Olympiad 1976 (winter) - the legend of sports history

The 1976 Winter Olympics (winter) is an event that had a very important sporting and political significance during the confrontation between the countries of the West and the Soviet Union. The capitalist and socialist systems tried to prove which development option was more correct. However strange it might seem, the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck in 1976 was no exception. It was there that the serious struggle for the first places unfolded.

USSR - the best of the best

Initially, the 1976 Winter Olympics (winter) was supposed to be like in America, in Denver. But the residents of this city voted against the holding of the games in the referendum held. Because the Olympic Committee was in a difficult situation. And then Innsbruck agreed to host such an important event as the Olympics-1976. The winter relay race, it is worth noting, was already held in this city in 1964. This event was attended by 1123 people who came from 37 countries. And the competition took place in ten sports disciplines. The list included mountain skiing, biathlon, bobsled, tobogganing, speed skating, ski jumping, cross country skiing, figure skating, cross-country skiing and, of course, hockey. Undisputed victory in this Olympics won the athletes of the Soviet Union. It should be recalled that they managed to win 13 gold medals, 6 silver medals and 8 bronze medals. The second place was GDR with a number of awards, much behind the USSR. This is 7 gold medals, 5 silver and 7 bronze medals. And the US representatives won the third place.

Figure skating

Olympiad-1976 (winter) distinguished itself by performances in figure skating. Soviet athletes showed themselves well in this competition. In pair skating, gold went to Alexander Zaitsev and Irina Rodnina. The victory in ice dancing was won by Alexander Gorshkov and Lyudmila Pakhomova. Vladimir Korolev took silver in a single men's skating. He conceded only to John Curry of Britain, who showed himself very well. And gold in a similar category, only female, went to the American Dorothy Hamill.

Skiers

It should be noted that the Soviet masters of skiing showed themselves as well as in figure skating. In the race, held for 30 kilometers, the victory went to Sergei Saveliev. In a similar competition, but at 15 km, the first place was shared by Eugene Belyaev and Nikolai Bazhukov. Bronze won the team race, losing to Finland's victory. Raisa Smetanina in the ski race for 10 kilometers among women won gold. The first place went to Soviet girls and in the relay. It should be noted that Soviet athletes also won gold in biathlon.

Hockey

At all times it was a very entertaining sport. For the tournament, which took place within the notorious Olympics, six teams of Division A and four strongest teams from Division B were allowed. Also, one team from Division C was added. According to the results of the 1975 World Championship, a preliminary tournament was immediately held. After him, the losers played matches on a system called "everyone with each" - for 7-12 places. The winners then played 1-6 places among themselves. For a long time I remember the Olympics-1976. Hockey (the final in this category was terrific) allowed the Soviet team to once again excel. It is worth noting that the team of Canada did not want to play in Innsbruck. That's why the combined teams of Czechoslovakia and the USSR competed for the first place and the title of the strongest hockey team in the world. In the first half, the Russians lost - rivals have already scored two goals. But in the second our sportsmen could recoup and in the fourth time prove that they are champions. The 1976 Olympics for a long time entered the world history, because then Soviet athletes managed to win the largest number of awards, which was only possible.