The 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck were threatened by a lack of snow. The Austrian army rushed to the rescue, carving out 20,000 ice bricks from a mountain top and transporting them to the bobsled and luge runs. They also carried 40,000 cubic meters of snow to the Alpine skiing courses. When rain caused further havoc ten days before the Opening Ceremony, the army packed down the slopes by hand and foot. Politically, the Games were notable because East and West Germany entered a combined team. Lydia Skoblikova won all four women’s speed skating events to become the first athlete to win four gold medals in one Winter Olympics. Klavdiya Boyarskikh earned three gold medals in cross-country skiing and, on the men’s side, Eero Mäntyranta won two. Sisters Christine and Marielle Goitschel finished first and second in both the slalom and the giant slalom. Ski jumping gained a second event, and the sport of luge made its Olympic debut.
36 NOCs (Nations)
1,091 athletes (199 women, 892 men)
34 events
CEREMONIES
Innsbruck 9 February 1964. General view of the Ice Stadium.
Official opening of the Games by: President Dr. Adolf Schärf
Lighting the Olympic Flame by: Joseph Rieder (alpine skiing)
Olympic Oath by: Paul Aste (bobsleigh)
Official Oath by: The first officials' oath was sworn at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.
Marielle Goitschel (FRA-Alpine skiing), 18 year old, finished in second place in the Olympic slalom. The only skier to beat her was her older sister, Christine. Two days later, Marielle won the gold medal in the giant slalom ahead of her sister.
