1964 Winter Olympics
The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games, were held in 1964 in Innsbruck, Austria.
On February 15, 1961, the entire US figure skating team and several family members, coaches, and officials were killed in the crash of Sabena Flight 548 in Brussels, Belgium en route to the World Championships in Prague. This tragedy sent the US skating program into a period of rebuilding. The loss of the U.S. team was considered so catastrophic for the sport that the 1961 World Championships were cancelled, and impacted later Winter Olympics.
Australian alpine skier Ross Milne and a British luge slider died during training. The organising committee said that Ross caught an edge and subsequently crashed into a tree. The IOC suggested that inexperience may have played a role in Ross's death, whereas Australian manager John Wagner suggested that overcrowding played a role, saying that he tried to slow down "on a spot which was not prepared for stopping or swinging" to avoid a crowd of contestants. His brother Malcolm Milne competed at the 1968 and 1972 Winter Olympics.
Medal winners
Medal count
(Host nation in bold.)
| 1964 Winter Olympics medal count | 
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 |  USSR |
11 | 8 | 6 | 25 |
| 2 |  Austria |
4 | 5 | 3 | 12 |
| 3 |  Norway |
3 | 6 | 6 | 15 |
| 4 |  Finland |
3 | 4 | 3 | 10 |
| 5 |  France |
3 | 4 | 0 | 7 |
| 6 | .svg?lang=en){kind=small} United Team of Germany¹ |
3 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| 7 |  Sweden |
3 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| 8 |  United States |
1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 9 |  Netherlands |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 |  Canada |
1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
(¹ Athletes from East and West Germany competed together as the "United Team of Germany, " designated as the EUA. This combined team appeared in the 1956, 1960, and 1964 Winter Olympics)
References
- "Australia and the Olympic Games" by Harry Gordon. ISBN 0702226270
