This is: Olympics 1960 - Squaw Valley
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Olympics 1960 - Squaw Valley, United States, February 18 - 28
No. of countries: 30
No. of athletes: 665 (522 m + 143 w)
No. of events: 27 in 6 sports
The second games in the United States became a model for the following games.
They were so compact that you could watch ice hockey, figure skating, speed
skating, downhill skiing and ski jump at the same time, from the same place !
The location in Sierra Nevada was a gamble that was saved in the last moment
by a blizzard. Everything had to be built from scratch, and was really a clever
move by an American businessman who figured that he could get an entire resort
financed by holding the Olympics. He got money from the state of California
and managed to convince the IOC to give him the games. This was the first and
last time that South Africa participated for a long time. The Olympic torch
had been lit in Norway and brought to the United States by relay.
The Soviet Union was even more dominating this time, with 7 gold and 5
silvers. The American ice hockey gold medal was a sensation with the American
team going undefeated through the tournament. New event this Olympics was
biathlon.