Czechoslovakia at the 1924 Winter Olympics Czechoslovakia at the 1924 Winter Olympics Czechoslovakia was one of the 16 nations to compete at the inaugural 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France. The team finished without winning a medal. Figure skater Josef Slíva’s fourth place was the team’s best finish. Ice hockey reserve goalkeeper Jaroslav Řezáč was the first Czechoslovakia’s flagbearer in the Winter Games history. Men’s 18 km (Classic) Men’s 50 km Free (Classic) The cross country skiing marathon route led through mountain streams and difficult steep climbs. Only 21 competitors of 33 starting completed the race, including all three Czechoslovak skiers. The only Czech skaters in
Winter Olympic Games every one of the five events in which he competed, winning a total of five individual gold medals and breaking the record for most individual golds in a single Olympics (both Summer and Winter). Hanni Wenzel won both the slalom and giant slalom and her country, Liechtenstein, became the smallest nation to produce an Olympic gold medallist. In the "Miracle on Ice", the American hockey team composed of college players beat the favoured seasoned professionals from the Soviet Union, and progressed to eventually win the gold medal. Sapporo, Japan, and Gothenburg, Sweden, were front-runners to host the 1984 Winter Olympics.