Albertville 1992

End of the line

The 1992 Albertville Olympic Games were the last Winter Games to be staged in the same year as the Summer Games. Only 18 of the 57 events were held in Albertville itself, while nearby resorts hosted the rest.

Hello and goodbye

Freestyle skiing, short-track speed skating and women’s biathlon debuted as official disciplines. Croatia and Slovenia participated for the first time as independent nations. Meanwhile, speed skiing, curling, and freestyle skiing (aerial and ballet competitions) were the last official demonstration sports at the Olympic Winter Games.

Norway dominates cross country

In cross-country skiing, Norwegians Björn Daehlie and Vegard Ulvang each won three gold medals. This made it a clean sweep for Norway.

Memorable champions

American speed skater Bonnie Blair won the 500m and 1000m events, while Gunda Niemann of Germany took both of the longest races. Alpine skier Petra Kronberger of Austria won both the combined event and the slalom. Ki-hoon Kim of South Korea earned gold medals in both short track events. Toni Nieminen of Finland won the men’s ski jump title to become, at 16, the youngest male winner of a winter event.

NOCs: 64
Athletes: 1,801 (488 women, 1,313 men)
Events: 57
Volunteers: 8,647
Media: 5,894 (2,271 written press, 3,623 broadcasters)

Demonstration sport

Speed skiing, curling, and freestyle skiing (aerial and ballet competitions) were the last official demonstration sports at the Olympic Winter Games.

Women in biathlon

Women competed in biathlon for the first time.

Short track is in

Short-track speed skating, with men's and women's events, was included for the first time as an official discipline on the Olympic programme.

Moguls are in

Both a men’s and a women’s moguls event in freestyle skiing were included in the Olympic Programme.

A unified German team

For the first time since 1936, a unified German team, representing an independent nation, participated in the Games.

Two nations

Croatia and Slovenia participated for the first time as independent nations.

Unified Team

The former Soviet republics formed the so-called Unified Team (EUN).

Back to the Games

The Baltic states (Estonia and Latvia) participated for the first time since 1936, and Lithuania for the first time since 1928.

Ceremonies

Albertville, 8 February 1992: Dancers and acrobats.

Official opening of the Games by: The President of the French Republic,
François Mitterrand

Lighting of the Olympic Flame by:
Michel Platini (football), François-Cyrille Grange (a boy from Savoie)

Olympic Oath by:
Surya Bonaly (figure skating)

Officials' Oath by:
Pierre Bornat (alpine skiing)

The official emblem consists of an Olympic flame in the colours of the Savoie region, and is an element of the visual identity of the Albertville Games, which had to meet three main objectives: highlight the mountain site, modernity and sports.

Created for the first time in glass, set with gold, silver and bronze, the medals were entirely hand-made. Detailed and precise work required several different stages of production. The production of a medal required the contribution of 35 people, and took several hundred hours for Lalique’s to create the 330 medals.

On the obverse, the five Olympic rings can be seen in the foreground, with a valley in the background, in gradation, thus giving the impression of perspective. On the upper part of the metal is an intagliated stylised laurel branch featuring the words: "XVI Olympic Winter Games" (in French and English).

On the reverse of the medal, decorative motif is intagliated in the colourless glass. The lines symbolise the mountains.

Magique

Magique [Magic]. Several studies, financed by the Organising Committee (OCOG), were conducted to find a name for the mascot, but in the end none was chosen. However, on re-reading his brief, his creator realised that the word “magique” appeared several times. The enthusiastic OCOG thus decided to name the mascot accordingly.

Number of torchbearers: around 5 500 in France
Total distance: around 5 700 km in France
Countries crossed: Greece, France

Mountains, white snow, blue sky, the sun and Olympism are the different elements that make up this poster. The range of bold colours and the overall simplicity of the design makes it immediately recognisable to all. Jean-Claude Killy and Michel Barnier presented the official poster of the XVI Olympic Winter Games in Albertville and Savoie for the first time on 7 February 1991, exactly one year before the Games

The “Official report of the Olympic Winter Games of Albertville and Savoie” was published as a large-format edition. Very detailed, it is composed of one bilingual French/English volume.