Sixteen nations competed at the first Winter Olympics in Chamonix in 1924.
The inaugural Winter Games brought together 258 athletes from 16 countries for competitions in skating, skiing, ice hockey, bobsleigh, and curling. The host nation, France, was among the participating teams.
The event was first organized as the International Winter Sports Week, but the International Olympic Committee later recognized it as the first Winter Olympics. That retrospective designation is why modern records list Chamonix 1924 alongside later Winter Games.
The number of participating nations was much smaller than at modern Olympics. For comparison, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics included athletes from 91 National Olympic Committees, reflecting the enormous expansion of the Games.