1932 Lake Placid Winter Olympics began

February 4, 1932: The Third Winter Olympic Games opening ceremony takes place at Lake Placid, New York. Modern Olympic Games began in 1894 with ice skating proposed as one of the events. However, ice skating was not part of the games until the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. Ulrich Salchow and Madge Syers won the individual titles.

In 1911 it was proposed by Italian Count Eugenio Brunetta d'Usseaux that the IOC stage a one-week addition to the games held in the winter in order to present these winter sports. The 1912 Olympics was held in Stockholm and the organizers there were already promoting winter sports for their own Nordic Games and were unwilling to endorse such competition. It was proposed again for the 1916 games to be held in Berlin. War intervened and the games were postponed.

Finally, in 1920 in Antwerp ice skating was again presented and ice hockey was added as well. In 1924, it was again proposed that a week of winter games be added and to expand the events. In 1925, the IOC decided to create a separate Winter Olympics. They even decided that the 1924 events would be called the first Winter Olympics. In 1928, 25 countries sent athletes to compete at St. Moritz. The weather was not completely cooperative and some events were postponed and others cancelled when temperatures reached 77º F.

In 1932, the United States hosted their first Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York when the snowfall at Big Pines, California was inadequate. During the Depression, there were scant funds for sports. Only 17 nations could afford to send teams. There were 231 men and 21 women who participated in the Olympics. There were 14 events in 4 different sports and 3 demonstration sports. The US took a total of 12 medals (6 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze) and first place for the Games. Norway was second with 10 medals (3 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze) and Canada came in third with 7 (1 gold, 1 silver, 5 bronze). The Games were scheduled to end on February 13, but lasted for two extra days due to poor weather conditions.

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"Women's figure skating has always been a big draw at the Winter Olympics. A lot of people here in the United States are still unfamiliar with the sport." - Jarvis Bowers

"There were stories about how we used to wait days at the Winter Olympics between winning medals. We're optimistic that those days are behind us now." - Jim Scherr

"The U.S. could win eight or even nine medals in snowboarding alone. It's hip. It's youthful. There are a lot of activities in the Winter Olympics that don't appeal to the younger demographic." - Tracy Anderson

"The Winter Olympics used to present a promotional challenge. Now there's speed, danger and an Olympic team that is more identifiable to a more diverse cross-section of America." - Mike McCarley