The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games (German: XII. Olympische Winterspiele, French: XIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1976 (Austro-Bavarian: Innschbruck 1976), were a winter multi-sport event celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from February 4 to 15, 1976. The games were awarded to Innsbruck after Denver, the original host city, withdrew in 1972. This was the second time the Tyrolean capital had hosted the Winter Olympics, having first done so in 1964.
In a statewide referendum on 7 November 1972, Colorado voters rejected funding for the games, and for the first (and only) time a city awarded the Winter Games rejected them.[3][4][5] Denver officially withdrew on 15 November, and original runner-up Sion declined to host the Olympics. Afterwards, the IOC then offered the games to Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, but they too declined owing to a change of government following elections. Salt Lake City offered to host the games, then pulled its bid and was replaced by Lake Placid, New York.[6][7] Still reeling from the Denver rejection, the IOC declined and on 5 February 1973, selected Innsbruck, Austria, which had hosted nine years earlier in 1964.
The mascot of the 1976 Winter Olympics was Schneemann, a snowman in a red Tyrolean hat. Designed by Walter Pötsch, Schneeman was purported to represent the 1976 Games as the "Games of Simplicity". It was also regarded as a good-luck charm, to avert the dearth of snow that had marred the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck.[8][9] There was a second mascot called Sonnenweiberl ("sun wife").[10][11]
In the 4-man bobsled, the East German team won the first of three consecutive titles.
The USSR won its fourth straight ice hockey gold medal; for the second consecutive Olympics, Canada refused to send a team, protesting the rules that allowed the USSR to field professional players while limiting Canada to amateurs. Sweden also joined the boycott.[16]
Sports technology, in the guise of innovative perforated skis, sleek hooded suits and streamlined helmets appeared in alpine skiing, speed skating and ski jumping, making headlines in Innsbruck.[17]
A second cauldron for the Olympic flame was built to represent the 1976 Games. Both it and the cauldron from the 1964 games were lit together.
Galina Kulakova of the Soviet Union finished 3rd in the women's 5 km ski event, but was disqualified due to a positive test for banned substance ephedrine. She claimed that this was a result of using the nasal spray that contained the substance. Both the FIS and the IOC allowed her to compete in the 10 km and the 4×5 km relay.[18] This was the first stripped medal at the Winter Olympics.
The Austrian anthem was played three times at the closing ceremony during the beginning, the victory ceremony and the handover ceremony to honor the three verses of the anthem.
37 nations participated in the 1976 Winter Olympic Games. The games marked the final time the Republic of China (Taiwan) participated under the Republic of China flag and name. After most of the international community recognized the People's Republic of China as the legitimate government of all China, the ROC was forced to compete under the name Chinese Taipei, under an altered flag and to use its National Banner Song instead of its national anthem. Andorra and San Marino participated in their first Winter Olympic Games.
^The emblem represents the coat of arms of Innsbruck, which shows the bridge on the Inn River that connects the old town and the Hötting district. The bridge and the Olympic rings symbolize the link that ties the many peoples of the world with friendship through the Olympic Games. The top of the coat of arms has two indents which match two of the Olympic rings and represent the 1964 and 1976 Winter Games which Innsbruck celebrates.
Further reading
Berg, Adam (2023). The Olympics that Never Happened: Denver '76 and the Politics of Growth. Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN9781477326459.
