Calgary
A record 1,750 athletes from 57 nations came to western Canada for the first winter Olympics north of the U.S. border. The Games featured an indoor speed skating oval and sporadic chinook winds that sent temperatures into the unwintry 70s.
Matti Nykänen of Finland became the first pure ski jumper to capture three titles, winning gold medals at 70 and 90 meters and adding a third in the new team jumping competition.
Nykänen may have been the most decorated jumper in Calgary, but he wasn't the most celebrated. That honor belonged to Michael (Eddie the Eagle) Edwards, the accident-prone flying plasterer from Britain. Edwards finished 58th and last in the 70–meter jump and 55th and last in the 90–meter and was welcomed home after the Games by hundreds of fans at London's Heathrow Airport.
Back on the serious side, Dutch speed skater Yvonne van Gennip won three gold medals; East German figure skater Katarina Witt won her second straight women's title; and the USSR beat East Germany in both gold and overall medals in the last winterized confrontation of Communist superpowers.
Top 10 Standings
National medal standings are not recognized by the IOC. The unofficial point totals are based on 3 points for a gold medal, 2 for a silver and 1 for a bronze. Total medals are in parentheses.
| | | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | USSR (29) | 11 | 9 | 9 | 60 |
| 2 | East Germany (25) | 9 | 10 | 6 | 53 |
| 3 | Switzerland (15) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 30 |
| 4 | Austria (10) | 3 | 5 | 2 | 21 |
| 5 | Finland (7) | 4 | 1 | 2 | 16 |
| | West Germany (8) | 2 | 4 | 2 | 16 |
| 7 | Netherlands (7) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 15 |
| 8 | Sweden (6) | 4 | 0 | 2 | 14 |
| 9 | USA (6) | 2 | 1 | 3 | 11 |
| 10 | Italy (5) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
Leading Medal Winners
Number of individual medals won on the left; gold, silver and bronze breakdown to the right.
Men
| No | | Sport | G-S-B |
|---|
| 3 | Matti Nykänen, FIN | Ski Jump | 3-0-0 |
| 3 | Valery Medvedtsev, USSR | Biathlon | 1-2-0 |
| 3 | Vladimir Smirnov, USSR | X-country | 0-2-1 |
| 2 | Alberto Tomba, ITA | Alpine | 2-0-0 |
| 2 | Frank-Peter Rötsch, E. Ger. | Biathlon | 2-0-0 |
| 2 | Gunde Svan, SWE | X-country | 2-0-0 |
| 2 | Tomas Gustafson, SWE | Sp. Skate | 2-0-0 |
| 2 | Hubert Strolz, AUT | Alpine | 1-1-0 |
| 2 | Mikhail Deviatiarov, USSR | X-country | 1-1-0 |
| 2 | Hippolyt Kempf, SWI | Nordic Comb. | 1-1-0 |
| 2 | Jens-Uwe Mey, E. Ger. | Sp. Skate | 1-1-0 |
| 2 | Alexei Prokurorov, USSR | X-country | 1-1-0 |
| 2 | Sergei Chepikov, USSR | Biathlon | 1-0-1 |
| 2 | Ianis Kipours, USSR | Bobsled | 1-0-1 |
| 2 | Vladimir Kozlov, USSR | Bobsled | 1-0-1 |
| 2 | Franck Piccard, FRA | Alpine | 1-0-1 |
| 2 | Pirmin Zurbriggen, SWI | Alpine | 1-0-1 |
| 2 | Wolfgang Hoppe, E. Ger. | Bobsled | 0-2-0 |
| 2 | Bogdan Musiol, E. Ger. | Bobsled | 0-2-0 |
| 2 | Matjaz Debelak, YUG | Ski Jump | 0-1-1 |
| 2 | Michael Hadschieff, AUT | Sp. Skate | 0-1-1 |
| 2 | Erik Johnsen, NOR | Ski Jump | 0-1-1 |
| 2 | Klaus Sulzenbacher, AUT | Nordic Comb. | 0-1-1 |
| 2 | Leo Visser, NED | Sp. Skate | 0-1-1 |
| 2 | Johann Passler, ITA | Biathlon | 0-0-2 |
Women
| No | | Sport | G-S-B |
|---|
| 3 | Yvonne van Gennip, NED | Sp. Skating | 3-0-0 |
| 3 | Tamara Tikhonova, USSR | X-country | 2-1-0 |
| 3 | Marjo Matikänen, FIN | X-country | 1-0-2 |
| 3 | Andrea Ehrig, E. Ger. | Sp. Skating | 0-2-1 |
| 3 | Karin Kania, E. Ger. | Sp. Skating | 0-2-1 |
| 2 | Vreni Schneider, SWI | Alpine | 2-0-0 |
| 2 | Anfissa Reztsova, USSR | X-country | 1-1-0 |
| 2 | Christa Rothenburger, E. Ger. | Sp. Skate | 1-1-0 |
| 2 | Bonnie Blair, USA | Sp. Skate | 1-0-1 |
| 2 | Vida Ventsene, USSR | X-country | 1-0-1 |
| 2 | Brigitte Oertli, SWI | Alpine | 0-2-0 |
| 2 | Christa Kinshofer, W. Ger. | Alpine | 0-1-1 |
| 2 | Raisa Smetanina, USSR | X-country | 0-1-1 |
| 2 | Karen Percy, CAN | Alpine | 0-0-2 |
| 2 | Maria Walliser, SWI | Alpine | 0-0-2 |
| 2 | Gabi Zange, E. Ger. | Sp. Skate | 0-0-2 |
Alpine Skiing
Men
| Event | | Time |
|---|
| Downhill | Pirmin Zurbriggen, SWI | 1:59.63 |
| Slalom | Alberto Tomba, ITA | 1:39.47 |
| G.Slalom | Alberto Tomba, ITA | 2:06.37 |
| Super GS | Franck Piccard, FRA | 1:39.66 |
| Combined | Hubert Strolz, AUT | 36.55 pts |
Women
| Event | | Time |
|---|
| Downhill | Marina Kiehl, W. Ger. | 1:25.86 |
| Slalom | Vreni Schneider, SWI | 1:36.69 |
| G.Slalom | Vreni Schneider, SWI | 2:06.49 |
| Super GS | Sigrid Wolf, AUT | 1:19.03 |
| Combined | Anita Wachter, AUT | 29.25 pts |
Biathlon
| Event | | MT | Adj.Time |
|---|
| 10km | Frank-Peter Rötsch, E. Ger. | 1 | 25:08.1 |
| 20km | Frank-Peter Rötsch, E. Ger. | 3 | 56:33.3 |
| 4x7.5km | USSR (Vasiliev, Chepikov,
Popov, Medvedtsev) | 0 | 1:22:30.0 |
Bobsled
| Event | | Time |
|---|
| 2-Man | USSR (Janis Kipours & Vladimir Kozlov) | 3:53.48 |
| 4-Man | SWI (Ekkehard Fasser, Kurt Meier, Marcel Fässler, Werner Stocker) | 3:47.51 |
Figure Skating
| Event | | Points |
|---|
| Men | Brian Boitano, USA | 3.0 |
| Women | Katarina Witt, E. Ger. | 4.2 |
| Pairs | Ekaterina Gordeeva & Sergei Grinkov, USSR | 1.4 |
| Dance | Natalya Bestemianova & Andrei Bukin, USSR | 2.0 |
Ice Hockey
Medal Round
(Overall records in parentheses)
| | | Gm | W-L-T | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|
| 1 | USSR (7-1-0) | 5 | 4-1-0 | 8 | 25 | 7 |
| 2 | Finland (5-2-1) | 5 | 3-1-1 | 7 | 18 | 10 |
| 3 | Sweden (4-1-3) | 5 | 2-1-2 | 6 | 15 | 16 |
| 4 | Canada (5-2-1) | 5 | 5-2-1 | 5 | 17 | 14 |
| 5 | West Germany (4-4-0) | 5 | 1-4-0 | 2 | 8 | 26 |
| 6 | Czecholsovakia (4-4-0) | 5 | 1-4-0 | 2 | 12 | 22 |
Note: Games against common opponents carried over from the preliminary round. The USSR lost its final game to Finland, 2–1, after clinching the gold medal.
Also: The U.S. finished 4th in its preliminary pool with a 2–3 record. The top three teams in each of two 6–team pools qualified for the medal round.
Luge
Men
| Event | | Time |
|---|
| 1-Seat | Jens Müller, E. Ger. | 3:05.548 |
| 2-Seat | Joerg Hoffmann
& Jochen Pietzsch, E. Ger. | 1:31.940 |
Women
| Event | | Time |
|---|
| 1-Seat | Steffi Martin Walter, E. Ger. | 3:03.973 |
Nordic Skiing
Men
Cross Country
| Event | | Time |
|---|
| 15 km | Mikhail Deviatiarov, USSR | 41:18.9 |
| 30 km | Alexei Prokurorov, USSR | 1:24:26.3 |
| 50 km | Gunde Svan, SWE | 2:04:30.9 |
| 4x10 km | SWE (Ottosson, Wassberg, | |
| | Svan, Mogren) | 1:43:58.6 |
Ski Jumping
| Event | | Points |
|---|
| 70m | Matti Nykänen, FIN | 229.1 |
| 90m | Matti Nykänen, FIN | 224.0 |
| Team | FIN (Nikkola, Nykänen, | |
| | Ylipulli, Puikkonen) | 634.4 |
Nordic Combined
| Event | | Points |
|---|
| Indiv. | Hippolyt Kempf, SWI | 432.23 |
| Team | W. Ger. (Pohl, Schwarz, Müller) | 792.08 |
Women
Cross Country
| Event | | Time |
|---|
| 5km | Marjo Matikänen, FIN | 15:04.0 |
| 10km | Vida Ventsene, USSR | 30:08.3 |
| 20km | Tamara Tikhonova, USSR | 55:53.6 |
| 4x5km | USSR (Nagueikina, Gavriliuk, | |
| | Tikhonova, Reztsova) | 59:51.1 |
Speed Skating
Men
| Event | | Time | |
|---|
| 500m | Jens-Uwe Mey, E. Ger. | 36.45 | WR |
| 1000m | Nikolai Gouliaev, USSR | 1:13.03 | OR |
| 1500m | André Hoffmann, E. Ger. | 1:52.06 | WR |
| 5000m | Tomas Gustafson, SWE | 6:44.63 | WR |
| 10,000m | Tomas Gustafson, SWE | 13:48.20 | WR |
Women
| Event | | Time | |
|---|
| 500m | Bonnie Blair, USA | 39.10 | WR |
| 1000m | Christa Rothenburger, E. Ger. | 1:17.65 | WR |
| 1500m | Yvonne van Gennip, NED | 2:00.68 | OR |
| 3000m | Yvonne van Gennip, NED | 4:11.94 | WR |
| 5000m | Yvonne van Gennip, NED | 7:14.13 | WR |
