Olympic GamesOlympics - Sochi 2014
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'' The eighth episode of the novel in which the Olympic Winter Team USA ice hockey'' s'' made a firm similar to that known by all of Lake Placid 1980. Guess the 98 Sochi 2014 Olympic podiums!
Sunday 12 January 2014 15 minutes reading time
There are four candidates resort to host the eighth Winter Olympics in 1960. There are three well-known winter resorts in Europe, two of these, Garmisch-Partenkirchen and St. Moritz have already hosted the Games while the third white, Innsbruck, is the main favorite. The fourth is not a resort but it is the name of an area of ​​California, more specifically the Sierra Nevada, the site of an old mining town, Squaw Valley (squaw means for the ancient Native American woman, and then the "Valley of women "), and which has only one inhabitant and owner, Alexander Cushing. He aspires to make a Squaw Valley ski resort in the world, and even try a move that seems crazy, and that is to bring the Winter Olympics in that valley of California. On behalf of the Squaw Valley Development Company of which he is president, Cushing convinces the governor to fund the stadium with a million-dollar Olympic bid that is approved by the U.S. Olympic Committee on January 7, 1955, and shortly after there's also the ok of Congress Federal and U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower. The application of Squaw Valley is so official but do not see how it could prevail against European giants that will face the 50th general meeting of the IOC in Paris June 16, 1955.
Yet the reports and projects from Cushing to the International Olympic Committee and the rivalry between the European members of the committee causes the miracle already in the first round Squaw Valley has more votes than all, 30, against 24 in Innsbruck, the 5 Garmisch-Partenkirchen and 3 in St. Moritz. The absolute majority, however, there is'' and is required a runoff between the top two, which prevails in Squaw Valley narrow measure of Innsbruck, 32 to 30. IOC president Avery Brundage warns, however, that unless we get another four million dollars in funding to the consortium by the Californian'' in April 1956 Games in Innsbruck pass. The four million come April 4, 1956 due to the State and then the ghost town (at the time of assignment'' in the valley there is only one chairlift, two ski lifts and a hotel with 50 rooms) is officially the home of the white of the Olympics 1960, 28 years after the'' single edition until then held in North America in Lake Placid. In four years, will be built in a hurry the ski race and the Olympic village, the first consisting of the catering center of athletes and four dormitories in the history of the Winter Olympics.
In approaching the opening date of February 18, there will be some controversy: the altitudes of the alpine and nordic ski races, ranging from 1,900 meters up, are considered too high,'' the IOC meeting traditionally takes place during the winter and summer Olympics in the host location this time takes place in San Francisco, more than 300 km away, due to lack of accommodation. Despite the improvement of transport in the years since 1932 are still so many defections of athletes, 150 less than in Cortina d'Ampezzo four years earlier, and in particular announce you want to participate in bobsleigh only nine nations, so the organizers consider the cost of construction of the runway overkill for participation so small and so the gut is not being built. '' This will be the only edition of the Winter Games without the bobsled races, on the other hand enter the biathlon program, with individual race of 20 km, and finally, it's appropriate to say, the speed skating Women with four races that raise the securities to be allotted to 27, three more than those of Cortina.
As eight years before the Olympic torch in Oslo has been turned on in the home of Sondre Norheim in Morgedal and this time he had to make a much longer journey. The program manager'' s opening ceremony, as well as of the closing, it is none other than Walt Disney, and these two events will undoubtedly be the most successful Games. Said the biathlon and speed skating women: the first Olympic champion cross-country skiing is more shooting the Swede Klas Lestander, long dominated by the Soviet Union on track with Klara Guseva who wins the 1000 Lidiya Skoblikova, one that four years later into history, that is imposed on the 1500 and 3000, only 500 of the race does not go to the representatives of the USSR but to Helga Haase, the first East German men, including to win a gold at the Games winter even though the two Germanies continue to compete under the same banner. Among men Evgeny Grishin confirms the two Olympic titles won in Cortina and is increasingly "mister ex-aequo" as four years earlier triumphs over 500 equaling his world record and how four years earlier triumphs in the 1500 tied with another, the Norwegian Roald Aas. The USSR also took home the gold with the 5000 Viktor Kosichkin, Norway also on the 10000 with Knut Johannesen, pulverizing 46 seconds, the previous world record of compatriot Hjalmar Andersen.
About norge, the only title win in Nordic skiing is the one in the men's 15 km with Håkon Brusveen, Sweden won the men's 30 km champion with his Sixten Jernberg and the women's relay, Finland the 50 km male with Kalevi Hämäläinen and the men's relay thanks to a comeback Crazy myth Veikko Hakulinen own against Brusveen, the USSR won the 10km women with Mariya Gusakova and once again lost the gold in relay for fault Radya Yeroshina, fall like a curtain but this time instead of in the first fraction in the final. Are the prerogative of the team joined the German ski jumping and Nordic combined, the first wins the East German Helmut Recknagel, great Teutonic character of the jump, the second West German Georg Thoma. In alpine skiing, thanks to its location in the egg and metal skis triumphs Frenchman Jean Vuarnet, who later, in addition to found the eponymous clothing brand and the ski resort of Avoriaz, will be the technical director of the Italian team and will shape almost all the protagonists of what will be after him the "blue avalanche."
In the other races of the Alpine two titles for Switzerland with Roger Staub and Yvonne Rüegg in giant male in the female where there is also the only medal for Italy, that of Giuliana Chenal-Minuzzo, as in bronze down in 1952, the Austrian Ernst Hinterseer wins the men's slalom, the female goes to the Canadian Anne Heggtveit, the descent to win the West German Heidi Biebl. Even the artistic couples go to Canada for about Barbara Wagner and Robert Paul, the American David Jenkins mimics his older brother Alan Hayes winner in Cortina and triumphed in the men's race, in the female there is a happy ending for New York Carol Heiss, who can finally dedicate to the memory of the Olympic gold to her mother died in 1956 a few months after that little Carol was silver in Cortina. United States once again on the top step of the podium where ice hockey triumph for the first time.
Everyone remembers the "Miracle on Ice" in Lake Placid in 1980, but few remember this edition of the Games: on this occasion the hosts depart significantly disadvantaged compared with the reigning champions of the Soviet Union and on tour before the Games have had only mixed results, but as the days pass progressively improve enough to narrowly beat both Canada (2-1) that the USSR (3-2). This extraordinary result, much less publicized than twenty years later, is now known as "The Forgotten Miracle," "the forgotten miracle". The medal is strongly affected by the absence of Italian bobsleigh, in which Eugenio Monti. had high chances of winning both races. Pia Riva is fourth in the women's downhill, Carla Marchelli fifth in the giant bronze Chenal-Minuzzo, same placement for Bruno Alberti and the relay in the men's giant fund of men.
Summary
8th edition of the Olympic Winter Games
Host city and date of the Squaw Valley (USA), 19-28 February 1960
Athletes participating: 665 (521 men, 144 women)
Participating countries: 30
Italian participants: 28 (21 men, 7 women)
Italian flag-bearer: Bruno Alberti (Alpine skiing)
Securities allotted: 27 in 8 sports
Official Opening: Vice President Richard Nixon
Olympic athletes' oath: Carol Heiss (Figure Skating)
Last torchbearer: Ken Henry
The medal
Soviet Union: 7 gold 5 silver 9 bronzes
Unified Germany: 4 gold 3 silver 1 bronze
United States: 3 gold 4 silver 3 bronze
Norway: 3 gold 3 silver
Sweden: 3 gold 2 silver 2 bronze
Finland: 2 gold 3 silver 3 bronze
Canada: 2 gold 1 silver 1 bronze
Switzerland: 2 gold
Austria: 1 gold 2 silver 3 bronze
France: 1 gold 2 bronze
Poland: 1 silver 1 bronze
Netherlands: 1 silver 1 bronze
Czechoslovakia: 1 silver
Italy: 1 bronze
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