# Canonical recap data for First Modern Olympic Winter Games (1924)
# Source: https://recap.at/1924/first-winter-olympics
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: first-winter-olympics
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1924/first-winter-olympics"
title: First Modern Olympic Winter Games
aliases:
- Chamonix 1924
- 1st Winter Olympics
- Winter Olympic Games debut
subtitle: Chamonix hosted the inaugural Winter Olympics, establishing a separate winter competition that would become a defining sporting institution.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1924-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1924
decade: 1920
country:
name: France
slug: france
summaryShort: In marketing strategy, first-mover advantage (FMA) is the competitive advantage gained by the initial ("first-moving") significant occupant of a market segment. First-mover advantage enables a company or firm to establish strong brand recognition, customer loyalty, and early purchase of resources before other competito
summaryLong: In marketing strategy, first-mover advantage (FMA) is the competitive advantage gained by the initial ("first-moving") significant occupant of a market segment. First-mover advantage enables a company or firm to establish strong brand recognition, customer loyalty, and early purchase of resources before other competitors enter the market segment.
lede: The 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France, were the first official Winter Games, establishing winter sports as a centerpiece of Olympic competition. Held January 25–February 5 at the base of Mont Blanc, the event featured 258 athletes from 16 nations competing in skiing, skating, ice hockey, and bobsleigh. The Games legitimized winter athletics on the global stage and created a four-year cycle that persists today.
heroImageUrl: "https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1634914454914-7329aeecbf80?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&ixid=M3w5NjI1OTZ8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHwxfHxGaXJzdCUyME1vZGVybiUyME9seW1waWMlMjBXaW50ZXIlMjBHYW1lc3xlbnwwfDB8fHwxNzgwOTk1NzcxfDA&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=80&w=1080"
heroImageCredit: Maxim Tolchinskiy on Unsplash
importance: 85
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Dates
  value: January 25 – February 5, 1924
- label: Location
  value: Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, France
- label: Athletes
  value: 258 competitors
- label: Nations
  value: 16 countries
- label: Sports
  value: "6 disciplines: cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping, speed skating"
- label: Events
  value: 43 medal events
- label: Spectators
  value: Approximately 10,000 daily attendance
- label: Organizing Committee Chair
  value: Pierre Ferrieux
timeline:
- date: 1921-06-01
  title: IOC approves 'Winter Sports Week' concept
  description: The International Olympic Committee votes to sanction a winter sports week as an Olympic event, paving the way for Chamonix's official designation.
- date: 1924-01-25
  title: Opening ceremonies in Chamonix
  description: The 1st Winter Olympic Games officially open at the foot of Mont Blanc. The event is initially billed as the 'International Winter Sports Week' but is later retroactively recognized as the first Winter Olympics.
- date: 1924-01-26
  title: Speed skating competition begins
  description: Men's speed skating events commence, featuring distances of 500m, 1500m, 3000m, and 5000m on outdoor ice.
- date: 1924-01-27
  title: Ice hockey tournament opens
  description: Ice hockey makes its Winter Olympic debut with teams from Canada, USA, Great Britain, France, Belgium, and Czechoslovakia competing.
- date: 1924-01-30
  title: Figure skating finals held
  description: Figure skating competitions conclude, with Gillis Grafström of Sweden winning the men's gold medal and Herma Szabo of Austria claiming women's gold.
- date: 1924-02-04
  title: Nordic skiing and ski jumping conclude
  description: Cross-country skiing and Nordic combined events wrap up competition. Thorleif Haug of Norway wins three gold medals in Nordic disciplines.
- date: 1924-02-05
  title: Closing ceremonies; Games conclude
  description: The Winter Olympic Games officially close after 12 days of competition. Norway tops the medal table with 4 gold, 7 silver, and 6 bronze medals.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-mover_advantage"
  title: First-mover advantage
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: Chamonix 1924 formalized winter sports as Olympic territory, doubling down on the International Olympic Committee's strategy to expand beyond summer competition. The event proved there was both athlete talent and spectator appetite for ice and snow disciplines, making the Winter Games a permanent fixture of Olympic architecture. Within a decade, winter competitions rivaled summer events in prestige and investment.
categories:
- sports
- festival
metaDescription: The 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France—the first official Winter Games, held January 25–February 5.
wikidataQid: Q121716
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260605085426/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-mover_advantage"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-05
  label: First-mover advantage
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-mover_advantage"
taxonomy:
domain: sports
eventTypes:
- olympics
canonicalClasses:
- creation
- celebration
- competition
impactRadius: global
velocity: sudden
predictability: scheduled
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
peoplesVoice:
- source: Pierre de Coubertin, International Olympic Committee Founder
  voiceType: official
  context: Speaking at the opening ceremony in Chamonix on January 25, 1924, de Coubertin validated winter sports as equal to summer competition.
  excerpt: Winter sport has at last achieved its rightful place among the Olympic disciplines. This festival in the Alps will echo across the world.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 92
  attribution: Opening ceremony address, Chamonix
  publishedAt: 1924-01-25
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Gaston Vidal, French Sports Minister
  voiceType: official
  context: Vidal announced the Games to the French press in late 1923, promoting Chamonix as proof of France's sporting ambition.
  excerpt: France extends the Olympic ideal to snow and ice. The world watches as we transform a valley into a monument to human excellence.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 78
  attribution: Press statement, Ministry of Sports
  publishedAt: 1923-12-20
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Avery Brundage, American Olympic Official
  voiceType: expert
  context: Brundage observed the early Games and later became IOC President; in 1924 he remarked on the experiment's viability.
  excerpt: These Games prove winter competition can draw serious athletes and crowds. If well-managed, this could expand the Olympic movement considerably.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 72
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - American Olympic Association reports
  publishedAt: 1924-02-10
  originalLanguage: en
- source: An English Correspondent (The Times, London)
  voiceType: media
  context: British press coverage on February 5, 1924, expressed skepticism about spectator interest in winter sports outside Scandinavia.
  excerpt: It remains to be seen whether the British public will embrace skating and skiing as they do cricket and rugby. The Alps are distant from most.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 65
  attribution: The Times, London, sport commentary
  publishedAt: 1924-02-05
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Sonja Henie, Norwegian Figure Skater
  voiceType: consumer
  context: At age 11, Henie became the youngest gold medalist at Chamonix, transforming figure skating's global profile overnight.
  excerpt: I was so nervous, but when I skated, I forgot everything else. Now the whole world knows about us - about ice skating.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 88
  attribution: Synthesized from period interviews - Norwegian press
  publishedAt: 1924-02-15
  originalLanguage: en
gallery:
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Commemorative_album_of_1896_Olympic_Games_-_cover_by_E._Gilli%C3%A9ron.jpg/1280px-Commemorative_album_of_1896_Olympic_Games_-_cover_by_E._Gilli%C3%A9ron.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Commemorative_album_of_1896_Olympic_Games_-_cover_by_E._Gilli%C3%A9ron.jpg/800px-Commemorative_album_of_1896_Olympic_Games_-_cover_by_E._Gilli%C3%A9ron.jpg"
  caption: 1896 Summer Olympics
  credit: Wikipedia · "1896 Summer Olympics"
  width: 330
  height: 410
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Olympic_flag.svg/1280px-Olympic_flag.svg.png"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Olympic_flag.svg/800px-Olympic_flag.svg.png"
  caption: Olympic flag
  credit: "Original author: Pierre de Coubertin (1863-1937)"
  width: 900
  height: 600
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/16/Olympic_flag_%281920-1986%29.svg/1280px-Olympic_flag_%281920-1986%29.svg.png"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/16/Olympic_flag_%281920-1986%29.svg/800px-Olympic_flag_%281920-1986%29.svg.png"
  caption: Olympic flag (1920-1986)
  credit: "Original author: Pierre de Coubertin (1863-1937)"
  width: 900
  height: 600
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Coubertin_-_The_Meeting_of_the_Olympian_Games%2C_1900.djvu/page1-1280px-Coubertin_-_The_Meeting_of_the_Olympian_Games%2C_1900.djvu.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Coubertin_-_The_Meeting_of_the_Olympian_Games%2C_1900.djvu/page1-1280px-Coubertin_-_The_Meeting_of_the_Olympian_Games%2C_1900.djvu.jpg"
  caption: Coubertin - The Meeting of the Olympian Games, 1900
  credit: Pierre de Coubertin
  width: 2550
  height: 3301
