Liechtenstein at the Winter Olympics
The tiny nation of Liechtenstein first took part at the Winter Olympic Games in 1936, and has competed at the much-revered event from then on except for in 1952. The cliché “small but mighty” best sums up Liechtenstein’s performance at the Winter Games. Most medals were won between 1976 and 1988, and six of the ten were won by brother and sister Andreas and Hanni Wenzel.
The first medal by an athlete Liechtenstein was in 1976, when Hanni Wenzel won a bronze in the giant slalom at the Winter Games in Innsbruck.
The year 1980 proved to be a banner year for the tiny nation as it finished in 6th place thanks to its two gold and two silver medal haul. Hanni Wenzel captured two gold and one silver while Andreas Wenzel added a bronze medal to seal their nation’s best finish ever at the Games.
In 2018, alpine skier Tina Weirather won a bronze medal and became Liechtenstein's first Olympic medalist since the 1988 Winter Olympics.
Trivia
- Liechtenstein has the distinction of being the only nation to win medals at the Winter Games but not at the Summer Games.
- Xaver Frick, who happens to be the founding member of the nation’s NOC, is the only Liechtenstein competitor to have taken part in both the Winter and Summer Olympic Games.
- There have been Liechtenstein royalty competing at the Winter Olympics. Prince Max of Hohenlohe-Langenburg competed in the 1956 Winter Olympics in Alpine Skiing. He finished 45th in the downhill event. Another Prince, Constantin von Liechtenstein, competed in the 1948 Winter Olympics in Alpine Skiing, finishing 99th in the downhill event.
- Liechtenstein is the only nation to have won all of its medals in one event at the Winter Olympics - Alpine Skiing.
- Marco Büchel is the first Liechtensteiner alpine skier to compete at six Winter Olympics, from 1992 to 2010.
- Liechtenstein has won a bronze medal at the Winter Paralympics. It was won by alpine skier Josef Gmeiner at Lillehammer 1994.
Related Pages
- About Sport in Liechtenstein
- Liechtenstein at the Summer Olympics
- More Winter Olympics Countries
- Winter Olympics main page.
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