Olympic Games about 10,500 competitors from 204 nations at the 2012 Summer Olympics. The scope and scale of the Winter Olympics is smaller. For example, Sochi hosted 2,873 athletes from 88 nations competing in 98 events during the 2014 Winter Olympics. During the Games most athletes and officials are housed in the Olympic Village. This village is intended to be a self-contained home for all the Olympic participants, and is furnished with cafeterias, health clinics, and locations for religious expression. The IOC allowed the formation of National Olympic Committees representing nations that did not meet the strict requirements for political sovereignty that
Winter Olympic Games independent appearances for the first time since before World War II. At 16 years old, Finnish ski jumper Toni Nieminen made history by becoming the youngest male Winter Olympic champion. New Zealand skier Annelise Coberger became the first Winter Olympic medallist from the southern hemisphere when she won a silver medal in the women's slalom. The 1994 Winter Olympics, held in Lillehammer, Norway, were the first Winter Games to be held separately from the Summer Games. This change resulted from the decision reached in the 91st IOC Session (1986) to separate the Summer and Winter Games and place them in