1948 Olympics

The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially referred to as the V Olympic Winter Games, were a 1948 multi-sport winter event held in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The Games were the first to be held since World War II; it had been 12 years since the last 1936 Winter Games. By choosing a host city in a neutral country, and removing Japan and Germany, the political atmosphere of the post-war world became inevitable during the Games. The planning committee faced numerous challenges because of the lack of financial and human resources incurred by the war. Those were the first of two Olympic Winter Games under IOC presidency of Sigfrid Edström. 28 States marched at the opening ceremonies on 30 January 1948. Bibi Torriani played for Switzerland men's national ice hockey team, and became the first ice hockey player to recite the Olympic Oath on behalf of all athletes. Nearly 670 athletes competed in 22 sports across four disciplines. Being used at the Games were two demonstration sports: combat patrol, which later became the biathlon, and winter pentathlon, which was abandoned after the games. In notable results, the figure skaters Dick Button and Barbara Ann Scott and the skier Henri Oreiller developed into. Several sports venues were still in place by the very first time St. Moritz hosted the 1928 Winter Games. Both the venues were outdoor, ensuring the Games relied heavily on favourable conditions. In September 1946, the IOC named St. Moritz as host of the 1948 Olympics during the 39th General Session held in Lausanne, Switzerland. There were two tenders in the selection process, and St. Moritz was chosen ahead of Lake Placid, USA. St. Moritz was selected for having been located in Switzerland, which had been neutral during the war, and also for having already hosted a 1928 Winter Games. This rendered management of the Games simpler and more cost-effective. Planning a Winter Olympic Games in under 18 months was also a formidable challenge despite the scarcity of many venues. As these Games were the first outside after World War II they were given the name "The Games after Renewal." Japan and Germany were not invited to these Games, because they were both ostracised by the international community for their participation in World War II. And their absence was short-lived after returning to the Olympic Games of 1952. The Soviet Union did not send athletes to the St. Moritz Games in 1948 but sent ten delegates as Games Observers to determine how successful they would be had the Soviet athletes involved. The effects of World War II has also been felt in 1948. Economic resource constraints and physical resources affected the Gaming organisation. The athletes themselves got affected by lack of funding. Most entrants joined in lieu of little or no supplies. For one memorable event, Norwegian skiers had to borrow skis from the American Team in order to compete. The opening ceremonies took place on January 30, at 10:00 am along with the first hockey games and the first two heats of the two-man bobsled. The closing ceremonies were held on February 8, at 4 p.m. Both the honours were presented at the closing ceremonies, rather than immediately after the celebration as standard custom dictates. The stad olympique conducted the opening and closing ceremonies. Additionally, speed skating, figure skating and ice hockey championship competitions were played on the rink. Most of the ice hockey games took place at the Suvretta and Kulm Stadiums in St. Moritz. Bobsled was held in St. Moritz-Celerina, at the Olympic Bobrun. Skeleton was checked on line Cresta Ride. Olympia Bob Run was created in 1897 and modernised for the 1948 Games, while the Cresta Run was first built in 1885. The ski jump events were held in St. Moritz, on the ski jump slope of Olympiaschanze. This was conceived in 1927 for the 1928 Play, and was still in operation until 2006. The alpine competitions took place on ski-runs at and near Piz Nair.