The Winter Olympic Games are the major international sports that take place on ice and snow every four years. They were first held in France in 1924. Originally, there were four Winter Olympic sports: bobsleigh, ice hockey, Nordic skiing, curling, cross-country skiing, military patrol, figure skating, Nordic combined and speed skating. Between 1924 and 1936 the games were held every four years, but were interrupted by the Second World War in 1940 and 1944. The games resumed in 1948. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Over the years the Winter Games have evolved with the addition of certain sports and disciplines. These sports include sledding, freestyle skiing, snowboarding, alpine skiing and skeleton. Sports such as military patrolling were discontinued while other games were discontinued and reintroduced later, for example curling. The games take place in February, at the height of summer in the Southern Hemisphere. Cold weather-dependent games have been held in the United States four times. Other countries that have hosted the games include France, Switzerland, Canada, Norway, Germany, Russia, Japan and Italy. The 2018 Olympics were held in Pyeongchang, South Korea. According to the Olympic charter, winter sports are limited to those sports played on snow and ice (Essex, Stephen J. and J. de Groot 2016). The addition of new sports, especially since 1992, has broadened the appeal of the Winter Olympics beyond North America and Europe, although countries such as Norway continue to dominate the Winter Olympics. In the first Winter Olympics in 1924 in France, Norwegian and Finnish athletes won 28 more medals than all other athletes combined. In the recent Norway, Germany and Canada hold the first, second and third positions with 30, 23 and 20 medals respectively. The host country, South Korea, won 8 medals to take ninth place overall. In 1928, the speed skating event was canceled due to hot weather. In the same year, Norwegian Sonja Henie made history by winning figure skating at the age of 15. The 1960 United States Winter Olympics were the first to host women's speed skating events and the first to tabulate the results using a computer courtesy of IBM. The 1964 Winter Olympics in the Austrian city of Innsbruck presented some challenges. Although the sports resort was traditionally a winter sports resort, the warm climate caused a lack of snow which had to be transported by the Austrian army. Luge was the first to compete in these Olympic Games, although it resulted in the death of a competitor during the pre-Olympic training run. However, Soviet Lidia Skoblikova made history by winning all four-speed skating events. Remember: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The newest 2018 Winter Olympics, also popularly known as Pyeongchang 2018 will take place from February 9 to 25 (Sports 2018). It is the first time that South Korea has hosted the Winter Games and the second time that it has hosted the Olympic Games after the 1988 Summer Olympics, which were held in 1988. It is the sixth time that the Games have been held in East Asia before of Tokyo in 2020 and Beijing 2022. The game features 102 events with 2914 athletes including debuts from countries such as Nigeria. There were security concerns due to tension between South Korea and North Korea. The two countries have agreed to.