Switzerland was the host nation of the

1928 Winter Olympics The 1928 Winter Olympics, officially known as the II Olympic Winter Games (; ; ; ) and commonly known as St. Moritz 1928 (; ), were an international winter multi-sport event that was celebrated from 11 to 19 February 1928 in St. Moritz, Swit ...

. It`participated in the event held at

St. Moritz St. Moritz ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in the administrative region of Maloja in the Swiss ...

between 11 and 19 February 1928. The country's participation in the Games marked its second appearance at the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

since its debut in the inaugural 1924 Games. The Switzerland team consisted of 41 athletes who competed across seven sports. Hans Eidenbenz served as the country's flag-bearer during the opening ceremony. Switzerland won a lone bronze medal in the Games, and was ranked eighth in the overall medal table.

Background

Switzerland first competed at the inaugural 1896 Olympic Games held in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. The country first formed a

National Olympic Committee A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...

in 1902, which functioned only for the Olympic Games between 1904 and 1912. The

Swiss Olympic Association The Swiss Olympic Association is the National Olympic Committee and the umbrella organisation for organised Swiss sport under private law. It has 104 members (81 national sports federations and 23 partner organisations), to which some two millio ...

was established on 7 October 1912 and was officially recognized by the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

(IOC) in the same year. The

1924 Winter Olympics The 1924 Winter Olympics, officially known as the I Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Chamonix 1924 (), were a winter multi-sport event which was held in 1924 in Chamonix, France. Originally held in association with the 1924 Summer ...

marked Switzerland's first participation in the Olympic Games. After the nation made its debut in the

at the previous Games, this edition of the Games in

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

marked the nation's second appearance at the Winter Games. The 1928 Winter Olympics was held in

, Switzerland, between 11 and 19 February 1928. The Switzerland team consisted of 41 athletes who competed across seven sports. Hans Eidenbenz served as the country's flag-bearer during the opening ceremony.

Medalists

Switzerland won a lone bronze medal in the Games in

Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

, and was ranked eighth in the overall medal table.

Competitors

Switzerland sent a delegation of 41 athletes including one woman athlete who competed in seven sports at the Games.

Bobsleigh

Bobsleigh Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of 2 to 4 athletes make timed speed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobslei ...

competitions were held at the Olympia Bobrun in St. Moritz. Two Swiss teams participated in the event in the sport. In the event, the second team (SUI-2) was placed fifth after the first run, followed by the first team (SUI-1) in tenth place. However, after the second runs, the first and second teams moved towards the opposite ends of the classification table, and recorded eighth and 13th place finished in the final classification.

Cross-country skiing

Cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

competitions were held at the Skistadion in St. Moritz. Eight men participated in the two

events in the sport. Walter Bussmann took part in both the 18 km and 50 km events. Bussmann recorded the best finish in both the events for the nation. He recorded 15th place finishes in both the events.

Figure skating

Figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympi ...

competitions were held at the Olympia-Eisstadion Badrutts Park in St. Moritz. Elvira Barbey was the lone woman athlete in the Games for Switzerland, and participated in two events in the figure skating competitions. She was joined by her husband Louis Barbey in the pairs event. In the events, the judges ranked each participant(s) by ordinal placement from first through last place, and the final placement was determined by a majority placement rule. While Elvira ranked 19th in the individual event, the pair was ranked 11th in the mixed event.

Ice hockey

competitions were held at the Olympia-Eisstadion Badrutts Park. There were eleven teams in the competition, and ten teams were divided into three groups in the first stage. The teams played each other team in the group in a round robin tournament. The top team advanced to the final stage, where they were joined by

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. A final round robin tournament determined the medal placings. The Switzerland team topped the table in the group stage with a win and a draw. In the final stage, the team lost against Canada and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. However, a lone victory against

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

was enough to secure third place and a bronze medal. ;Squad ;Group stage The top team advanced to the medal round. ;Medal round The top teams from each of the three groups, plus

, which had received a bye into the medal round, played a round-robin to determine the medal winners.

Nordic combined

Nordic combined Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics has been held since the first 1924 Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics in ...

competitions were held at Skistadion and Olympiaschanze in St. Moritz. The competition consisted of two events–Normal hill

ski jumping Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final ...

and 18 km

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

, and the final results were determined based on points from both the events. Switzerland was represented by four athletes in the competition. In the cross-country race, all the Swiss competitors were ranked between 13th and 20th places. In ski-jumping, they fared better, with Stephan Lauener registering a fourth place finish. In the final classification, Lauener was the highest ranked Swiss athlete in eleventh place, with the others finishing behind him the top 20.

Skeleton

The skeleton competitions were held at Cresta run. The competition consisted of three runs across the course. Switzerland was represented by two athletes in the competition. Due to inclement weather, the race was delayed by two days, and only ten participants took part. In the final rankings, only eight finishers were recorded, with Alexander Berner finishing in fith place, missing out on a medal by three seconds.

Ski jumping

Ski jumping Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final ...

competitions were held at the Olympiaschanze in St. Moritz. Four Swiss participants entered in the

event in the men's category. The athletes had two jumps, with three judges scoring points and the final classification based on the average score. Sepp Mühlbauer and Ernst Feuz ranked in the top ten for Switzerland in the event.

References

External links

* *
Olympic Winter Games 1928, full results by sports-reference.com
{{Country at games navbox, Switzerland, Olympics Nations at the 1928 Winter Olympics

Olympics, Winter