Wikipedia:Today's featured article/January 26, 2019

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
American figure skaters Lucille Ash and Sully Kothman at the 1956 Winter Olympics
Pairs figure skaters

The 1956 Winter Olympics was a multi-sport event celebrated in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from 26 January to 5 February. Cortina, which had originally been awarded the 1944 Winter Olympics, beat out Montreal, Colorado Springs and Lake Placid for the right to host the 1956 Games. The Cortina Games were the first to rely heavily on corporate sponsorship for funding. Thirty-two nations—the largest number of participating Winter Olympic countries to that point—competed in four sports and twenty-four events. The Italian army transported large amounts of snow to cover the alpine skiing courses. Toni Sailer of the Austrian team became the first person to win all three alpine skiing events in a single Olympics. The figure skating competition (pictured) was held outdoors for the last time. These games were the first Winter Olympics televised to a multi-national audience. For the first time at an Olympic Games, the venues were built with television in mind. (Full article...)

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