”Alpine skiing has been practiced in the European Alps for at least 150 years. In addition to adapting cross-country techniques to suit their steeper slopes, [...]

”Biathlon — which combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting — did not start as a sport, but as a way for northern European hunters, as [...]

”The three Olympic sliding sports are bobsleigh, skeleton and luge. All three grew out of the practice of using a sled or toboggan — a [...]

”Paintings thought to be at least 6,000 years old, discovered in Russia in the 1930s, show a hunter alongside some reindeer. The hunter is wearing [...]

”The game of curling is more than 500 years old. The earliest written record of curling — of groups of people sliding stones on frozen [...]

”An American, Jackson Haines, is considered to be the founding father of modern figure skating in the 1860s — established not in his home country, [...]

”In the United States, the 1960s were a time of revolution, of young people challenging authority and demanding change. Freestyle skiing began in that decade, [...]

”The word hockey comes from the old French word “hocquet,” meaning “stick.” The British most likely brought the idea of using a stick to propel [...]

”Two athletes — Peter Minsch of Switzerland and George Robertson of Australia — tied for first place in what was called “The Great International Sled [...]

”Throughout Norway in the 1800s, skiers gathered each winter for a series of ski carnivals consisting of small athletic competitions combined with some entertainment.

Considered the [...]

”Short track speed skating is only about 100 years old and a product of North America. Speed Skating, However, dates back to 13th century Holland.

Short [...]

”Like the other sliding sports of bobsleigh and luge, the start is crucial in skeleton — where a tenth of a second lead at the [...]

”The first known ski jumper was a Norwegian lieutenant named Olaf Rye, who, in 1809, launched himself 9.5 metres in the air before an audience [...]

”Combining elements of surfing, skateboarding and skiing, snowboard — one of the fastest growing sports — is a recent addition to the Olympic Winter Games.

The [...]

”Speed skating emerged on the canals of Holland as early as the 13th century — a time when iron skates on wooden soles served as [...]