For the 1976 Winter Olympics

1976 Winter Olympics

The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated February 4–15, 1976 in Innsbruck, Austria...

 in Innsbruck

Innsbruck

- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...

, Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

, a total of eight sports venues were used. The games were originally awarded to Denver, Colorado in the United States in 1970, but they withdrew in the wake of Colorado residents voting against it for environmental and cost reasons in November 1972. This led to the International Olympic Committee opening up the bids for the games again, eventually awarding them to Innsbruck in February 1973. The Austrian city, having hosted the Winter Olympics in 1964, was in the process of having the venues used for those Games before Denver's with clear cutting of the alpine skiing venues, lessening of the amount of cross-country skiing routes, upgrading the ski jumps, adding lighting in the indoor sports arena to accommodate color television, and the construction of a combination bobsleigh and luge track. After the 1976 Games, the venues have continued to remain in use, hosting events in Nordic skiing and the sliding sports. They hosted some of the events for the Winter Universiade in 2005 and seven of the eight venues will serve as host for the first Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2012.

Venues

Venue	Sports	Capacity	Ref.
Axamer Lizum Axamer Lizum Axamer Lizum is a village located southwest of Innsbruck, Austria. For the 1964 Winter Olympics, it hosted all of the alpine skiing events except for men's downhill which took place in Patscherkofel located southeast of Innsbruck. Twelve years later, it hosted exactly the same alpine skiing...	Alpine skiing Alpine skiing at the 1976 Winter Olympics Alpine skiing at the 1976 Winter Olympics consisted of six events, held near Innsbruck, Austria, from February 5–13, 1976.Similar to the 1964 games, the men's downhill was held on Patscherkofel , the other five events at Axamer Lizum....  (all but men's downhill)	Not listed.
Bergiselschanze Bergiselschanze Bergiselschanze is a ski jumping hill located in Bergisel in Innsbruck, Austria. It is one of the more important venues in the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup, annually hosting the third competition of the prestigious Four Hills Tournament....	Ski jumping Ski jumping at the 1976 Winter Olympics The 1976 Winter Olympic Games Ski Jumping results-Large hill:February 15, 1976-Normal hill:-References:*...  (large hill)	Not listed.
Eisschnellaufbahn Eisschnellaufbahn The Olympia Eisschnellaufbahn is a speed skating venue located in Innsbruck, Austria. The outdoor venue hosted the speed skating events both for the 1964 and the 1976 Winter Olympics....	Speed skating Speed skating at the 1976 Winter Olympics -500 m:Tuesday February 10, 1976 — 30 competitors from 16 countries-1.000 m:Thursday February 12, 1976 — 32 competitors from 16 countries-1.500 m:Friday February 13, 1976 — 30 competitors from 18 countries-5.000 m:...	7,000
Kominierte Kunsteisbahn für Bob-Rodel Igls	Bobsleigh Bobsleigh at the 1976 Winter Olympics -Two-man:-Four-man:-Medal table:-References:**... , Luge Luge at the 1976 Winter Olympics -Men's singles:Silver medalist Josef Fendt is the current President of the International Luge Federation .-Doubles:-Women's singles:-Medal table:-References:***...	Not listed.
Messehalle Messehalle (Innsbruck) Messehalle is a convention center and sports venue located in Innsbruck, Austria. The venue hosted some of the ice hockey games for both the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics.-References:* pp. 66-7. * pp. 206-8. , , & * &...	Ice hockey Ice hockey at the 1976 Winter Olympics At the 1976 Winter Olympics held in Innsbruck, Austria, the USSR team won the Gold Medal in ice hockey. Star forward, Valeri Kharlamov scored the game-winning goal in the final game. Games were held at the Olympiahalle Innsbruck.-Highlights:...	Not listed.
Olympiahalle Olympiahalle (Innsbruck) Olympiahalle is an indoor sports venue located in Innsbruck, Austria. During the 1964 Winter Olympics, it hosted the figure skating and ice hockey events. Twelve years later, it hosted those same events....	Figure skating Figure skating at the 1976 Winter Olympics The 1976 Winter Olympic Games figure skating results. Ice dancing was introduced as an Olympic event in these Olympics.-Medal table:-Men:Referee:* Sonia BianchettiAssistant Referee:* Emil Skákala... , Ice hockey	Not listed.
Patscherkofel Patscherkofel Patscherkofel is a mountain and ski area in Tyrol in western Austria, 7 km south of Innsbruck. The peak rises to a summit elevation of 7639 feet above sea level...	Alpine skiing (men's downhill)	Not listed
Seefeld Seefeld, Tirol Seefeld in Tirol is a municipality of the Innsbruck-Land District in the Austrian state of Tyrol, located about northwest of Innsbruck. With more than one million overnight stays each year, it is one of the most popular Tyrolean tourist destinations especially for skiing in winter, but also for...	Biathlon Biathlon at the 1976 Winter Olympics -20 km:-4 x 7.5 km relay:-References:*... , Cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing at the 1976 Winter Olympics The 1976 Winter Olympic Games cross country skiing results. The women's 3 x 5 km relay was replaced by a 4 x 5 km relay at these games.-15 km:February 8, 1976-30 km:February 5, 1976... , Nordic combined Nordic combined at the 1976 Winter Olympics - Men's event :- References :*... , Ski jumping (normal hill)	Not listed.

Before the Olympics

Innsbruck hosted the Winter Olympics in 1964

1964 Winter Olympics

The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964...

. Bergiselschanze, one of the venues used for those games, has been part of ski jumping's Four Hills Tournament

Four Hills Tournament

The Four Hills Tournament is composed of four Ski Jumping World Cup events and has taken place in Germany and Austria each year since 1952.The Four Hills Tournament champion is the one who gets the most points over the four events...

 since the 1952-3 season.

At the International Olympic Committee

International Olympic Committee

The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...

 (IOC) session at Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

 in May 1970, Denver, Colorado

Denver, Colorado

The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...

 was selected over Sion

Sion, Switzerland

Sion is the capital of the Swiss canton of Valais. it had a population of .Landmarks include the Basilique de Valère and Château de Tourbillon. Sion has an airfield for civilian and military use, which, because of its location in a valley, causes a reasonable amount of noise pollution. FC Sion...

, Tampere

Tampere

Tampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of , growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in...

, and Whistler, British Columbia

Whistler, British Columbia

Whistler is a Canadian resort town in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in the province of British Columbia, Canada, approximately north of Vancouver...

 to host the 1976 Winter Games. Local pressure from residents in Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

 forced a referendum

Referendum

A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...

 vote two years later in which state residents, led by future governor Richard Lamm

Richard Lamm

Richard Douglas "Dick" Lamm is an American politician, Certified Public Accountant, college professor, and lawyer. He served three terms as 38th Governor of Colorado as a Democrat and ran for the Reform Party's nomination for President of the United States in 1996.He is currently the Co-Director...

 on environmental

Natural environment

The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....

 and cost concerns. A vote of 3 to 2 against on 7 November 1972 confirmed this, resulting in the United States Olympic Committee

United States Olympic Committee

The United States Olympic Committee is a non-profit organization that serves as the National Olympic Committee and National Paralympic Committee for the United States and coordinates the relationship between the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency and various...

 wanting to move the 1976 Winter Games to Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...

. Denver withdrew their bid in November 1972, resulting in the IOC reopening up the bid for the 1976 Games. Besides Innsbruck, other cities who bid were Salt Lake City, Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a mountain resort town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the Oberbayern region, and the district is on the border with Austria...

, Chamonix

Chamonix

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc or, more commonly, Chamonix is a commune in the Haute-Savoie département in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It was the site of the 1924 Winter Olympics, the first Winter Olympics...

, and Lake Placid, New York

Lake Placid, New York

Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638....

. Innsbruck was awarded the 1976 Games by the IOC on 4 February 1973.

Before Innsbruck was awarded the 1976 Winter Games, the venues used were in the process of being expanded. Patscherkofel's downhill run was widened in 1971. Axamer Lixum's course proposed originally for the 1964 Winter Games was used for both men's and women's event had to be clear cut in order to remove the trees located there along with its slope being reduced from 66-71% to 28-31%. A total of 100000 m³ (130,795.1 cu yd) was moved along with the canalization of a deep ditch 68 m (223.1 ft) long. Seefeld used lesser loops for the cross-country courses compared to the 1964 Games. New lighting was installed in Olympiahalle to accommodate color television

Color television

Color television is part of the history of television, the technology of television and practices associated with television's transmission of moving images in color video....

 along with a new loudspeaker system. A plastic pipe under the ice had to be replaced when American

United States at the 1976 Winter Olympics

The United States competed at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.- Medalists :- Alpine skiing:MenWomen- Biathlon:Men1One minute added per close miss , two minutes added per complete miss....

 figure skater Terry Kubicka

Terry Kubicka

Terry Kubicka is an American retired figure skater. He is the 1976 U.S. national champion. He competed at the 1976 Winter Olympics, where he became the first and only skater to perform a legal backflip; it was banned after the competition. He was the first American to land the triple lutz, at the...

 broke through the ice, piercing the pipe, and creating a coolant leak. Two new compressors of ammonia

Ammonia

Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . It is a colourless gas with a characteristic pungent odour. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to food and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or...

 refrigeration were added to Eisschnellaufbahn to maintain the ice at -10 C. The biggest change was at the bobsleigh and luge track where a single track was used for combined events, the first of its kind in the world. Construction of the track began in 1973 under the auspices of the International Bobsleigh and Tobogganing Federation and International Luge Federation and was completed the following year. During the 1975 Olympic Test Competition on the track, East Germany

East Germany at the 1976 Winter Olympics

East Germany competed at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.-Medalists:- Biathlon:Men1One minute added per close miss , two minutes added per complete miss....

 set up cameras and timers all along the run to determine the fastest lines through each of the straights and curves.

During the Olympics

In the alpine skiing men's downhill, Austria

Austria at the 1976 Winter Olympics

Austria was the host nation for the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck. It was the second time that Austria had hosted the Winter Games, after the 1964 Winter Olympics, also in Innsbruck.-Medalists:- Alpine skiing:MenWomen- Biathlon:Men...

' Franz Klammer

Franz Klammer

Franz Klammer is a former champion alpine ski racer. Klammer overwhelmingly dominated the downhill event for four consecutive World Cup seasons . He was the gold medalist at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, winning the downhill at Patscherkofel in dramatic fashion...

 came from behind to beat Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

's Bernhard Russi

Bernhard Russi

Bernhard Russi is a former alpine ski racer. He was an Olympic, World Cup, and World champion in the downhill event....

 in where television coverage was given for the entire run.

The work that East Germany did at analyzing the Igls track in 1975 paid off with gold medals in all three luge and both bobsleigh events.

During the cross-country skiing men's 4 x 10 km relay event, East Germany was in second place after the first leg of the event. Axel Lesser

Axel Lesser

Axel Lesser is a former East German cross country skier who competed in the 1960s and 1970s. He earned a silver medal in the 4 x 10 km at the 1970 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Vysoké Tatry....

, the second leg of the East German team, ran into a spectator, injured his knee, and had to abandon the race.

After the Olympics

Bergiselschanze continues to remain a part of the Four Hills Tournament. Seefeld would play host to the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships

The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships have been held in various numbers and types of events since 1925 for men and since 1954 for women. Championship events include nordic skiing's three disciplines: cross-country skiing, ski jumping, and nordic combined...

 in 1985.

Igls has served as host of the FIBT World Championships

FIBT World Championships

The FIBT World Championships, part of the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing , have taken place on an annual basis in non-Winter Olympic years since 1930. A two-man event was included in 1931 with a combined championship occurring in 1947...

 in 1991

FIBT World Championships 1991

The FIBT World Championships 1991 took place in Altenberg, Germany and Igls, Austria . This was Altenberg's first time hosting a championship event. Igls was hosting its third, doing so previously in 1935 and 1963...

 (men's skeleton), 1993

FIBT World Championships 1993

The FIBT World Championships 1993 took place in Igls, Austria and La Plagne, France . This was Igls's fourth time hosting the championships, doing so previously in 1935 and 1963, and 1991 . Meanwhile, La Plagne was hosting its first championship event.-Selection issue:Igls was not the first...

 (bobsleigh), and 2000

FIBT World Championships 2000

The FIBT World Championships 2000 took place in Altenberg, Germany , Winterberg, Germany , and Igls, Austria . Altenberg hosted the championship event for the fourth time, doing so previously in 1991 , 1994 , and 1999...

 (skeleton). The track hosted the FIL European Luge Championships in 1990

FIL European Luge Championships 1990

The FIL European Luge Championships 1990 took place in Igls, Austria for a second time after hosting the event previously in 1951.-Men's singles:-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:-Mixed team:-Medal table:-References:****...

 and hosted the FIL World Luge Championships four times in 1977

FIL World Luge Championships 1977

-Men's singles:-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:-Medal table:-References:***...

, 1987

FIL World Luge Championships 1987

The FIL World Luge Championships 1987 took place in Igls, Austria for the second time, having done so previously in 1977.-Men's singles:Prock wins Austria's first medal at the world championships since 1978.-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:...

, 1997

FIL World Luge Championships 1997

The FIL World Luge Championships 1997 took place in Igls, Austria for the third time after previously hosting the event in 1977 and 1987.-Men's singles:-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:-Mixed team:-Medal table:-References:****...

, and 2007

FIL World Luge Championships 2007

The FIL World Luge Championships 2007 took place February 2-4, 2007 at the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track in Igls, Austria for the fourth time after having hosted the event in 1977, 1987, and 1997.-Men's singles:-Women's singles:...

.

Seefeld and Innsbruck combined to host the Winter Universiade

Universiade

The Universiade is an International multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation . The name is a combination of the words "University" and "olympiad"...

 in 2005

2005 Winter Universiade

The 2005 Winter Universiade, the XXII Winter Universiade, took place in Innsbruck, Austria....

. In 2012

2012 Winter Youth Olympics

The 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games, officially known as the I Winter Youth Olympic Games , will be an international multi-sport event for youths that will take place in Innsbruck from 13 to 22 January 2012. They will become the inaugural Winter Youth Olympics, a major sports and cultural festival...

, Innsbruck will play host to the first Winter Youth Olympic Games

Youth Olympic Games

The Youth Olympic Games is an international multi-sport event first held in Singapore from August 14 to August 26, 2010. The games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consistent with the current Olympic Games format. The age limitation of the athletes is between 14 to 18...

. All venues used for the 1976 Winter Olympics except for Axamer Lizum will be in use as venues for the 2012 Winter Youth Games.