Which sport awarded the first Winter Olympic gold medal at the 1924 Chamonix Games?
Answer
Speed skating
Speed skating awarded the first Winter Olympic gold medal at the 1924 Chamonix Games.
The first gold went to American speed skater Charles Jewtraw in the men's 500 metres. He won in 44.0 seconds on 26 January 1924, the opening day of competition at the International Winter Sports Week in Chamonix, France.
The event was later recognized as the first Winter Olympics. Jewtraw started in the inside lane and defeated competitors including Finn Clas Thunberg, who went on to win three speed-skating gold medals at the same Games.
The first Winter Olympics included 16 events in nine sports. Ice hockey, figure skating and ski jumping also formed part of the programme, but none supplied the first gold medal. The distinction belongs specifically to the men's 500 m speed-skating race, not to the opening ceremony or the first event held in another sport.