|
|
 |
XVII Olympics
For the first time in Olympic history, figure skaters who had turned professional after their Olympic success were allowed to compete once again at the Winter Games. Brian Boitano came back, as did Katerina Witt. Neither, however, was able to recapture the magic of their celebrated Olympic performances in the 1980s.
The 1994 Games also marked a farewell for a number of Winter Olympic favorites, such as U.S. speedskaters Bonnie Blair and Dan Jansen, Italian Alpine skier Alberto Tomba and Russian pairs figure skaters Ekaterina Gordeyeva and Sergei Grinkov. A record 67 countries sent teams to the XVII Olympic Winter Games. |
|
|
|
|
- VITAL STATS
Attendance: 67 nations
Male athletes: 1,217
Female athletes: 520
Most-medaled country: Norway (26)
U.S. rank: 5th (tied)
|
|
|
|
- HIGHLIGHTS
ï With all of the media attention focused on the strange circumstances surrounding the competitive relationship between U.S. figure skaters Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding, 16-year-old Ukranian skater Oksana Baiul emerged as the crowd favorite and won the gold medal in women's figure skating. Kerrigan finished in second, while Harding ended up in tears complaining about her skates to the judges. Harding placed eighth.
ï Bonnie Blair's fruitful Olympic run came to a close at the Lillehammer Games, with gold medals in the 500m and 1,000m. In all, Blair won five gold medals in three Olympic Games (1988, 1992 and 1994).
ï Home country favorite Johann Olav Koss (Norway) was the person to beat in speedskating at the 1994 Games, as he captured three gold medals in the 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m events.
ï Hard-luck U.S. speedskater Dan Jansen finished his Olympic career with a rousing gold medal victory in the men's 1,000m event.
ï Skier Tommy Moe (USA) came flying down the mountain in the Alpine downhill event to take the gold. He also earned a silver in the men's super-G event.
ï Nordic skier Vladimir Smirnov became the first gold medal winner for the Republic of Kazakhstan, when he finished ahead of the pack in the grueling men's 50km cross-country event.
ï With the demise of the Soviet Union, Sweden rose to the forefront to win the gold medal in ice hockey. The 1994 Lillehammer Games marked the first time (since 1956) that a Soviet, Russian or Unified Team didn't earn a medal in ice hockey.
|
|
|
Return to top
Return to Winter Games: Back In Time front |
|
|
