From the Athens Games, figure skating events were on the programme, but it was not until the London Games that figure skating became an Olympic event. At the Stockholm Games, the Swedes, who have been organising Nordic Games since the beginning of the century, refused to accept skating events. At the Congress of the C I O which took place in Lausanne from 25 May to 12 June 1921, Count Clary, the Marquis de Polignac and the Canadian Marrik joined forces to call for the organisation of a full-fledged Winter Games. After long discussions, it was decided to organise an "International Winter Sports Week" in 1924 in Chamonix. These games were only retroactively sanctioned by the IOC at the Prague Congress in 1925 when St. Moritz was chosen to host the second Winter Games. |
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