The Winter Olympics were first held 102 years ago in Chamonix, France, with only 6 sports and a total of 16 events. The first Winter Olympics hosted 248 athletes and six sports: bobsledding, Nordic skiing, skating, curling, ice hockey and military patrol. Norway won the first ever Winter Olympics, earning a total of 17 medals. 

Over time, the Winter Olympics grew into a world wide must watch event. “I really look forward to watching the Winter Olympics with my family every couple years!” said Freshman Molly Mitchlle.

The Winter Olympics occurred every four years for the first few times, but stopped when World War II started. After the war, the Olympics resumed in 1948 in St. Moritz, Switzerland, dubbing it the  “The Games Renewal” following a 12 year hiatus. 

Over time the popularity and size of the Winter Olympics increased. What was first a competition of 16 nations and 16 sports, is now a competition between 64 independent countries and 116 events. For the initial 68 years, the Winter Games ran in tangent with the Summer Olympics. However in 1992, the Winter Olympics established its own home running every four years, between its summer counterpart.  

This year’s 2026 Winter Olympics took place in the beautiful city of Milan, Italy. Due to the current Olympic timeline, this year marked the 100th anniversary of the first year of modern Olympic games. 102 and in 2024, Norway won the most medals and appropriate to mark the 100th anniversary of, they walked away with the highest medal count in 2026.