Greatest Winter Olympics Moments of All Time

The Winter Olympics have been a source of inspiration for sports fans all over the world since 1924.

The Winter Olympics have been thrilling sports fans around the world since the first games were held almost 100 years ago in 1924 in Chamonix, France.

Since then, we’ve come to expect feats of incredible athleticism, artistry and sportsmanship that go beyond the pale. They include flying down the side of a mountain to flying above the ice to scoring game-winning goals and creating unforgettable memories.

These are the greatest moments in Winter Olympics history as we barrel into the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China.

30. Olympic Feat Stands Alone After Almost Century

AP Photo

When: 1932 Winter Olympics

Where: Lake Placid, New York

Who: United States bobsledder Eddie Eagan

Bottom line: Eddie Eagan’s athletic career has largely been lost to history, but it’s worth dusting off for the sheer audacity of what he accomplished.

Eagan won two gold medals in the Olympics — first as a light heavyweight boxer in 1920, then again at the Winter Olympics in 1932 as part of the four-man bobsled team for the U.S.

Eagan’s academic career was also something special. He received bachelor’s degrees from Yale and Oxford and a law degree from Harvard. He also fought in World War II and set a world record for the fastest trip around the world on scheduled aircraft flights.

29. Back-to-Back Golds in Figure Skating for Japan

Ivan Sekretarev / AP Photo

When: 2014 Winter Olympics and 2018 Winter Olympics

Where: Sochi, Russia, and Pyeongchang, South Korea

Who: Japanese figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu

Bottom line: Yuzuru Hanyu was only 19 years old when he won his first Olympic gold medal in figure skating in 2014 — also the first gold medal in men’s figure skating for Japan. It was part of a huge year for Hanyu, who became the first figure skater since 2002 to sweep the Olympics, World Championships and Grand Prix.

Hanyu returned in 2018 to win another gold medal just one month after returning from a ligament injury to his right ankle. Hanyu is part of Japan’s 2022 Olympic Team competing in Beijing.

28. ‘King Glad’ Lights Up 1952 Winter Olympics

John Rider-Rider / AP Photo

When: 1952 Winter Olympics

Where: Oslo, Norway

Who: Norwegian speed skater Hjalmar Andersen

Bottom line: Norway’s Hjalmar Andersen was a dominant speed skater who won three Olympic gold medals at the 1952 Olympics hosted in his home country, but his life and career are an amazing lesson about the power of positivity.

Over his lifetime, Andersen earned the nickname “King Glad” for his cheerful nature and had no less than four statues commissioned of him in his lifetime. After his Olympic triumph, he spent the remainder of his life as one of the most popular Norwegian athletes of all time.

Andersen died in 2013, at 90 years old.

27. Americans End 20-Year Drought at 2018 Winter Olympics

Bruce Bennett / AP Photo

When: 2018 Winter Olympics

Where: Pyeongchang, South Korea

Who: United States women’s hockey team

Bottom line: The U.S. women’s hockey team won the first gold medal in the event at the 1998 Winter Olympics, then spent 20 years watching their rival Canada step to the top of the gold medal stand.

That streak came to an end in 2018, when the U.S. took down Canada in the gold medal game, with North Dakota native Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson scoring the winning goal in the sixth round of a shootout.

26. Seven-Decade-Old Record Falls at 1998 Winter Olympics

Doug Mills / AP Photo

When: 1998 Winter Olympics

Where: Nagano, Japan

Who: United States figure skater Tara Lipinski

Bottom line: American figure skaters Tara Lipinski and Michelle Kwan engaged in an epic battle for the gold medal in ladies’ singles at the 1998 Winter Olympics, with Lipinski becoming the youngest gold medal winner in figure skating in Olympic history.

Lipinski, 15 years old, was just two months younger than Olympic legend Sonja Henie when she won in 1928, breaking a record that stood for 70 years. Kwan won the silver medal, and it was the first time since skaters from the same country won gold and silver since 1956.

25. Ski Jumping Draws Crowd of 100K at 1952 Winter Olympics

Robert Rider-Rider / AP Photo

When: 1952 Winter Olympics

Where: Oslo, Norway

Who: Norwegian royal family

Bottom line: Few events in the history of the Winter Olympics can compare to the pure spectacle on display at the 1952 games, when Norway’s King Haakon VI, Prince Harald and Princess Ragnhild showed up along with 100,000 spectators to watch the lone ski jumping competition at the massive Holmenkollbakken mountain.

The pictures of the competition from that day are truly breathtaking. It’s hard to wrap your head around, but that’s about the same amount of people at an SEC football game perched on the side of a mountain.

The home crowd didn’t walk away disappointed. Norway swept the top two spots, with Arnfinn Bergmann and Torbjorn Falkanger winning gold and silver.

24. Dorothy Hamill Steals Show at 1976 Winter Olympics

AP Photo

When: 1976 Winter Olympics

Where: Innsbruck, Australia

Who: United States figure skater Dorothy Hamill

Bottom line: There isn’t really an argument you can make for Dorothy Hamill being the greatest figure skater of all time, or really even being in that conversation. She’s actually the last Olympic champion not to have landed a triple jump.

What you can’t argue against is Hamill’s status as one of the most dynamic, popular American athletes of all time. At one point in the early 1990s and almost 20 years after winning a gold medal at the 1976 Winter Olympics, she was still regarded as the most popular athlete in America.

Hamill headlined the Ice Capades for seven years after her win at the Olympics. And her bob haircut and oversized glasses were a fashion staple for almost that long.

23. Bonnie Blair Grabs Destiny at 1992 Winter Olympics

Mark Lennihan / AP Photo

When: 1992 Winter Olympics

Where: Albertville, France

Who: United States speed skater Bonnie Blair

Bottom line: Bonnie Blair’s gold medal at the 1988 Winter Olympics did little for her career as far as making her money or even getting her endorsements. That disappointment led to her briefly walking away from the sport.

But thankfully, she returned in 1992 to win a pair of gold medals in France, where she became an international superstar and was even featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Blair cashed in on her fame and returned to the 1994 Winter Olympics to win two more gold medals and was named Sports Illustrated Sportswoman of the Year.

22. Shaun White’s Resilience on Display at 2018 Winter Olympics

Lee Jin-man / AP Photo

When: 2018 Winter Olympics

Where: Pyeongchang, South Korea

Who: United States snowboarder Shaun White

Bottom line: One of the most famous athletes of the X-Games era, San Diego native and pro skateboarder/snowboarder Shaun White won back-to-back Olympic gold medals at the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics in the halfpipe before falling flat and not medaling at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Where we came to truly love White as a competitor was at the 2018 Winter Olympics. That’s when White returned to win a gold medal in halfpipe by pulling off back-to-back 1440s, and all after sustaining a facial injury that required 62 inches in his training leading up to the Olympics.

21. Hollywood Strikes Gold at 1988 Winter Olympics

FXMC1957 / Twitter

When: 1988 Winter Olympics

Where: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Who: British ski jumper Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards and the Jamaican bobsled team

Bottom line: Not every great Olympic story ends with a gold medal, and the 1988 Winter Olympics featured two very different stories that fit the bill.

The first was British ski jumper Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards, the first Brit to compete in ski jumping since 1928. At nearly 20 pounds heavier than other ski jumpers and wearing thick, coke-bottle glasses, he finished last but became a media sensation. The other underdog heroes were the Jamaican four-man bobsled team, which also finished in last place but won over the media thanks to their unusual backstory.

Both stories were eventually made into movies. “Cool Runnings” was a box-office hit about the Jamaicans that came out in 1993, and “Eddie the Eagle” starring Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman came out in 2015.

20. Attack, Injuries Can’t Stop Nancy Kerrigan at 1994 Winter Olympics

Denis Paquin / AP Photo

When: 1994 Winter Olympics

Where: Lillehammer, Norway

Who: United States figure skater Nancy Kerrigan

Bottom line: From some perspectives, there was really only one main story at the 1994 Winter Olympics — the attack on U.S. figure skater Nancy Kerrigan at the Olympic trials one month before the games and the possible connection to fellow U.S. figure skater Tonya Harding.

Kerrigan, the bronze medalist at the 1992 Winter Olympics, was struck in the kneecap with a hard object but decided to skate through her injuries and won a silver medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics.

Harding, who was also on the Olympic team, finished eighth.

19. ‘Battle of the Brians’ Comes to Epic Close at 1988 Winter Olympics

John Redman / AP Photo

When: 1988 Winter Olympics

Where: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Who: United States figure skater Brian Boitano

Bottom line: The 1988 Winter Olympics featured the “Battle of the Brians” — an epic figure-skating showdown between American figure skater Brian Boitano and Canadian figure skater Brian Orser.

Boitano came out on top, winning the gold medal with a breathtaking routine that included six different triple jumps — a first in Olympic history. The American flag applique he put on his skates following the win is now in the Smithsonian.

18. U.S. Pulls off ‘Forgotten Miracle’ at 1960 Winter Olympics

John Rooney / AP Photo

When: 1960 Winter Olympics

Where: Squaw Valley, California

Who: United States men’s hockey team

Bottom line: The original “Miracle on Ice” team for the United States was the Olympic gold medal winners at the 1960 Olympics, and famously made future U.S. men’s coach Herb Brooks the last player cut off the team.

At the heart of the “Forgotten Miracle” team was the stellar goaltending play of Jack McCartan, who starred in two sports at the University of Minnesota with baseball and hockey.

McCartan’s brilliant play in goal earned him “Best Goaltender in the World” honors at the 1960 Olympics, and he played minor league hockey for a further 15 years.

17. ‘Bad Boy’ Flies to Gold at 1988 Winter Olympis

AP Photo

When: 1988 Winter Olympics

Where: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Who: Finnish ski jumper Matti Nykanen

Bottom line: There is no one else who can claim the title of greatest ski jumper of all time. It’s Finland’s Matti Nykanen.

Nykanen is the only ski jumper to win all five of the sport’s major events — the Ski Jumping World Championships, Ski Flying World Championships, World Cup, Four Hills Tournament and his crowning achievement of three Olympic gold medals at the 1988 Winter Olympics.

Nykanen, who also won a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics, is just as known for his troubled life away from ski jumping, including six marriages, a failed career as a pop singer, 26 months in prison for stabbing a family friend in 2004, and 16 months in prison for the attempted murder of his wife in 2009.

Nykanen died in 2019, at 55 years old, after a short illness.

16. Katarina Witt Defends Title at 1988 Winter Olympics

Massimo Sambucetti / AP Photo

When: 1988 Winter Olympics

Where: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Who: German figure skater Katarina Witt

Bottom line: Katarina Witt won a gold medal in figure skating at the 1984 Winter Olympics while skating for East Germany, then returned to defend her title with another gold medal at the 1988 Winter Olympics.

In doing so, Witt became just the second woman to defend her Olympic title, following Sonja Henie in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Witt’s title defense made her an international star, and she landed roles in American films and television shows.

15. France Finds National Hero at 1968 Winter Olympics

AP Photo

When: 1968 Winter Olympics

Where: Grenoble, France

Who: French alpine skier Jean-Claude Killy

Bottom line: French alpine skier Jean-Claude Killy was the dominant figure in his sport in the 1960s, winning at the first two World Cup championships in 1967 and 1968 and knocking off three Olympic gold medals at the 1968 Olympics.

Killy was known for his recklessness on the course in the early 1960s, from when he dropped out of high school to make the French junior national team to a disastrous showing at the 1964 Olympics.

Killy returned triumphantly to dominate in 1968 with the three Olympic gold medals plus four more World Championships gold medals.

14. Sidney Crosby’s Golden Goal Unites at 2010 Winter Olympics

Matt Slocum / AP Photo

When: 2010 Winter Olympics

Where: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Who: Canadian men’s hockey team

Bottom line: If we are talking about the all-time great single goals in hockey history, few have had the seismic impact of “The Golden Goal” scored in 2010 by NHL superstar and Canadian Sidney Crosby.

The Canadian team had the added pressure of playing the Olympics in their home country, so any result other than a gold medal would have resulted in utter disappointment.

Facing the United States in the gold medal game, Canada saw its lead disappear with 30 seconds left in regulation, but in overtime, Jarome Ignila found Crosby for the game-winning goal past U.S. goaltender Ryan Miller.

13. Act of Sportsmanship Turns Gold at 1968 Winter Olympics

AP Photo

When: 1964 Winter Olympics and 1968 Winter Olympics

Where: Innsbruck, Austria and Grenoble, France

Who: Italian bobsledder Eugenio Monti

Bottom line: In the history of good sportsmanship, legendary Italian bobsledder Eugenio Monti pretty much stands alone.

At the 1964 Winter Olympics, Monti helped not one but two competitors fix broken axles — Great Britain in the two-man bobsled and Canada in the four-man bobsled. Monti received criticism in the Italian press for doing so, with both of the other teams winning gold medals and Italy taking bronze in both events.

Monti brushed off the criticism, saying “they didn’t win because of the axles, they won because they were the fastest.” Four years later, Monti and the Italians swept the gold medals in both events.

12. Gutsy Skiing Finish Captivates 2018 Winter Olympics

Dmitri Lovetsky / AP Photo

When: 2018 Winter Olympics

Where: Pyeongchang, South Korea

Who: United States cross-country skiers Jessica Diggins and Kikkan Randall

Bottom line: You’re not going to find many races, regardless of sport, with a more thrilling finish than what happened in the women’s team sprint at the 2018 Winter Olympics. That’s when Jessica Diggins and teammate Kikkan Randall became the first Americans to win a gold medal in cross-country skiing — the end of a 42-year drought.

The world was riveted when Diggins’ overtook Sweden’s Stina Nilsso at the finish line and clips of the race went viral. Diggins was chosen as the U.S. flag bearer at the closing ceremony.

11. ‘Blitz from Kitz’ Steals Show at 1956 Winter Olympics

AP Photo

When: 1956 Winter Olympics

Where: Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy

Who: Austrian alpine skier Toni Sailer

Bottom line: Austrian skier Toni Sailer was nicknamed “The Blitz From Kitz” for his hometown of Kitzbuhel and became a national hero after he won three Olympic gold medals in 1956, when he was just 20 years old.

Sailer, who is still the youngest male Olympic gold medalist in history, turned his skiing fame into a decades-long career as an actor, pitchman and musician. He played himself in raunchy Italian ski comedies and recorded a staggering 18 albums.

Sailer died of cancer in 2008, at 73 years old.

10. Tragedy Turns Into Triumph at 1994 Winter Olympics

Thomas Kienzle / AP Photo

When: 1994 Winter Olympics

Where: Lillehammer, Norway

Who: United States speed skater Dan Jansen

Bottom line: Wisconsin native Dan Jansen was a heavy favorite to win gold medals as a speed skater in the 500-meter and 1,000-meter races at the 1988 Winter Olympics before tragedy struck. He found out just hours before competition was set to begin that his older sister, Jane, had died of leukemia and fell in both races.

Jansen returned to the Olympics in 1992 and walked away without a medal once again. In what was already going to be the final race of his career, at the 1994 Winter Olympics, Jansen set the world record in the 1,000 and won his only Olympic gold medal.

9. ‘Stone of the Century’ Lifts Great Britain at 2002 Winter Olympics

Itsuo Inouye / AP Photo

When: 2002 Winter Olympics

Where: Salt Lake City, Utah

Who: British women’s curling team

Bottom line: Rhona Martin had a long-established reputation in Scottish curling circles of falling flat in the clutch — a label she carried with her to the 2002 Winter Olympics as the captain for Great Britain alongside teammates Fiona McDonald, Margaret Morton, Janice Rankin and Debbie Knox.

Given the less-than-woke nickname of “The Housewife Curlers” because each held down regular jobs or raised children full time, the Brits pulled off upset after upset on the way to the finals. Facing the powerful Swiss team, the final match came down to what announcers called a “stone of the century” shot to win the gold medal for Martin, who hit the equivalent of a full-court buzzer-beater for the win.

It’s the stuff movies are made of.

8. Figure Skating Sensation Thrills 1948 Winter Olympics

AP Photo

When: 1948 Winter Olympics

Where: St. Moritz, Switzerland

Who: United States figure skater Dick Button

Bottom line: New Jersey native Dick Button helped write the history of figure skating with his bravura performances at the 1948 Winter Olympics and 1952 Winter Olympics, where he won back-to-back gold medals.

Button broke new ground for American figure skaters, winning five consecutive World Championships from 1948 to 1952 and becoming the only American to win a European championship.

Button was also the first figure skater to land a double axel in competition, a triple loop of any kind, and invented his own move, the flying camel spin, aka “The Button Camel,” if you know what’s up.

7. Greatness in the Shadow of ‘Miracle’ at 1980 Winter Olympics

AP Photo

When: 1980 Winter Olympics

Where: Lake Placid, New York

Who: United States speed skater Eric Heiden

Bottom line: The greatest speed skating performance in Olympic history occurred in 1980, when Wisconsin native Eric Heiden won five gold medals.

Heiden won more gold medals than all but two countries in Lake Placid that year, and he did it by dominating not just the sprints but also the distance events.

We may not appreciate Heiden’s performance as much now because everything at the 1980 games could not compare to the accomplishments of the U.S. men’s hockey team, which pulled off the most stunning upset in sports history.

6. Canada Sweeps Hockey Gold at 2002 Winter Olympics

Kevork Djansezian / AP Photo

When: 2002 Winter Olympics

Where: Salt Lake City, Utah

Who: Canadian men’s and women’s hockey teams

Bottom line: We don’t know if you know this, but hockey is a pretty big deal in Canada.

Which means when the Canadian men’s hockey team went 50 years without winning a gold medal in the country’s favorite sport, it was the source of much angst among hockey fans in the country. The 2002 team at the Winter Olympics finally broke that streak, topping the United States in the finals.

What made it even sweeter? The Canadian women’s team made it a gold medal sweep, defeating the defending champion U.S. team.

5. Norwegian Figure Skater Becomes First Winter Olympics Superstar

AP Photo

When: 1928 Winter Olympics

Where: St. Moritz, Switzerland

Who: Norwegian figure skater Sonja Henie

Bottom line: Few sporting figures were as famous in the 1920s and 1930s as Norwegian figure skater Sonja Henie, who was just 15 years old when she won her first gold medal at the 1928 Winter Olympics, then won two more gold medals at the 1932 and 1936 Olympics. She would finish her career with an additional 10 world championships.

Almost 100 years after her first Olympic win, Henie is still the most decorated figure skater of all time. In an odd twist, she was also married to New York Yankees owner Dan Topping from 1940 to 1946.

Henie died of cancer in 1969, at 57 years old.

4. Frightening Crash Leads to Triumph at 1998 Winter Olympics

Diether Endlicher / AP Photo

When: 1998 Winter Olympics

Where: Nagano, Japan

Who: Austrian alpine skier Hermann Maier

Bottom line: Few skiers in history have risen to the level of international fame as Austria’s Hermann Maier. It was quite a turnaround from the teenager who was told by the top Austrian skiing academies that he had too slight a build to compete on a high level.

Maier became a grassroots skiing star in Austria and achieved fame at a relatively old age compared to most of the skiers on this list. He was 27 years old when he won his first world championship and became a global sensation in 1998 when he was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated following two gold medals and a “can-you-believe-he-lived” crash at the 1998 Olympics.

3. Emotional Figure Skating Win at 1968 Winter Olympics

Robert Rider-Rider / AP Photo

When: 1968 Winter Olympics

Where: Grenoble, France

Who: United States figure skater Peggy Fleming

Bottom line: Peggy Fleming was 12 years old when her coach, William Kipp, was killed in an airplane crash along with the entire U.S. figure skating team in 1961. Seven years later, it was Fleming who finally brought the U.S. back to the gold medal in figure skating after the unthinkable tragedy.

Fleming’s performance at the 1968 Winter Olympics was part of the first internationally broadcast Winter Games and made her an international superstar. Fleming’s gold at the 1968 Games was the only gold won by the U.S. that year and was doubly emotional thanks to the buildup after the crash to get back to that point.

2. Soviet Dominance at 1964 Winter Olympics

Wikipedia

When: 1964 Winter Olympics

Where: Innsbruck, Austria

Who: Russian speed skater Lidia Skoblikova

Bottom line: Lidia Skoblikova was a 5-foot-4 dynamo speed skater who probably needs her name in the conversation when we talk about the greatest Winter Olympians of all time.

Skoblikova won two gold medals in the 1,500-meter and 3,000-meter speed skating races at the 1960 Winter Olympics before her virtuoso performance at the 1964 Winter Olympics, where she won four Olympic gold medals in the 500, 1,000 and repeated in the 1,500 and 3,000.

Representing the Soviet Union (during the era of Communist Russia), Skoblikova’s accomplishment garnered her an award for USSR Sportsman of the Year — the first and only time the award has gone to a woman. What an athlete.

1. U.S. Hockey Team ‘Miracle’ at 1980 Winter Olympics

AP Photo

When: 1980 Winter Olympics

Where: Lake Placid, New York

Who: United States men’s hockey team

Bottom line: So many legends were made on Feb. 22, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York. Not the least of which was broadcaster Al Michaels’ legendary call of “Do you believe in miracles? YES!” as the United States men’s hockey team, stocked full of college players, pulled off the biggest upset in sports history with a win over the mighty Soviet Union.

The U.S. rallied from a 3-2 deficit with two goals in the third period for the 4-3 win over the Soviets in the semifinals, then capped things off two days later with a win over Finland for the gold medal.