For all the Winter Olympics lovers, the 23rd Winter Olympics has showed new records and surprises at Pyeongchang, South Korea this year. Once in every 4 years, this huge international event celebrates the unity of nations across the globe through the sports practiced in snow and ice.

Here are few highlights of the Winter Olympics Games till 2k18 that you must know if you are a die-hard sports lover!

First Winter Olympics: The first Winter Olympics Games held in Chamonix, France in 1924 was originally named as ‘Semaine Internationale des Sports d’Hiver’ or the ‘International Winter Sports Week’. With 16 nations participating, it incorporated 16 events in 5 sports and 9 disciplines. Norway, Finland and Austria were the winning champions respectively. The first Gold medal was achieved by Charles Jewtraw, who represented the United States in the 500-meter speed skate sports.
Highest Scorers in the Medal Board till 2k18: The best scoring nation in the Winter Olympics till 2018 is Norway with 118 Gold, 111 Silver and 100 Bronze medals in 22 games. After Norway, the United States is at the 2nd position with 96 Gold, 102 Silver and 84 Bronze medals in 22 games. Germany is at the 3rd position with 78 Gold, 78 Silver and 53 Bronze medals in 11 games.

Winter Olympic Medalists: The great athlete who won the maximum number of medals in the Winter Olympics till now is Marit Bjørgen from Norway. She won a total number of 14 medals including 7 Gold, 4 Silver and 3 Bronze medals in Cross-country sports event. At the second position of highest numbers of medals, Ole Einar Bjørndalen from Norway has achieved 13 medals, including 8 Gold, 4 Silver and 1 Bronze medal in Biathlon sports event. Bjørn Dæhlie from Norway is at the 3rd position to achieve 12 medals, including 8 Gold and 4 Silver medals in Cross-country sports event. The other athletes known for their remarkable performances are Ireen Wüst from Netherlands, Raisa Smetanina from Soviet Union and Stefania Belmondo from Italy.

Winter Olympics Records: At the Winter Olympic 1964, Soviet speed-skater Lidiya Skoblikova created a record by winning all four speed-skating sports events. For her outstanding performance as a winner of 6 Gold medals, she set a goal for all the athletes from all over the world. The remarkable speed skater Eric Heiden from the United States is yet another great athlete, who set an example by winning five Gold medals in a single Olympics for the first time. In the 1998 figure-skating sports, Tara Lipinski set a record as the youngest Gold medalist ever representing the United States.

Winter Olympic 2k18 at a Glimpse (09 Feb- 25 Feb, 2018): With approximately 2,922 athletes participating from 92 nations across the globe, the Pyeongchang 2018 has included 102 events in fifteen sports. Adding all new big air snowboarding, mixed doubles curling, mass start speed skating and mixed team alpine skiing to the Olympic programme, it has shown new way to this international multi-sports event. The debut countries to participate in the Winter Olympics this year are Ecuador, Kosovo, Eritrea, Nigeria Malaysia and Singapore. The score board has found new leaders in Norway with 35 medals (13 Gold, 12 Silver, 10 Bronze), Germany with 25 medals (13 Gold, 7 Silver, 5 Bronze) and Canada with 27 medals (10 Gold, 8 Silver, 9 Bronze). Among the record holders, Noriaki Kasai of Japan, Albert Demchenko of Russia, Shaun White of USA, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada are the names to mention.