2006 Winter Olympics

The 2006 Winter Olympics, also called Torino 2006, were a big winter sports event held in Turin, Italy, from February 10 to February 26. It was the second time Italy hosted the Winter Olympics, with the first happening in Cortina d'Ampezzo many years before.

These games brought together athletes from all over the world to compete in exciting winter sports like skiing, ice skating, and snowboarding. Many amazing records were set, and it was a celebration of sport and friendship.

Italy would host the Winter Olympics again much later in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Before that, Italy had also hosted the Summer Olympics in Rome back in 1960.

Host city selection

Main article: Bids for the 2006 Winter Olympics

Turin was chosen to host the 2006 Winter Olympics during a meeting in Seoul, South Korea, on June 19, 1999. This was a surprise because many people thought the city of Sion would win. The selection happened after some changes in how cities could bid to host the Olympics, following some problems with earlier votes.

Only two cities moved to the final round: Sion and Turin. The other cities that tried were Helsinki in Finland; Poprad-Tatry in Slovakia; Zakopane in Poland; and Klagenfurt in Austria. In the end, Turin was chosen instead of Sion, which many did not expect because Sion is in Switzerland, where the Olympic organization has its office.

Cost and cost overrun

The 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, cost about US$4.4 billion. This includes money spent on running the games and building places for athletes to compete. The cost ended up being 80% more than first planned. This amount is more than what was spent on the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver but less than the very expensive 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. On average, Winter Olympics games since 1960 have cost around US$3.1 billion, with costs often going higher than expected.

Sports

Main article: Events at the 2006 Winter Olympics

The 2006 Winter Olympics had many exciting sports! There were 84 events where athletes could win medals, spread across 15 different types of winter sports. Some new events were added to existing sports, like a mass start race in biathlon and a team sprint in cross-country skiing.

The games included sports such as Alpine skiing, Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Cross-country skiing, Curling, Figure skating, Freestyle skiing, Ice hockey, Luge, Nordic combined, Short track speed skating, Skeleton, Ski jumping, Snowboarding, and Speed skating. Each sport had its own set of challenges for the athletes to overcome.

Calendar

All dates are in Central European Time (UTC+1)

Medal table

The top ten countries by the number of gold medals are shown here. The host country was Italy.

Podium sweeps

Highlights

Main article: Chronological summary of the 2006 Winter Olympics

Day 1 (Opening Ceremony)

Stefania Belmondo, a 10-time Olympic medalist in cross-country skiing, lit the Olympic Cauldron during the opening ceremony on 10 February. The ceremony celebrated the best of Italy and sport, including a segment honoring the Alps. The opening and closing ceremonies were created and produced by the FilmMaster Group K-events.

Day 2

The first gold medal of the 2006 Games was awarded in the 20 kilometre biathlon, won by German Michael Greis on the first day of competition. Ice hockey began with the women's competition; Sweden defeated Russia 3–1 in the first match while Canada's team opened with a big win against the host Italians.

Day 3

On 12 February, Latvia won its first winter Olympic medal when Mārtiņš Rubenis took the bronze in the men's luge. Armin Zöggeler's win in that event gave Italy its first gold medal of the Games and gave Zöggeler medals at four consecutive Olympics. In Alpine skiing, the men's downhill was won by Antoine Deneriaz of France.

Day 4

Chinese figure skating pair Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao attempted a throw quadruple salchow jump—an element which had never been successfully completed in competition. Zhang Dan fell, injuring her knee, but the pair finished their program to a standing ovation and took the silver medal. Russia finished the third day of competition with two gold medals, as did the United States.

Day 5

The fourth day saw Evgeni Plushenko of Russia set a world record score in the men's figure skating short program; his 90.66 points exceeded the nearest opponent's score by more than 10 points. The men's combined alpine skiing was riddled with disqualifications, including front-runners Bode Miller and Benjamin Raich. American Ted Ligety won the event in what was considered an upset.

Day 6

Canada had another strong day on 15 February, setting new Olympic records in both men's and women's pursuit team speed skating events as well as opening the men's ice hockey competition with a win against Italy. Italy finished the day with the men's pursuit team Olympic record, however, after the Netherlands bettered Canada's time only to have Italy improve upon theirs. China won its first gold of 2006 with Wang Meng's victory in the women's individual 500-metre short track speed skating. A pair of Austrian brothers Andreas Linger and Wolfgang Linger won the men's doubles luge while Michaela Dorfmeister gave the nation another championship in the women's downhill.

Day 7

Kristina Šmigun won her second gold medal of the Games with a victory in the women's 10 kilometre classical cross-country skiing on 16 February, remaining the only Estonian to medal. In men's curling action, Great Britain edged Germany 7–6, Switzerland kept New Zealand winless by winning 9–7, Canada beat Norway 7–6, and the United States defeated Sweden, 10–6. Evgeni Plushenko of Russia won the gold in the men's singles artistic skating.

Day 8

On 17 February, Tanja Frieden of Switzerland took the gold in women's snowboard cross after Lindsey Jacobellis of the United States fell on the second-to-last jump while performing an unnecessary method grab. Jacobellis settled for silver, while Canada's Dominique Maltais took bronze after recovering from a crash. Duff Gibson of Canada took gold in the skeleton just ahead of fellow Canadian Jeff Pain, becoming the oldest individual gold medalist in Winter Olympics history. In the women's ice hockey semifinals, the United States lost a shootout to Sweden, marking the first time in international competition that the United States had lost to anyone other than Canada. Canada's win maintained its record of never having lost to anyone other than the United States.

Day 9

Kjetil André Aamodt won gold for Norway in the men's super-G on 18 February, beating Hermann Maier of Austria. Germans Kati Wilhelm and Martina Glagow finished first and second in the 10 kilometre biathlon pursuit. The host Italians defeated Canada in men's curling, while Switzerland did the same in men's ice hockey to put the Canadians on the wrong end of two major upsets on the same day. The United States men's ice hockey team suffered its first loss of the tournament as Slovakia and Russia continue their dominance of the pool.

Day 10

Lascelles Brown became the first Jamaican-born competitor to win a medal at the Winter Olympics on 19 February, competing on the Canadian 2-man bobsleigh team which finished second in an extremely tight competition. The German pair was only .21 seconds ahead of the Canadians, themselves only .14 ahead of the Swiss team. Finland continued to be unbeaten in men's ice hockey, handing Canada its second loss.

The day also saw the most hyped event of these games, at least in Europe, as the Men's 10 km Cross Country Relay was scheduled. The battle stemmed from the Lillehammer games 12 years ago in which Italy out-dueled Norway in that very same event. To that extent, many Norwegians wanted to win this event in order to embarrass the Italians on their home turf, but it was not to be as Italy crushed the field winning over Germany by over 15 seconds to take their 5th straight gold in this event. Norway failed to medal for the first time since 1988.

Day 11

The final day of curling pool play was 20 February; Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and Canada advanced to the women's semifinals while Finland, Canada, the United States, and Great Britain qualified in the men's competition. Austria took their first team gold medal in ski jumping, while Canada took their second in women's ice hockey.

Day 12

Slovakia and Finland both won their final men's ice hockey games on 21 February to win their respective pools with 5–0–0 records. Enrico Fabris gave the host nation another gold medal in speed skating by winning the men's 1500 metres.

Day 13

On 22 February, the twelfth day of competition, Anja Pärson won her first gold medal in the women's slalom; it was her fifth overall Olympic medal and third of the 2006 Games. Chandra Crawford took a quicker route to the top of the podium, winning the 1.1 kilometre cross-country sprint gold in her Olympic debut. In the men's ice hockey quarterfinals, the previously undefeated Slovaks lost to the Czech Republic while Russia, Finland, and Sweden eliminated Canada, the United States, and Switzerland, respectively. Philipp Schoch successfully defended his snowboarding giant slalom gold against his brother Simon.

Day 14

Sweden took the women's championship in the curling finals held on 23 February. Shizuka Arakawa gave Japan its first gold medal of the Games and first figure skating gold medal, winning the ladies' figure skating competition in part by being able to finish without falling, as Sasha Cohen and Irina Slutskaya both tumbled. Russia wrested the gold medal in women's team biathlon from Germany.

Day 15

24 February was the day of the men's curling finals, in which Canada won its first gold medal and the United States won its first medal in the sport as Canada defeated Finland and the United States beat Great Britain for the second time. The figure skating gala was also held, with top placers in all of the events performing exhibitions. Sweden and Finland won their men's ice hockey semifinal games, defeating the Czech Republic and Russia.

Day 16

The Austrians swept the men's alpine slalom medals on 25 February, led by Benjamin Raich. Germany took gold medals in the men's 15 kilometer biathlon and the men's individual bobsleigh. Apolo Anton Ohno won his second short track speed skating gold medal. South Korea's Jin Sun-Yu wins her third gold of the Games in the women's 1000 m. Compatriot Ahn Hyun-Soo wins his third gold medal of the Games, medaling in every men's short track event and bringing his total number of medals in Turin to four.

Day 17 (Closing ceremony)

The final day of competition and the closing ceremony, were held during the Sunday Carnival on 26 February. The Swedish men's ice hockey team handed Finland their first loss in the final to take the gold medal. In the closing ceremony, Manuela Di Centa, a seven-time Olympic medalist from Italy and then-member of the International Olympic Committee, was scheduled to present the medals for the men's 50-kilometre cross-country skiing event. This resulted in her presenting the gold medal to her own brother when Giorgio Di Centa won the event to take his second gold medal.

Venues

Main article: Venues of the 2006 Winter Olympics

Olympic events for the 2006 Winter Games were mostly held in Turin, Italy. Some events, like skiing and snowboarding, took place in nearby mountain villages.

Olympic areas

Many places in central Turin were used, such as:

• Oval Lingotto – Speed skating
• Torino Esposizioni – Ice hockey
• Palasport Olimpico – Ice hockey (final)
• Stadio Olimpico – Opening and closing ceremonies
• Palavela – Figure skating, short-track speed skating
• Piazza Castello - awarding ceremonies
• Olympic Village

Other locations included:

• Bardonecchia – Snowboarding
• Cesana Pariol – Bobsleigh, Luge, Skeleton
• Cesana San Sicario – Biathlon
• Pinerolo – Curling
• Pragelato – Nordic combined (ski jumping), Ski jumping
• Pragelato Plan – Cross-country skiing, Nordic combined (cross-country skiing)
• San Sicario Fraiteve – Alpine skiing (women's combined (downhill), downhill, and super-g)
• Sauze d'Oulx – Freestyle skiing
• Sestriere Borgata – Alpine skiing (men's combined (downhill), downhill, super-g)
• Sestriere Colle – Alpine skiing (combined (slalom), giant slalom, slalom)

Olympic villages

• Bardonecchia
• Sestriere
• Turin

Official Olympic training sites

• Chiomonte
• Claviere
• Prali
• Alpe Lusentino - Domodossola (VB) (Alpine Skiing)
• Riale - Formazza (VB) (Nordic Skiing)

Olympic mountain training site

• Torre Pellice

Participating National Olympic Committees

A record 80 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) entered athletes at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games. This was an increase of two from the 78 represented at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. It was the first appearance for Albania, Ethiopia and Madagascar. It was the only appearance at the Winter Olympics for Serbia and Montenegro. Algeria returned to the Winter games after a 14-year absence, Senegal returned after a 12-year absence, and Luxembourg, North Korea and Portugal returned after 8 years. Six countries, Cameroon, Fiji, Jamaica, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago which were at the 2002 Games, did not participate in 2006.

2,494 athletes from 80 NOCs participated in the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Organization

Many people helped make the 2006 Winter Olympics possible. Out of 40,000 people who wanted to help, 20,000 were chosen to support the athletes, fans, and news reporters.

For the Olympics, many new places were built, including special buildings for different sports and places for athletes to stay. These included a big stadium in Turin, halls for ice skating and hockey, and new ski lifts in the mountains. There were also new roads and a metro system to help everyone get around easily.

Marketing

Emblem and motto

The logo for the 2006 Winter Olympics showed a simple picture of the Mole Antonelliana building made from white and blue ice crystals. These crystals stood for snow and the sky, and also showed how new technology connects people together. The motto for the games was "Passion lives here".

Mascots

The 2006 Olympic games had two mascots. Neve, which means "snow" in Italian, was a female snowball. Gliz was a male ice cube.

Sponsors

Broadcasting

About 40% of the television coverage of the Olympics was shown in high definition.

The 2006 Winter Olympic Games were broadcast worldwide by many different television companies.

Controversies

The 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, had some issues. One problem was that the city had trouble covering all the costs, and the organizing group almost had to stop working because they didn’t get enough money from the Italian Government.

There were also some concerns about doping, which means using special substances to improve performance. During the Games, Italian police checked the rooms of Austrian athletes because they suspected some of them were using banned substances. A coach who was not allowed to compete in future Olympics was involved. Some athletes tried to leave the country, and later, several Austrian athletes were not allowed to compete in future Olympics for being involved in this issue. Other athletes from different countries also faced problems for using banned substances.

Some events did not have many spectators, even though tickets were sold. Organizers said that some seats were kept for sponsors who didn’t always come to the events. In some places, people were less interested in watching the Olympics on TV because the events were shown many hours later than they actually happened.

Olympic legacy

The 2006 Winter Olympics helped change how people saw Turin, Italy. Before the Games, the city was mostly known for its industry. After the Olympics, people began to see Turin's culture and beautiful buildings. This led to Turin becoming a popular place for tourists and a key spot for sports in Europe.

Since the Olympics, a group called TOP, which stands for Torino Olympic Park, has taken care of the places where the Olympic events were held.

Security measures

Because of past events like the tragedy in Munich during the 1972 Summer Olympics and worries after the events of September 11, 2001, there were many security workers at the 2006 Winter Olympics to keep everyone safe. The organizers also added more security because of some controversial newspaper drawings, but they promised the Games would be safe, and they were. The Olympics ended with no big security problems.