1936 Garamisch-Partenkirchen

Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936

Bobsleigh

Cross-Country Skiing

Figure Skating

Ice Hockey

Nordic Combined

Short Track Speed Skating

Belgium

Finland

Germany

Norway

Sweden

Switzerland

When he lined up for the 500m, the first of the speed skating events at Garmisch and held at the Rie&szlig;ersee Olympic Rink on 11 February 1936, Norway&rsquo;s Ivar Ballangrud was intent on confirming his status as the leading speed skater of his era and on adding to his haul

Ballangrud goes on medal spree

Joseph Beerli&nbsp;teamed up with driver Pierre Musy, Noldi Gartmann&nbsp;and Charles Bouvier in the Swiss quartet that won silver behind Germany&rsquo;s Hanns Killian at the 1935 World Bobsleigh Championships at St Moritz\. That same Swiss crew were back in action a year later at the Olympia\-Bobbahn track in Garmisch, ready to

Josef Beerli, Switzerland’s double bobsleigh medallist

At the IV Olympic Winter Games the focus was on ‘Olympic’ and ‘Winter’ as athletes from more nations than ever before participated in the celebrations\.

Relive the Glories of past Olympic Winter Games: Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936

The 4x10km cross\-country skiing relay was the one new event on the programme at the Garmisch\-Partenkirchen Olympic Winter Games, having been a feature of the world championships since 1933, when Sweden won gold in Innsbruck \(AUT\)\. Finland then took the title from them the following year in Sollefte&aring; \(SWE\) and

Finland strike gold in maiden 4x10km cross-country relay

Norway&rsquo;s Birger Ruud had already built quite a reputation for himself by the time Garmisch 1936 came around\. An Olympic ski jumping gold medallist at Lake Placid 1932, Ruud was also a two\-time world champion and the holder of the world record, achieved with a leap of 92m in Planica

Ruud flies into Olympic history

Represented on each occasion by the winners of the Allan Cup, the country&rsquo;s national amateur championship, Canada had won all four of the preceding Olympic ice hockey competitions \(Antwerp 1920, Chamonix 1924, St Moritz 1928 and Lake Placid 1932\)\. In doing so, the all\-conquering Canadians racked up a series of

Great Britain end Canada's reign

Though she had yet to turn 24, Sonja Henie arrived in Garmisch as the reigning two\-time Olympic champion, seven\-time European champion and nine\-time world champion, with her tenth and last world crown arriving that same month, February 1936, in Paris\.

Figure skating treble for Henie 

Oddbj&oslash;rn Hagen&nbsp;arrived in Garmisch as the reigning two\-time world Nordic combined champion, having won gold in 1934 in Sollefte&aring; \(SWE\) and again in Vysok&eacute; Tatry \(CZE\) a year later\. The Norwegian also triumphed at the prestigious Holmekollen Ski Festival three times between 1932 and 1935 and was regarded as one

The multi-talented Oddbjørn Hagen

Berlin\-born figure skater Ernst Baier first made his name in singles competitions, though he was unfortunate to come up against Austrian great Karl Sch&auml;fer, who won the men&rsquo;s world title seven times in a row between 1930 and 1936, during which time Baier collected two bronzes and two silvers\. The

Ernst BAIER

Baier skates into Olympic history

Born inside the Arctic Circle in Kurravaara, in Sweden&rsquo;s far north, Erik August Larsson&nbsp;was 23 when he earned selection for Garmisch 1936 on the back of a number of international victories and his part in Sweden&rsquo;s bronze medal in the 4x10km cross\-country relay at the 1935 World Championships in Vyskoe

Larsson skis the race of his life

The 50km cross\-country race, the most important of them all, was held on 15 February on a course that began in Kochelberg and ended in the Olympic Stadium\. Rising to 1,115 metres above sea level at its highest point, it comprised a vertical drop of 380 metres\.

Wiklund leads Swedish clean sweep in the 50 km 

A close cousin of curling and p&eacute;tanque, ice stock sport \(Eisstock in German\) is a sport that has been played for centuries in Germany, Switzerland and Austria\. Like curling it is played on ice and involves sliding a heavy object \(known as a &ldquo;stock&rdquo;\) in the direction of a target\.

Ice stock sport makes a demonstration appearance

The downhill races of the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s Alpine skiing combined competition were both held on the opening day of the Games, 7 February, with more than 40,000 spectators flocking to the foot of Mount Kreuzjoch for the sport&rsquo;s Olympic debut\.

Christel CRANZ

Christl Cranz, Alpine skiing’s first Olympic gold medallist

Christel Cranz, Alpine skiing’s first Olympic gold medallist