1964 Winter Olympics - Games Highlights

Games Highlights

• The games was opened by a concert performed by Vienna Philharmonic, under the baton of Karl Böhm. Beethoven's 7th Symphony and Mozart's 40th Symphony were performed in the opening concert.
• Normally snowy Innsbruck was threatened by a lack of snow. The Austrian army carved out 20,000 ice bricks from a mountain top and transported them to the bobsled and luge runs. They also carried 40,000 cubic meters of snow to the Alpine skiing courses. The army packed down the slopes by hand and foot.
• Lidia Skoblikova achieved a "clean sweep" in the women's speed skating events, an achievement not matched by a man until Eric Heiden in the 1980 Lake Placid Games.
• Italian bobsleigh pilot Eugenio Monti distinguished himself by helping Britain's Tony Nash and Robin Dixon to win the gold medals when he loaned them an axle bolt to replace one that was broken. The Italians took bronze, but Monti was honored as the first recipient of the Pierre de Coubertin medal for sportsmanship.
• Egon Zimmermann of Austria took the gold medal in the men's downhill alpine skiing event.
• In the 4 man bobsled, the Canadian team won the gold medal with a total winning time of 4:14.46.
• Norway's Knut Johannesen won the men's 5,000m speed skating event in an Olympic record time of 7:38.40.
• Klavdiya Boyarskikh of the USSR earned three gold medals in cross-country skiing and, on the men’s side, Finnish Eero Mäntyranta won two and earned the nickname "Mr. Seefeld" after the venue because of his domination.
• In alpine skiing, French sisters Christine and Marielle Goitschel finished first and second in both the slalom and the giant slalom.
• Ski jumping gained a second event, and the sport of luge made its Olympic debut.
• Politically, the Games were notable because East and West Germany entered a combined team.
• The USSR won the most medals and the most gold medals at the Games.
• For the first time the Closing Ceremonies were held at a different place than the Opening Ceremonies.