1976 Winter Olympics elections. Whistler would go on to be associated with neighbouring Vancouver's successful bid for the 2010 games. Salt Lake City offered to host the games, but the IOC, still reeling from the Denver rejection, declined and selected Innsbruck to host the 1976 Winter Olympics, which had hosted the 1964 Winter Olympics games twelve years earlier, on 5 February 1973. Salt Lake City would then host the Winter Olympics in 2002. The mascot of the 1976 Winter Olympics was "Schneemann", German for "snowman", a snowman in a red Tyrolean hat. Designed by Walter Pötsch, Schneeman was purported to represent the 1976
1998 Winter Olympics medal table The sport of curling returned after a single appearance in the 1924 Olympics, snowboarding was added as a new sport, and women's ice hockey made its first appearance in the Olympics. The leading medal winner at the Games was Russian skier Larisa Lazutina, who won five medals, including three golds. The only other athlete to win three gold medals was Norwegian skier Bjørn Dæhlie, who won four medals overall, making him the first Winter Olympian to win twelve career medals, eight of which were gold. Nine other athletes won three medals, including three Germans. American figure skater Tara Lipinski became