The First Winter Olympics Open in Chamonix

In January 1924, athletes gathered in the French alpine resort of Chamonix for an event initially billed as an International Winter Sports Week. Although figure skating had featured in the London and Antwerp Summer Games and ice hockey had been staged in Antwerp, winter disciplines had long faced structural limits due to seasonal constraints. Delegates at the 1921 International Olympic Committee congress in Lausanne urged greater institutional equality for cold-weather sports. Because France had already secured the right to host the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, French organizers agreed to arrange a separate winter program in Haute-Savoie running from late January to 5 February.

Athletes from at least sixteen nations competed in medal events across disciplines such as bobsleigh, speed skating, figure skating, ice hockey, and Nordic skiing. On the ice and snow, American speed skater Charles Jewtraw claimed the first gold medal of the gathering in the 500-meter race. Indigenous Ojibwe defenseman Taffy Abel served as the American delegation flag bearer and secured silver in ice hockey; he remains the only Native American to have carried the United States flag at an Olympic opening ceremony.