , and by the deaths , three years earlier , of the entire US figure skating team and family members .
Georg Thoma ( born 20 August 1937 ) is a retired German Nordic combined skier and ski jumper . He won a gold medal at the 1960 Olympics , becoming the first non-Scandinavian athlete to do so , and was voted German Sportsman of the Year . At the 1964 Olympics he won a bronze medal and served as the Olympic flag bearer for Germany at the opening ceremony . He further won the world championships title in 1966 . Thoma 's strength in the Nordic combined was jumping . He was three times German champion in ski jumping ( 1960 , 1961 , and 1963 ) . Additionally , he won the Nordic combined at the Holmenkollen ski festival from 1963 to 1966 . For his Nordic combined successes , Thoma was awarded the Holmenkollen medal in 1964 ( ahared with Veikko Kankkonen , Eero Mäntyranta , and Halvor Næs ) . Thoma is the uncle of the ski jumper Dieter Thoma . After retiring from competitions he worked as a postman in his hometown and later as a television commentator . He was one of the first German winter athletes to make his living from sponsorship .
The 1960 Summer Olympics , officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( Italian : Giochi della XVII Olimpiade ) , was an international multi-sport event that was held from August 25 to September 11 , 1960 , in Rome , Italy . The city of Rome had previously been awarded the administration of the 1908 Summer Olympics , but following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1906 , Rome had no choice but to decline and pass the honour to London . The Soviet Union won the most gold and overall medals .
Fritz Thiedemann ( 3 March 1918 - 8 January 2000 ) was a German equestrian , considered to be one of the greatest show jumpers of his time .
The 1960 Winter Olympics , officially known as the VIII Olympic Winter Games , was a winter multi-sport event held between February 18-28 , 1960 , in Squaw Valley , California , United States . Squaw Valley was chosen to host the Games at the 1956 meeting of the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) . It was an undeveloped resort in 1955 , so from 1956 to 1960 the infrastructure and all of the venues were built at a cost of US $ 80,000,000 . It was designed to be intimate , allowing spectators and competitors to walk to nearly all the venues . Squaw Valley hosted athletes from thirty nations who competed in four sports and twenty-seven events . Women 's speed skating and biathlon made their Olympic debuts . After a poll was taken indicating that only nine countries would send a bobsled team , the organizers decided the bobsled events did not warrant the cost to build a venue , so for the first and only time bobsled was not on the Winter Olympic program . Cold War politics forced the IOC to debate the participation of China and Taiwan . The United States supported Taiwan while the Soviet Union stood behind China . Given the fact that the 1960 Games were to be held in America , there was concern among IOC members that the United States would not allow China or any other Communist country to participate . In 1957 , IOC president Avery Brundage , himself an American , announced that if the United States refused entry to any country recognized by the IOC , then they would revoke Squaw Valley 's invitation to host the Games and he would resign the presidency . Bowing to international pressure , the United States allowed athletes from Communist countries to participate .
Helmut Recknagel ( born 20 March 1937 in Steinbach-Hallenberg ) is an East German former ski jumper who was active in the late 1950s and early 1960s . He earned a gold medal at the 1960 Winter Olympics in ski jumping and also won the Holmenkollen ski festival ski jumping competition twice ( 1957 and 1960 ) . At the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships , he won three medals : a bronze in 1958 and two medals in 1962 , a gold in the individual large hill and a bronze in the individual normal hill . For his ski jumping efforts , Recknagel was awarded the Holmenkollen medal in 1960 ( Shared with Sixten Jernberg , Sverre Stensheim , and Tormod Knutsen ) . He was the first German to win the Holmenkollen medal .
Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the longest jump after descending from a specially designed ramp on their skis . Along with jump length , competitor 's style and other factors affect the final score . Ski jumping was first contested in Norway in the late 19th century , and later spread through Europe and North America in the early 20th century . Along with cross-country skiing , it constitutes the traditional group of Nordic skiing disciplines . The ski jumping venue , commonly referred to as a hill , consists of the jumping ramp ( in-run ) , take-off table , and a landing hill . Each jump is evaluated according to the distance traveled and the style performed . The distance score is related to the construction point ( also known as the K-point ) , which is a line drawn in the landing area and serves as a target for the competitors to reach . The score of each judge evaluating the style can reach a maximum of 20 points . The jumping technique has evolved over the years , from jumps with the parallel skis with both arms pointing forwards , to the V-style , which is widely used today . Ski jumping has been included at the Winter Olympics since 1924 and at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships since 1925 . Women 's participation in the sport began in the 1990s , while the first women 's event at the Olympics has been held in 2014 . All major ski jumping competitions are organised by the International Ski Federation .
The 1956 Summer Olympics , officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad , was an international multi-sport event that was held in Melbourne , Victoria , Australia from 22 November to 8 December 1956 , with the exception of the equestrian events , which were held in Stockholm , Sweden in June 1956 . These Games were the first to be staged in the Southern Hemisphere and Oceania , as well as the first to be held outside Europe and North America . Melbourne is the most southerly city ever to host the Olympics . Due to the Southern Hemisphere 's seasons being different from those in the Northern Hemisphere , the 1956 Games did not take place at the usual time of year , because of the need to hold the events during the warmer weather of the host 's spring/summer ( which corresponds to the Northern Hemisphere 's autumn/winter ) . The Olympic equestrian events could not be held in Melbourne due to Australia 's strict quarantine regulations , so they were held in Stockholm five months earlier . This was the second time that the Olympics were not held entirely in one country , the first being the 1920 Summer Olympics , which were held in Antwerp , Belgium , with some events taking place in Ostend , Belgium and Amsterdam , Netherlands . Despite uncertainties and various complications encountered during the preparations , the 1956 Games went ahead in Melbourne as planned and turned out to be a success . The enduring tradition of national teams parading as one during the closing ceremony was started at these Olympics . Several teams boycotted the Games in protest of the IOC 's rejection to suspend the USSR after their invasion of Hungary . The Soviet Union won the most gold and overall medals .
Karl-Friedrich Haas ( born 28 July 1931 in Berlin ) was a West German athlete who mainly competed in the 400 metres . He competed for West Germany in the 1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki , Finland where he won the bronze medal in the 4 x 400 metre relay with his team mates Hans Geister , Günther Steines and Heinz Ulzheimer . Four years later he competed for the United Team of Germany in the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne , Australia and won a silver in the individual 400 metres . He is the father of Olympic competitor Christian Haas .
Athletics is a group of sporting events that involves competitive running , jumping , throwing , and walking . The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field , road running , cross country running , and race walking . The results of racing events are decided by finishing position ( or time , where measured ) , while the jumps and throws are won by the athlete that achieves the highest or furthest measurement from a series of attempts . The simplicity of the competitions , and the lack of a need for expensive equipment , makes athletics one of the most common types of sports in the world . Athletics is mostly an individual sport , with the exception of relay races and competitions which combine athletes ' performances for a team score , such as cross country . Organized athletics are traced back to the Ancient Olympic Games from 776 BC . The rules and format of the modern events in athletics were defined in Western Europe and North America in the 19th and early 20th century , and were then spread to other parts of the world . Most modern top level meetings are held under the auspices of World Athletics , the global governing body for the sport of athletics , or its member continental and national federations . The athletics meeting forms the backbone of the Summer Olympics . The foremost international athletics meeting is the World Athletics Championships , which incorporates track and field , marathon running and race walking . Other top level competitions in athletics include the World Athletics Cross Country Championships and the World Half Marathon Championships . Athletes with a physical disability compete at the Summer Paralympics and the World Para Athletics Championships .