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 competition at the age of 15. She became the youngest Olympic champion in history, a distinction she held for 70 years. The next Winter Olympics held in Lake Placid, New York, was the first to be hosted outside of Europe. Seventeen nations and 252 athletes participated. This was less than in 1928, as the journey to Lake Placid, United States, was long and expensive for most competitors, who had little money in the midst of the Great Depression. The athletes competed in fourteen events in four sports. Virtually no snow fell for two months before the Games, and there was