The XXth Olympic Winter Games will be held February 10 – 26, 2006 in Torino, Italy. The Postal Service honors the spirit of athleticism and international unity inspired by the Olympic Games as it issues the “2006 Olympic Winter Games” stamp. This .39-cent stamp in a pane of twenty will be released today, January 11, 2006, in Colorado Springs, CO. The design is a computer-generated image of a downhill female skier cutting into a turn at full speed. Maybe one day instead of a generic image, we will see an image of Eddie the Eagle!
How is your knowledge of Olympic medals? Here are the top three medal winning countries for the Winter Olympics, by category, from Chamonix 1924 to Salt Lake City 2002:
Alpine Skiing: Austria, Switzerland, and France…..
Biathlon: Germany, Norway, and Soviet Union…..
Bobsled: Switzerland, United States, and East Germany…..
Curling: Canada, Switzerland, and Denmark…..
Ice Hockey: Canada, United States, and Soviet Union…..
Luge: East Germany, Germany, and Italy…..
Figure Skating: United States, Soviet Union, and Austria…..
Freestyle Skating: United States, Norway, and France…..
Nordic Combined: Norway, Finland, and East Germany…..
Speed Skating: Norway, Soviet Union, and The Netherlands…..
Nordic Skating: Norway, Soviet Union, and Finland…..
Ski Jump: Norway, Finland, and Austria…..
Short Track: South Korea, Canada, and China…..
Snowboard: Germany, Switzerland, and Norway…..
2,500 athletes are expected to compete and 1.5 million spectators are expected to watch. In comparison, the 1924 Olympics had only 250 athletes from 16 countries. Click here to visit their website, where you can find everything from ticket information to ceremonies to competition facilities
