Olympic Winter Games 1928

II. Olympic Winter Games

Venue:	St. Moritz ( Switzerland )
Stadion:	Badrutts Park
Opening ceremony:	February 11, 1928
Closing ceremony:	February 19, 1928
Opened by:	Edmund Schulthess (Federal President)
Olympic oath :	Hans Eidenbenz (athlete)
Disciplines:	8 (4 sports)
Competitions:	14th
Countries:	25th
Athletes:	464, including 27 women
← Chamonix 1924
Lake Placid 1932 →

Medal table
space	country	G	S.	B.	Ges.
1	Norway	6th	4th	5	15th
2	United States	2	2	2	6th
3	Sweden	2	2	1	5
4th	Finland	2	1	1	4th
5	France	1	-	-	1
	Canada	1	-	-	1
7th	Austria	-	3	1	4th
8th	Belgium	-	-	1	1
	German Empire	-	-	1	1
	Switzerland	-	-	1	1
Complete medal table

The 1928 Winter Olympics (also known as the II. Winter Olympics ) took place from February 11 to 19, 1928 in St. Moritz , Switzerland . They were the first independent winter games that were not held in conjunction with summer games. The previous Winter Games of 1924 were only declared retrospectively by the International Olympic Committee as Olympic Winter Games; they were actually part of the 1924 Summer Games .

The games were characterized by exceptionally warm weather at this time of the year. After no competitions could take place on February 15th, there were numerous changes in the schedule. The 10,000-meter speed skating, initially canceled, could no longer be carried out at all.

The most successful athletes of these Winter Games were the Norwegian Johan Grøttumsbråten , who dominated the Nordic competitions, and the Finn Clas Thunberg in speed skating, each with two gold medals . Thunberg was the most successful participant in Chamonix as early as 1924 with five medals and was also able to win the 500 and 1000 meter speed skating in St. Moritz.

For the first time after the First World War , German athletes took part in the Olympic Games again. Women were only involved in the figure skating disciplines.

Choice of venue

The Olympic rings in St. Moritz

After the success of the “International Winter Sports Week” of 1924 in Chamonix , the IOC decided at its 24th session on May 27, 1925 in Prague to introduce its own four-year cycle for the Winter Olympic Games. They should take place in the same year as the Summer Olympics. These plans initially met with resistance in the Scandinavian countries . John Falchenberg, representative of the NOK Norway , doubted their necessity, as “the north already has a winter sports cycle that is open to all nations” (meaning the Nordic Games ). IOC President Henri de Baillet-Latour countered that winter sports should not be exclusively in the hands of the Nordic countries, as it is about the global Olympic Games.

According to the rules in force at the time, the host country of the Summer Games was also allowed to host the Winter Games, if so desired. However, since the Netherlands, hosting the 1928 Summer Games, was unable to do so due to geographical reasons, they waived. The co-founder of the Swiss Olympic Committee (SOC), Godefroy de Blonay , announced a Swiss candidacy in Prague, but without naming a location.

In March 1925, the Swiss National Association for Physical Exercise recommended three locations to the SOC to host the Olympic Winter Games: Davos , Engelberg and St. Moritz . The SOC favored St. Moritz, which had developed into one of the most renowned holiday destinations in the Alps for several decades.

Finally, on May 6, 1926, during the 25th session in Lisbon, all three Swiss locations were up for debate. Of the international sports federations, only the FIS commented against Engelberg because the place is only 1015 meters high, which means that no safe snow conditions are guaranteed. The ice skating representatives preferred Davos, the then seat of the International Ice Skating Union (ISU). What spoke against St. Moritz was that the town did not have a ski jump or cable car to transport the bobsleigh to the start. The option of dividing the competitions over several locations was also discussed. However, after de Blonay had announced a guarantee from the SOC and the municipality of St. Moritz that the necessary sports facilities would be built, the IOC decided in favor of St. Moritz with 22 votes. Only the Swede Clarence von Rosen abstained. The duration of the Winter Games was set at eight days (including two Sundays).

organization

At the beginning of 1926, a local committee was founded in St. Moritz under the leadership of Mayor M. Nater. After St. Moritz was chosen as the venue, an executive committee was formed under the name “Executive Committee of the Second Olympic Winter Games”, consisting of personalities from the Swiss sports world. The committee was chaired by William Hirschy, President of the SOC. In order to divide up the work well, a number of commissions were formed: from technical commissions that dealt with every sporting discipline, to a finance commission, right up to a press and reception commission. The presidents of the commissions belonged to the executive committee, which assumed the role of an organizing committee. There was also an honorary committee made up of the Presidents of the National Council , the Council of States and the Grand Council of the Canton of Graubünden , Federal Councilor Karl Scheurer (Head of the Military Department ), the Mayor of St. Moritz and the President of the Swiss National Association for Physical Exercise.

The federal councils approved a grant of 100,000 Swiss francs (SFr) to the SOC with the stipulation that 40 percent of this was used for the organization of the games and 60 percent for the participation of the Swiss team in the games in St. Moritz and Amsterdam . The decision of the Federal Council to refuse to issue special postage stamps to finance the Winter Games, however, met with incomprehension. As a result, the organizers were only able to sell three vignettes. The main financial burden lay with the municipality of St. Moritz and the canton of Graubünden .

Half of the expenditure of 706,000 SFr was used for the sports facilities. The executive committee and the commissions charged the budget with 104,500 SFr and for administration 76,900 SFr were booked. The biggest sources of income were the ticket sales with 282,000 SFr and a guaranteed capital of 232,200 SFr. A national collection raised CHF 37,800. The games did not produce any profit and the negative balance of 104,800 SFr was borne by the St. Moritz community and the Alpina St. Moritz ski club.

Olympic locations

Competition venues

Ice rink at the Kulm Hotel

The main center of the Winter Games was in St. Moritz-Dorf with the Badrutts Park ice rink . The majority of the competitions as well as the opening and closing ceremonies were held there. The stadium had a natural ice surface of 30 × 60 meters and offered space for 4,700 spectators (including 4,000 grandstand seats). A new grandstand was built especially for the games. The compulsory part of the figure skating competitions was relocated to the ice rink at the Kulm Hotel due to time pressure.

The Cresta Run natural track along the road to Celerina was the competition venue for the skeleton race . It consisted of natural ice and the 15 curves were adapted to the natural shape of the terrain. The length of the route was 1210 meters and the difference in altitude 157 meters. The track, which is reserved exclusively for male drivers, was first built in 1884 and has been rebuilt every year since then.

The bobsleigh competition was held in the Bobsleigh Run ice channel . This had a length of 1570 meters, a height difference of 120 meters and 16 curves. Today the Olympia Bobrun is the only natural ice bob run in the world and is still used for competitions. Most recently, the combined skeleton and bobsleigh World Championships took place there in 2013 . The route has not changed much since it was first put into operation in 1904, only the lowest part was adapted to the higher speeds.

The cross-country skiing races began in St. Moritz-Bad and led around the Silvaplaner and Silsersee .

The Olympic hill in St. Moritz

In the run-up to the Winter Games, the municipality had a new ski jump built above St. Moritz-Bad for the ski jumping competitions . The Olympic hill , inaugurated in 1927, had a K-point of 66 meters and a spectator capacity of 8,000 people. It was expanded and expanded several times in the following years and today has a K point of 95 meters (as of the beginning of the 21st century). However, the condition of the facility has now deteriorated significantly, so that it is currently closed. Any renovation would cost around 8 million SFr.

A total of almost 350,000 francs was budgeted for the sports facilities, of which the construction of the Olympic hill alone cost 257,000 francs. All systems were used again at the 1948 Winter Games .

Accommodations

An Olympic village was not yet planned, all participants were accommodated in the existing hotels. However, this was not an easy matter: around 1000 competitors and several hundred officials and press people had to be accommodated beyond normal operations.

The municipality of St. Moritz has committed itself to providing accommodation for the athletes and officials for prices between 10 and 18 francs, depending on the hotel category selected. Chr. Jilly, President of the Administration and Accommodation Commission and M. Nater, Mayor of St. Moritz, had the difficult task of distributing the delegations between the various hotels.

Attendees

Countries with participating teams

Countries took part in winter games for the first time

With 25 participating nations, St. Moritz was able to improve significantly compared to the Games in Chamonix, but remained significantly behind the 46 participating countries in the summer games in Amsterdam in the same year. With Japan , an Asian representative took part in the winter games for the first time. The official number of participants is given by the IOC as 464 athletes. This does not include the participants in the demonstration competitions, as well as reserve athletes and competitors who withdrew their participation.

Europe (396 athletes from 20 nations)
Belgium  (24)  German Empire *  (43)  Estonia *  (2)  Finland  (18)  France  (38)  Great Britain  (32)  Italy  (13)	Yugoslavia  (6)  Latvia  (1)  Lithuania *  (1)  Luxembourg *  (5)  Netherlands *  (7)  Norway  (25)  Austria  (39)	Poland  (26)  Romania *  (10)  Sweden  (24)  Switzerland  (41)  Czechoslovakia  (27)  Hungary  (14)
America (62 athletes from 4 nations)
Argentina *  (10)  Canada  (23)	Mexico *  (5)	United States  (24)
Asia (6 athletes from 1 nation)
Japan *  (6)
(Number of athletes) * first participation in winter games

Medals and Diplomas

The Olympic medals with a diameter of 50 millimeters were designed by Arnold Hünerwadel from Lenzburg and manufactured by Huguenin Frères in Le Locle . On the front is an ice skater with arms outstretched, surrounded by snow crystals. The back contains the Olympic rings with the inscription "II • JEUX OLYMPIQUES D • HIVER ST • MORITZ 1928" underneath. An olive branch is depicted on each side .

The medal was awarded in the closing ceremony by IOC President Henri de Baillet-Latour and IOC Vice President Godefroy de Blonay . At the same time, the participants received commemorative medals (a work by the sculptor Milo Martin from Morges ) and Olympic diplomas. The diplomas, printed according to a design by the graphic artist Jean-Jacques Mennet from Lausanne , were signed by the IOC President and William Hirschy, President of the Swiss Olympic Committee.

Weather

The biggest problem of these Winter Games was the weather. Although the first half of February in the Engadine is considered the safest snow period, organizers and athletes in St. Moritz had to contend with the onset of the thaw. On February 14, 1928, the fourth day of the Winter Games, a blown hair dryer caused the temperature to rise from three degrees at 8 a.m. to 25  degrees Celsius at noon.

The 10,000-meter speed skating had to be canceled because the ice was becoming increasingly soft. Also affected was the 50 km cross-country skiing, in which many skiers had severe waxing problems and almost a third of the participants gave up.

As the temperatures were still ten degrees plus the next morning, the planned ice hockey games and the men's and women's free skating were postponed. The whole schedule got mixed up as a result. The bobsleigh race was cut from four to two runs. The 10,000-meter speed skating could not be rescheduled because of the persistently poor ice conditions, and so for the first and only time in Olympic history a competition remained completely unrated.

Competition program

Compared to 1924 in Chamonix , where the “International Winter Sports Week” lasted over 13 days, the schedule this time was a lot more compact. 14 competitions (12 for men, 1 for women and 1 mixed competition) in 4 sports / 8 disciplines were held. That was 2 competitions, 2 sports and 1 less discipline than in Chamonix in 1924. The most popular sport was ice hockey , which was able to attract 17,933 spectators. 4,625 spectators were present at the ski jumping event. The official total number of viewers is given as 39,832. The changes to the previous Winter Games are detailed below:

• In speed skating , the all-around competition was canceled - in addition, the competition over 10,000 m had to be canceled due to bad weather conditions and was ultimately canceled.
• Curling and the predecessor of biathlon, military patrol , were dropped after their Olympic premieres in Chamonix.
• Skeleton is included in the Olympic program for the first time.

Olympic sports / disciplines

• Bobsleigh
  • Bob total (1) = men (1)
  • Skeleton total (1) = men (1)
• Ice hockey total (1) = men (1)
• Ice skating
  • Figure skating total (3) = men (1) / women (1) / mixed (1)
  • Speed ​​skating total (4) = men (4)
• Nordic skiing
  • Nordic combined total (1) = men (1)
  • Cross-country skiing total (2) = men (2)
  • Ski jumping total (1) = men (1)

Number of competitions in brackets

Time schedule

Time schedule
discipline		Sat 11.	Sun. 12.	Mon. 13.	Tuesday 14	Wed. 15.	Thursday 16.	Fri. 17.	Sat 18.	Sun. 19.	Decision- disk- applications	spectator
		February
Opening ceremony												2,865
bobsleigh sport	bob								1		1	3,168
	skeleton							1			1	1,616
ice Hockey										1	1	17,933
Ice skating	figure skating							1	1	1	3	3,950
	Speed ​​skating			2	2 **						4th	2.173
Nordic skiing	Nordic combination								1		1	5,535
	Cross-country skiing				1			1			2
	Special jumping								1		1
Closing ceremony												2,592
Demonstration competitions
Military patrol			1
Skijoring			1
decisions				2	3			3	4th	2	13
		Sat 11.	Sun. 12.	Mon. 13.	Tuesday 14	Wed. 15.	Thursday 16.	Fri. 17.	Sat 18.	Sun. 19.
		February

^** The decision about 10,000 m had to be canceled due to a foehn incident - the competition was canceled and not.

Color legend

Opening ceremony

Competition day (no decisions)

Competition day (x decisions)

Closing ceremony

Ceremonies

Opening ceremony

On the morning of February 11th, the opening ceremony took place in heavy snowfall in the Badrutts Park ice rink . Snowfall and squalls had torn down a large part of the decorations for the opening ceremony the night before, so the organizers had to postpone the celebration for half an hour to put things back in order. According to the Olympic protocol, the ceremony began with the entry of Federal President Edmund Schulthess , surrounded by the members of the International and Swiss Olympic Committees. The Federal President and the Prince Consort of Holland , who had traveled to St. Moritz for the Winter Olympics , were greeted on the official grandstand . Federal Councilor Karl Scheurer was also present in the official gallery.

After the arrival of the official guests, the athletes began to march in front of them with the national flags. The participants circled the track and gathered in a semicircle in front of the main grandstand. The flags fluttered in the wind as the flag-bearers hurried forward to line up in front of the guests of honor. While Lithuania and Latvia could only provide the standard bearer, Germany, Austria and France had come with very large delegations.

The men marched with their sports equipment: skiers carried their skis and the ice hockey players came fully equipped with their hockey sticks (the first game started immediately after the opening ceremony). In contrast, the women marched in in traditional costumes. “The dashing group of Austrian ice skaters, who received a special innovation, caused a sensation.” The Swiss hosted the event.

After SOC President William Hirschy had given the welcome address, Federal President Schulthess declared the Second Olympic Winter Games to be open. The Olympic flag went up on the big mast and the Swiss skier Hans Eidenbenz swore the Olympic oath on behalf of all athletes in the silence of the crowd .

While most of the athletes then moved to their quarters in an orderly manner, the teams from Austria and Switzerland lined up for their first game on the ice hockey rink. Three more ice hockey games took place on the same day. In the evening there was a large banquet in the Kulm Hotel in honor of the Federal President, the IOC President and the other guests of honor.

Closing ceremony

Even on the final day, in mild weather, competitions took place without difficulty and without delay, including the pair skating and the ice hockey game between Sweden and Great Britain. The closing ceremony followed in the afternoon, immediately after the last ice hockey game between Canada and Switzerland. Again the nations parade across the ice with flags flying. Then the results were announced and the medals awarded. In the end, the Olympic flag was lowered from the large mast and volleys of gunfire announced the end of the games. Count Baillet-Latour finally declared the Second Olympic Winter Games over.

Competitions

Bobsleigh

A bobsleigh competition was held on the natural track Bobsleigh Run . As in 1924, the bobsleigh teams were free to choose whether they wanted to start with four or five athletes. All teams then entered the race with the higher number of drivers. In addition, the "ventre à terre" style was used, in which the crew lay with their heads forward on the sled. Due to the weather-related changes in the schedule, the competition was cut from four to two runs.

Jay O'Brien , an investment banker from New York, had to set up the American bobsleigh and skeleton team. Since there was no bobsleigh run in the United States at that time, he recruited American athletes living in Europe and, with Clifford Gray and Richard Parke , two vacationers who spent the winter in St. Moritz. Since O'Brian couldn't find enough people for a second bob, he recruited other Americans who were vacationing in Europe through an advertisement in the Paris edition of the New York Herald Tribune . Neither of them had driven Bob before.

Nevertheless, the two US bobsleighs took the first two places (USA II with pilot William Fiske ahead of USA I with pilot Jennison Heaton ). Third place went to Team Germany II with driver Hanns Kilian . The Belgian Ernest Lambert , who was also counted among the favorites, finished second after the first run. With only the twelfth best running time in the second round, he fell back to sixth place.

The French team included the 30-year-old entrepreneur and inventor André Dubonnet , who had previously competed successfully in car races. France finished 15th in this discipline.

Austria I lost a team member on the track and was disqualified. The two teams from Czechoslovakia decided not to participate and gave up without a fight.

ice Hockey

Olympic ice hockey game

The Olympic ice hockey tournament was also the third ice hockey world championship and 13th ice hockey European championship . It was held in the Badrutts Park ice rink .

A team from the University of Toronto , the Toronto Varsity Grads , who won the Allan Cup in 1927, played for the favored Canada . As the Olympic winners of 1924, the Canadians were placed directly for the final round according to the rules of the International Ice Hockey Federation, where they met the three group winners Sweden , Great Britain and Switzerland . While Sweden was able to prevail in a very strong group against Poland and Czechoslovakia , the British with France , Belgium and Hungary had significantly less strong opponents in the preliminary round and were also not among the contenders for the European title. Germany and Austria were eliminated in the preliminary round against Switzerland.

As generally expected, the Canadians clearly dominated their group and achieved a goal difference of 38-0. The duel between Sweden and Switzerland, which the Scandinavians won 4-0, was of decisive importance for the European Championship. They won the European championship title as the second-placed team, ahead of the Swiss in third place. However, the Americans , who finished second in 1924, were missing in St. Moritz . Their then national ice hockey association dissolved in 1928, so that they were no longer represented in the IIHF at all .

figure skating

The Viennese figure skating couple Scholz-Kayser

In figure skating three competitions were in the ice stadium Badrutts Park discharged. The Swede Gillis Grafström won the men's individual competition , including the Summer Olympics, for the third time in a row. The 15-year-old Norwegian Sonja Henie won the women's individual race . She convinced the judges with her interpretation of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake ballet and won her first of three Olympic gold medals. The French figure skating couple Andrée Joly and Pierre Brunet decided the pair skating for themselves.

Austria won a total of four medals in figure skating. In the individual competitions Fritzi Burger and Willy Böckl each won the silver medal and in pair skating the Austrians secured both second and third place.

Speed ​​skating

Speed ​​skating, competition over 5000 m: Carlson / Norway (black shirt) and Mayke / Germany (white shirt)

In the ice stadium Badrutts Park also four competitions were in the speed skating planned. A unique situation arose when running over 10,000 meters. An incident with a hairdryer caused the temperatures to rise so drastically that the jury was prompted to abandon the competition because of the increasingly soft ice. In the end it was neither continued nor repeated.

In speed skating, Norway and Finland won ten out of eleven medals awarded (there were three third-place winners in the 500m run). The Finn Clas Thunberg won gold over 500 and 1500 meters, the former being a shared victory with the Norwegian Bernt Evensen , who also took silver over 1500 and bronze over 5000 meters. The gold medal over 5000 meters went to the Norwegian Ivar Ballangrud , who secured third place over 1500 meters.

skeleton

View of the skeleton track

Skeleton was first held as an Olympic competition in 1928. The venue was the Cresta Run natural track . Ten athletes contested the three runs, with only eight able to finish all runs. The favorite was the Briton David Carnegie , who set a new track record eight days before the Olympic race.

Already the first trip showed that only Carnegie, who bore the title of Earl of Northesk , or the two Americans - all regulars in St. Moritz - were eligible for victory. The Brit made a crucial mistake in the first run. He let himself be carried too high in a curve and lost valuable tenths of a second while trying to save himself from a fall by braking. So finally Jennison Heaton won gold ahead of his brother John Heaton and David Carnegie. The Swiss Alexander Berner came fifth ahead of Franz Unterlechner from Austria.

When Skeleton was part of the Olympic program for a second time in St. Moritz in 1948 , John Heaton came second again at the age of 39.

Nordic skiing

In Nordic skiing four competitions were held. Apart from the combination, world championship medals were also awarded in the Nordic disciplines .

The Scandinavians clearly dominated the competitions. Norway won eight and Sweden three out of a total of twelve medals. Johan Grøttumsbråten won both 18 km cross-country skiing and Nordic combined , where he only stood on the podium with fellow countrymen. The 50 km cross-country skiing was marked by a memorable temperature increase from three degrees at 8 o'clock to 25 degrees in the midday hours and presented many cross-country skiers with serious wax problems. Almost a third of the participants gave up. All Norwegians chose the wrong ski wax , so the Swedes were able to secure the medals. Per-Erik Hedlund won the gold medal with a lead of over 13 minutes. In the special jumping competition, the Norwegian Alf Andersen won ahead of his compatriot Sigmund Ruud . The bronze medal went to Rudolf Burkert from Czechoslovakia.

Military patrol

The German military patrol (5th place)

Hosting a military patrol run (forerunner of today's biathlon ) was very controversial in advance. Since the FIS did not want to know anything about him and no other association felt responsible for it, his deletion was recommended. Ultimately, however, it took place as a demonstration by the Swiss Ski Association, in which only active soldiers were allowed. Especially in Switzerland, which was considered the favorite, the run was rated as one of the most important competitions. The patrols - consisting of an officer, a NCO and two men - started with a rifle and a light pack.

The surprisingly well-running Finns took the lead early on. They led the Swiss and Norway by over six minutes in the second split. However , they lost their lead on the long descent to Samedan that followed, with poor visibility. The Norwegian team mastered the delicate descent best and was able to conquer the top, which they no longer gave in the final flat section. They finally won the 28 km run with a four-minute lead over the Finnish team. The Swiss patrol was relegated to third place. Her team included Gfr Otto Furrer .

Skijoring competition

Skijoring

The skijoring , which is very popular in St. Moritz, was also held as a demonstration competition on the frozen Lake St. Moritz . It replaced the curling held in 1924 , which was also played unofficially. During skijoring, skiers were pulled by galloping racehorses. The eight participating athletes all came from Switzerland.

Outstanding athletes and achievements

The most successful participants
rank	athlete	country	sport				total
1	Johan Grøttumsbråten	Norway	Nordic skiing	2	0	0	2
	Clas Thunberg	Finland	Speed ​​skating	2	0	0	2
3	Bernt Evensen	Norway	Speed ​​skating	1	1	1	3
4th	Jennison Heaton	United States	Bobsleigh and skeleton	1	1	0	2
5	Ivar Ballangrud	Norway	Speed ​​skating	1	0	1	2

Sonja Henie from Norway was 15 years and 315 days old when she won the gold medal in the women's figure skating . Her record as the youngest winner in an individual competition at the winter games lasted 74 years until she was beaten in 1998 by the American Tara Lipinski (also in figure skating).

The Olympic champion in the bobsleigh competition, William Fiske from the USA, was 16 years and 260 days old at the time of his Olympic victory, making him the youngest winter Olympic champion until 1992 (the Finnish ski jumper Toni Nieminen was then a day younger).

The oldest Olympic competitor was the Dutch bobsleigh driver Jacques Menten at 54 years and 156 days. He came in twelfth with the Dutch bobsleigh team.

Canada dominated the Olympic ice hockey tournament . It won all games to zero and scored 38 goals in three games.

reporting

The press center was located in the Victoria Palace Hotel . It had 28 employees who had 24 phones available. The chief press officer was Hans Buchli, the editor-in-chief of the Swiss magazine Sport . A total of 330 journalists from 27 countries were accredited for the II. Olympic Winter Games . 88 media representatives came from Germany, which was therefore the most strongly represented. Among them was for the first time a radio journalist (Erich Chemnitz from Mitteldeutsche Rundfunk AG ). 51 journalists reported on site for the host, 30 came from France and Austria followed in fourth place with 17 journalists.

From the participating countries only the press from Argentina and Mexico was not represented. Non-participants such as Spain with 11, Greece with 2 and Denmark and Turkey with one journalist each were represented. The accreditations were given very generously. Some wives and parents of athletes also appear in the list. For example, Wilhelm Henie, the father of the Olympic figure skating champion, signed up for Norges Handels & Sjøfartstidende .

The mountain and sports film director Arnold Fanck made the documentary film The White Stadium about the competitions in St. Moritz and thus created the first film documentary of the Olympic Winter Games.

Sports medical results

At the invitation of Wilhelm Knoll , a Swiss military doctor and sports doctor, and the Swiss NOK , 33 doctors from 11 countries met on February 14, 1928 for an international conference in the community hall of St. Moritz. The German Medical Association for the Promotion of Physical Exercise was represented by 12 sports doctors. After Knoll had explained the tasks and goals of an international sports physician association to be founded, the International Federation for Sports Medicine (FIMS) was unanimously established .

The winter games in St. Moritz already served as a scientific record of winter sports. In this sense, it was important to examine as many participants as possible before and after the performance by a sports doctor. The Executive Committee in St. Moritz approved the necessary credit for carrying out the investigations, which was increased by donations from the companies Ciba and Wander AG and a scientific foundation. The Swiss Red Cross set up a barrack in the immediate vicinity of the competition venues to carry out the various measurements.

Under the direction of Knoll and A. Loewy, the director of the Research Institute for High Mountain Physiology and Tuberculosis in Davos, anthropometric surveys, X-ray remote heart images, for which Siemens had supplied the X-ray device free of charge, as well as blood circulation and metabolic examinations on skiers, ski jumpers and ice hockey players were carried out.

The results refuted, among other things, the assertion that years of skiing always lead to an enlargement of the heart. On the contrary, the majority of the transverse heart diameters were smaller after the race. This indicated that the healthy heart contracts more and expands less under the influence of heavy exercise.

literature

• Julius Wagner (Ed.): The Olympic Games 1928 St. Moritz - Amsterdam . Julius Wagner publishing house, Zurich 1928.
• Volker Kluge : Olympic Winter Games, The Chronicle . Sportverlag, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-328-00831-4 .
• Ellen Phillips: The VIIII Olympiad. Paris 1924. St. Moritz 1928. World Sport Research & Publications Inc., Los Angeles 1996, ISBN 1-888383-08-9 .
• Hans Nater, among others: Olympic Winter Games St. Moritz 1928/1948 . Walter Gammeter Graphic Company, 1998, ISBN 3-9520540-3-8 .
• Holger Klein: The II. Olympic Winter Games 1928 in St. Moritz with special consideration of German participation , 2001.
• Wilhelm Knoll: The sports medical results of the II. Olympic Winter Games in St. Moritz 1928 . Paul Haupt, Bern 1928.

Web links

Commons : 1928 Winter Olympics  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Side of the IOC to the Winter Games of 1928 (English)
• Official report, part 1 (French, PDF, 1.7 MiB)
• Official report, part 2 (French, PDF, 1.3 MiB)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Kluge, p. 55
2. ↑ Arnd Krüger (1996). The History of the Olympic Winter Games. The Invention of a Tradition. Matti Goksör, Gerd von der Lippe, Kristian Mo (eds.): Winter Games - Warm Traditions. Oslo: Norsk Idrettshistorisk Vörening 1996, pp. 101-122.
3. ↑ Official Report, Part 1, p. 6
4. ^ Settlement as of April 1, 1929, taking into account the resolutions of the SOC in Lausanne of June 23 and 24, 1928, parish archive, St. Moritz
5. ↑ Origins of the sport of skeleton ( Memento from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
6. ↑ What happens to the Olympic hill? ( Memento from December 15, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
7. ↑ Official Report, Part 1, p. 9
8. ↑ Kluge, p. 76, note 57
9. ↑ Official Report, Part 1, p. 14
10. ^ Wagner, p. 13
11. ↑ sports-reference.com: Olympics / athletes / André Dubonnet. (Web archive).
12. ↑ Figure skating competitions were already held at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp .
13. ↑ Kluge, p. 71, note 10
14. ↑ The White Stadium ( Memento from February 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
15. ↑ Kurt Tittel: Germany's achievements for international sports medicine (PDF; 991 kB) in the German magazine for sports medicine
16. ^ Wagner, p. 11

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on September 5, 2008 .