[wzslider]The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games, represents a winter multi-sport event which took place from 8–19 February 1984 in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, in present-day Bosnia-Herzegovina. Other candidate cities were Sapporo, Japan; and Gothenburg, Sweden.
It was the first Winter Olympics held in a Socialist/Communist state. It was also the second Olympics overall, as well as the second consecutive Olympics, to be held in a “Communist state” after the 1980 Summer Olympics were held in Moscow, Soviet Union. The only games that have since been held in a “communist state”are the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing, China. A fourth Olympic Games, and second Winter games, may be held in a communist country if Beijing is successful against Almaty in its bid for the 2022.
With Beijing bidding for the 2022 Winter Olympics, China will be hoping to make more progress in winter Olympic sports in future.
“Beijing’s bid for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games will inspire the enthusiasm of engaging in winter sports across China, and even all over Asia,” Liu Peng, the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) president, said during Beijing’s presentation to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Launsanne on Tuesday.
China has remoulded itself from a winter sport minnow to a competitive force since its Winter Olympics debut in 1980.
Claiming its first-ever Winter Olympic medal (a sliver) in Albertville 1992 and its first-ever gold at Salt Lake City 2002, China has collected 12 gold, 22 sliver and 19 bronze medals in the past 10 winter games.
Two years after its historic haul of 51 gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics, China reached its peak in winter sports with 11 medals, of which five are gold, in Vancouver 2010. For the first time China finished top 10 of the medals table at Winter Olympics.
So far, China has ever qualified to compete in 11 sports of the past Winter Olympics, namely short track speed skating, speed skating, figure skating, curling, ice hockey, freestyle skiing, alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, ski jumping and snowboarding.
Liu believes that China, a world power in summer sports, will also become a giant in winter sports as being promised in Beijing’s bid file for the 2022 Winter Olympics.
“The bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics will boost participation and involvement in winter sports across the country, open a bright future for winter sports in China, Asia and the world, as China has set off on an ambitious ‘Long March’ to get 300 million Chinese people involved in skiing and skating events,” said Liu.
(Source: ST, xinhuanet)
