1988 Winter Olympics facts for kids
, Alberta, Canada | Nations participating = 57 | Athletes participating = 1423 (1122 men, 301 women) | Events = 46 in 6 sports | Opening ceremony = February 13, 1988 | Closing ceremony = February 28, 1988 | Officially opened by = The Rt. Hon. Jeanne Sauvé, Governor General of Canada | Athlete's Oath = Pierre Harvey | Judge's Oath = Suzanna Morrow-Francis | Olympic Torch = Robyn Perry | Stadium = McMahon Stadium | }}--> The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games, were held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and opened by Governor General Jeanne Sauvé. The Olympics were highly successful financially as they brought in million-dollar profits. The games left a lasting impression on the host city and gave it a new identity from a cowtown to a large commercial sector of the country.
1988 was also the last year that the Paralympic Games and the Winter Olympics were held in separate cities; all subsequent games have been hosted by the same city or a city nearby.
As at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, the Canadian team failed to win a gold medal, matching only Yugoslavia in the dubious distinction of not having won a winter gold medal on home soil.
History
Background
Calgary first tried for the Olympics in 1964, and again in 1968.
 Olympic Games |
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| Summer Games: 1896, 1900, 1904, 1906, 1908, 1912, (1916), 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, (1940), (1944), 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024, 2028 |
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| Winter Games: 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, (1940), (1944), 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 | ||
| Athens 2004 — Turin 2006 — Beijing 2008 — Vancouver 2010 — London 2012 — Sochi 2014 — Rio 2016 — Pyeongchang 2018 — Tokyo 2020 Games in italics will be held in the future, and those in (brackets) were cancelled because of war. See also: Ancient Olympic Games |
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| Youth Olympic Games |
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| Summer Games: 2010, 2014, 2018 | ||
| Winter Games: 2012, 2016, 2020 |
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| Singapore 2010 — Innsbruck 2012 — Nanjing 2014 |
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Images for kids
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Participating NOCs
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The official poster of the 1988 Winter Olympics
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Hidy and Howdy were the mascots of the Calgary Games.
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1988 Winter Olympic Torch
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Katarina Witt won gold in women's figure skating
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The Netherlands' Yvonne van Gennip (left) won three gold medals in Calgary
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A set of medals from the Games on display at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary.
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Canada Olympic Park in 2006
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Canada increased its medal totals in each successive Winter Games from Calgary until Vancouver in 2010.
 | DeHart Hubbard |
 | Wilma Rudolph |
 | Jesse Owens |
 | Jackie Joyner-Kersee |
 | Major Taylor |
