Sankt Moritz
1948

Where?	Sankt Moritz Switzerland
Which Olympics?	The fifth (winter)
How long was it?	From 30 January till 8 February
Joining countries:	28
Athletes:	713
Whereof women:	77

In 1946 was decided to give the Olympics of 1948 to Sankt Moritz. This wasn't surprising. The war wasn't be in Switzerland. So there were enough places for the athletes, and for the foreign visitors.

There were a few problems at ice hockey. Not in the field, but about the participation of teams. What was the problem? There were two American ice hockey teams. The first was of the 'Amateur Hockey Association of the United States' (the AHA) and the other was from the USA (selected through the Olympic Committee of the USA but was member of the 'International Hockey Federation' [IHF]). The IHF said: "If the AHA may compete, then the IHF-teams go home." Almost all ice hockey teams were from the IHF. The IOC decided that both American teams didn't may compete. But the IHF and the leaders of the Olympics had gotten a compromise that the AHA-team might compete.

The Olympic fire burnt already in 1928 at the Summer Olympics and the torche-estafette was established in 1936 for the Summer Olympics, so the Winter Olympics couldn't wait to establish it, and people established a torche-estafette for the Winter Olympics too. This time lighted the ice hockey-player Richard Torriani the Olympic fire.

Small facts:

• Chile, Denmark, Iceland, Korea and Lebanon were for the first time at the Olympics.
• Because of the war, Germany and Japan were not invited, so there were no athletes of Germany and Japan at these Olympics.

The medals of these Olympics
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