Origin of the Winter Olympics

The Winter Olympics came about when the International Olympic Committee separated the summer and winter programs of the Olympic Games to form the official Winter Olympic Games in 1924.

The Games, then known as "Winter Sports Week", were held in Chamonix, France, and were officially renamed the 1st Winter Olympic Games by the IOC two years later. A total of 294 athletes from 16 countries and regions competed in four sports.

Expanded Information:

Development History

In the late 19th century and the early 20th century, some snow and ice sports such as skiing, ski sledding, ice skating, ice hockey and other sports in Europe and the United States gradually gained popularity and development.

In 1890, Canada established the world's first ice hockey association. 1892, the International Skating Union was founded in the Netherlands.

In 1893, the first men's speed skating championship was held in Amsterdam. Amid the growing popularity of ice sports, the founder of the modern Olympics, Coubertin, suggested a separate Winter Olympics, but this was delayed by the success of the Nordic biathlon in Scandinavia, Europe, in 1901.

The IOC rejected Nordic biathlon and added ice hockey instead. The addition of figure skating and ice hockey to the Olympics drew great interest from spectators, but weather conditions caused many inconveniences for organizers, and although both sports were brought forward to April, most of the competitions and the Olympics' opening ceremonies were not held until mid-August.

This makes an Olympic Games five months long and too costly in terms of manpower and material resources. In light of this, there is a preference for separating the snow and ice events from the Olympics and having a separate Olympics for snow and ice.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Winter Olympic Games