1956 Winter Olympics medals | |
---|---|
Location | Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy |
Highlights | |
Most gold medals | Soviet Union (7) |
Most total medals | Soviet Union (16) |
Medalling NOCs | 13 |
The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games, was an international multi-sport event held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from 26 January to 5 February 1956. A total of 821 athletes representing 32 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated. The games featured 24 events in 4 sports across 8 disciplines.[1][2]
Overall, athletes from 13 nations received at least one medal, and 9 of them won at least one gold medal.[3] At their first Winter Olympics, athletes from the Soviet Union won the most gold medals, with 7, and the most overall medals, with 16. Athletes from Austria came second in the medal table with 4 gold medals and 11 medals overall, while athletes from Finland came third with 3 gold medals and 7 medals overall.[4] Teams from Poland[5] and Japan won their nations' first Winter Olympic medals.[6]
Alpine skier Toni Sailer of Austria won the most gold medals for an individual at the Games. He won the three gold medals available in the men's alpine skiing events and became the first person to do so.[7] Cross-country skier Sixten Jernberg of Sweden won the most overall medals for an individual at the Games, winning four medals with one gold, two silvers, and one bronze.[4][8]