United States at the Winter Olympics

The United States of America has sent athletes to every celebration of the Winter Olympic Games. The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee for the United States.

United States at the
Olympics
IOC codeUSA
NOCUnited States Olympic & Paralympic Committee
Medals
Ranked 2nd
Gold
113
Silver
122
Bronze
95
Total
330
Summer appearances
Winter appearances
Other related appearances
1906 Intercalated Games

Hosted Games

The United States has hosted the Winter Games on four occasions, more than any other nation:

GamesHost cityDatesNationsParticipantsEvents
1932 Winter OlympicsLake Placid, New YorkFebruary 7–151725214
1960 Winter OlympicsSquaw Valley, CaliforniaFebruary 2–203066527
1980 Winter OlympicsLake Placid, New YorkFebruary 13–24371,07238
2002 Winter OlympicsSalt Lake City, UtahFebruary 8–24772,39978

Medal tables

Red border color indicates host nation status.

Medals by Winter Games

Games Athletes Gold Silver Bronze Total Gold medals Total medals
1924 Chamonix24121453
1928 St. Moritz24222622
1932 Lake Placid646421211
1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen55103486
1948 St. Moritz69342944
1952 Oslo654611122
1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo67232765
1960 Squaw Valley793431032
1964 Innsbruck89124788
1968 Grenoble95151798
1972 Sapporo103323856
1976 Innsbruck1063341033
1980 Lake Placid1016421233
1984 Sarajevo107440834
1988 Calgary118213699
1992 Albertville1475421156
1994 Lillehammer1476521355
1998 Nagano1866341356
2002 Salt Lake City2021013113432
2006 Turin2119972522
2010 Vancouver216915133731
2014 Sochi22299102842
2018 Pyeongchang2419862344
2022 Beijing22481072545
2026 Milan–CortinaFuture event
Total1131229533022

Medals by winter sport

  Leading in that sport
SportGoldSilverBronzeTotal
Speed skating30221971
Alpine skiing17211048
Snowboarding1781035
Figure skating16172154
Freestyle skiing1113933
Bobsleigh811928
Ice hockey412218
Short track speed skating47920
Skeleton3418
Nordic combined1304
Cross-country skiing1214
Curling1012
Luge0336
Ski jumping0011
Totals (14 entries)11312396332

Updated on December 31, 2021

*This table includes two medals – one silver awarded in the ice hockey and one bronze awarded in the figure skating events at the 1920 Summer Olympics.

The United States has never won an Olympic medal in the following current winter sport: Biathlon.

Flagbearers

Winter Olympics
Games Athlete Sport
1924 Chamonix Clarence Abel Ice hockey
1928 St. Moritz Godfrey Dewey Cross-country skiing (team manager)
1932 Lake Placid Billy Fiske Bobsleigh
1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Rolf Monsen Cross-country skiing
1948 St. Moritz Jack Heaton Skeleton & Bobsleigh
1952 Oslo Jim Bickford Bobsleigh
1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo Jim Bickford Bobsleigh
1960 Squaw Valley Don McDermott Speed skating
1964 Innsbruck Bill Disney Speed skating
1968 Grenoble Terry McDermott Speed skating
1972 Sapporo Dianne Holum Speed skating
1976 Innsbruck Cindy Nelson Alpine skiing
1980 Lake Placid Scott Hamilton Figure skating
1984 Sarajevo Frank Masley Luge
1988 Calgary Lyle Nelson Biathlon
1992 Albertville Bill Koch Cross-country skiing
1994 Lillehammer Cammy Myler Luge
1998 Nagano Eric Flaim Speed skating
2002 Salt Lake City Amy Peterson Short track speed skating
2006 Turin Chris Witty Speed skating
2010 Vancouver Mark Grimmette Luge
2014 Sochi Todd Lodwick Nordic combined
2018 Pyeongchang Erin Hamlin Luge
2022 Beijing Brittany Bowe Speed skating
John Shuster Curling

Medals by winter sport

Ice hockey

Games Gold Silver Bronze Total
1920 Antwerp0101
1924 Chamonix0101
1928 St Moritzdid not participate
1932 Lake Placid0101
1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen0011
1948 St Moritzparticipated unofficially
1952 Oslo0101
1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo0101
1960 Squaw Valley1001
1964 Innsbruck0000
1968 Grenoble0000
1972 Sapporo0101
1976 Innsbruck0000
1980 Lake Placid1001
1984 Sarajevo0000
1988 Calgary0000
1992 Albertville0000
1994 Lillehammer0000
1998 Nagano1001
2002 Salt Lake City0202
2006 Turin0011
2010 Vancouver0202
2014 Sochi0101
2018 Pyeongchang1001
2022 Beijing0101
Total412218

Russia–United States rivalry

Russia (in all its incarnations) and the United States have won more Olympic medals than any other nation.[1] Russia topped the overall medal count at 7 Summer Olympics and 9 Winter Olympics, while the United States placed first at 17 Summer Olympics and 1 Winter Olympics. The countries developed a strong rivalry during the Cold War, and while the tensions eased in the 1990s, the relations deteriorated in 2014 and 2016, and the rivalry became even more heated.[2]

Since the 1952 Summer Olympics, Russia has won 1902 Summer and Winter Olympics medals, the most in that period, while the United States has won 1873 medals, the second most in that period. Detailed comparison is presented below.

Winter Olympics

Medal totals of the Soviet Union/Unified Team/Russia/Olympic Athletes from Russia[3][4][5] and the United States[6] since 1956, when the Soviet Union started to compete.

Overall, the United States (1924–present) has won 113 gold and 330 total medals, and Russia (1956–present) has won 142 gold and 386 total medals.

Ice hockey

The 1980 hockey game between the U.S. and USSR was dubbed the "Miracle on Ice", when American college players defeated the heavily favored seasoned professionals from the Soviet Union on the way to a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.[7] The Soviet Union had won the gold medal in five of the six previous Winter Olympic Games, and were the favorites to win once more. Though ice hockey is not a major sport in most areas of the United States, the "Miracle" is often listed as one of the all-time greatest American sporting achievements. The U.S. also won the gold medal in the 1960 Games at Squaw Valley, California, defeating the Soviet Union, Canada, Czechoslovakia, and Sweden along the way. However, since this victory is not as well known as the 1980 win, it has come to be known as the "Forgotten Miracle".[8][9]

The U.S. and the Soviet Union next met at the Olympics in 1988. As in 1980, the Soviets were represented by their star-studded veterans, while the Americans fielded a team of college players. The Soviets won the encounter 7–5 and went on to win the gold medal, while the U.S. placed seventh.

The two teams met again at the 1992 Olympics in a semi-final match. There, the Unified Team (the successor to the Soviet Union) won 5–2. While some stars had left the Soviet Union to play in the NHL, the Unified Team still boasted many veterans from their domestic professional league, while the Americans were represented primarily by college players. The Unified Team eventually won the gold medal, while the U.S. placed fourth.

The U.S. and Russia (the successor to the Unified Team) met twice at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. The Americans won both games 5–2 en route to the tournament championship.

The U.S., coached by Herb Brooks, and Russia, coached by Slava Fetisov, met twice in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, which included a 2–2 round-robin draw and a 3–2 semi-final win for the Americans. The semi-final match was played 22 years to the day after the "Miracle on Ice" game.[10] The U.S. eventually won silver, while Russia won bronze.

The two teams met in the quarterfinals of the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, with the U.S. earning a decisive 5–3 victory.

The U.S. and Russia played each other in a round-robin game at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. The game was tied 2–2 after overtime before the Americans prevailed in an eight-round shootout, with T.J. Oshie scoring on 4 of 6 attempts for the United States. The match has been dubbed by some as the "Marathon on Ice" due to its length.[11] Both teams, however, failed to medal; the Americans finished fourth (losing in the semis to Canada and to Finland in the bronze medal game), while the Russians placed fifth (losing to Finland in the quarterfinals).

See also

References

  1. "All-time Summer Olympics medals table 1896-2016 | Statistic". Statista.
  2. "USA Men's Team Vs. Russia Was About More Than Just Hockey". Time.
  3. "Olympic History of Soviet Union". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17.
  4. "Olympic History of Unified Team". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17.
  5. "Olympic History of Russia". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17.
  6. "Olympic History of United States". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2020-04-19.
  7. J. N. Washburn (July 21, 1974). "Soviet Amateur Athlete: A Real Pro". The New York Times.
  8. Burnside, Scott (February 8, 2010). "Hockey's miracle before the 'Miracle'". ESPN. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
  9. "The Morning Skate: The Forgotten Miracle of 1960". The New York Times. December 11, 2009. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
  10. "USA holds off Russia 3–2 to advance to gold medal game". CNN. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  11. "Team USA Beats Russia In 'Marathon On Ice'". Team USA. Archived from the original on February 15, 2014.
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