Over the past century, we’ve seen countless Olympic sports added and removed from the event lineup, a remarkable increase in the scale of the competitions, and tons of historic moments from world-renowned athletes at the Olympic Games. The 2026 Winter Olympics are sure to bring even more unforgettable moments in the coming weeks, with the opening ceremony marking the official start of the Games on Friday, Feb. 6, in Milan, Italy.
To celebrate this, we wanted to go back and see just how far the Winter Olympics have come since their start in 1924. We’ve assembled photos from each year the Winter Olympics have taken place, so you can see for yourself how the global event has evolved over the past century.
5.
St. Moritz, Switzerland (1948) — The first use of the “Magic Eye,” where photoelectric cells automatically triggered timing. A light beam was projected across the finish line, and when an athlete broke the beam, the timer stopped.
10.
Grenoble, France (1968) — Norma Enriqueta Basilio from Mexico becomes the first woman in the history of the modern Olympic Games to light the Olympic Flame.
13.
Lake Placid, USA (1980) — The United States ice hockey team made Olympic history, famously known as the “Miracle on Ice,” when they defeated the four-time defending gold-medal Soviet Union team 4–3.
14.
Sarajevo, Yugoslavia (1984) — Canadian skater Brian Orser was the first man to complete a triple axel at the Olympic Games.
15.
Calgary, Canada (1988) — Jamaica’s bobsled team, featuring Devon Harris, Dudley Stokes, Michael White, and Chris Stokes, makes its debut. The 1993 film, Cool Runnings, was inspired by the story of these four men.
19.
Salt Lake City, USA (2002) — The first year women’s bobsledding was included as an Olympic sport, and Vonetta Flowers (a Team USA bobsledder) became the first Black athlete to win a Winter Olympic gold medal.
21.
Vancouver, Canada (2010) — When Georgia’s Nodar Kumaritashvili died after flying off the Olympic luge track during a training run hours before the start of the Games, he was honored during the opening ceremony. This was also the first time the Opening Ceremony was held indoors.
22.
Sochi, Russia (2014) — The first year that the Russian Federation hosted the Games. A total of 12 new events were also added, including ski and snowboard slopestyle, ski halfpipe, snowboard parallel slalom, and women’s ski jumping.
23.
PyeongChang, South Korea (2018) — The Games featured over 100 events for the first time, with 2,833 athletes from 92 teams. New events included big air snowboarding, mixed doubles curling, mass start speed skating, and mixed team alpine skiing.
What has been your favorite Winter Olympics ever? Tell us about it in the comments!
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