Athletes of the First Winter Olympics in 1924
Adam Rifkin stashed this in Olympics!
The silver-medal-winning British bobsled team
Speedskaters at the starting line
The Swedish and British curling teams
Three members of the Swedish curling team taking a break to have a drink
Clearing snow at the Olympic stadium
Jacob Tullin Thams of Norway, gold medalist in ski jumping
Norway's Sonja Henie finished eighth (out of eight) in figure skating in Chamonix
Henie would go on to win gold in 1928, 1932, and 1936.
Andrée Joly and Pierre Brunet won bronze in pairs figure skating in Chamonix before taking gold in 1928 and 1932
The French couple got married in 1929.
Julius Skutnabb and Clas Thunberg of Finland won a combined eight speedskating medals in Chamonix
Stashed in: History!, Olympics, Winter Sports
It all looks pretty rough compared to the winter Olympics of today.
Sure seems like it. But the athletes of today dedicate their entire lives to training.
Unclear the 1924 athletes did that.
I was thinking about that last night, it's like you basically put your life on hold to train and compete, then start your real life after? maybe at 30 or 35 years old, go to college, start a career. I guess you do have the chance to hit it big, be the darling for a couple years, maybe turn into a coach. I don't know if I would have done it, even if I had the skills!
Yes, that is the life they are committing to. And yes, it consumes their youth.
And yes, most of them will end up injured or not good enough to make the Olympics or not good enough to win a medal. The odds of winning are ridiculously low.
1:41 AM Feb 16 2014