Ice hockey is a sport that is contested at the Winter Olympic Games. A men’s ice hockey tournament has been held every Winter Olympics (starting in 1924); an ice hockey tournament was also held at the 1920 Summer Olympics.[1] From 1920 to 1968, the Olympics also acted as the Ice Hockey World Championships, and the two events occurred concurrently.[2] From 1920 until 1984, only amateur athletes were allowed to compete in the tournament, and players from the National Hockey League (NHL) were not allowed to compete. The countries that benefited most were the Soviet Bloc countries of Eastern Europe, where top athletes were state-sponsored while retaining their status as amateurs.[3][4] In 1970, after a disagreement over the definition of amateur players, Canada withdrew from the tournament and did not send a team to the 1972 or 1976 Winter Olympics.[5][6] In 1986, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to allow professional athletes to compete in the Olympics, and starting in 1998, the NHL began accommodating a break in its schedule so that the players can participate at the Winter Olympics.[6][7] Women’s ice hockey was added to the program in 1992 and the first tournament was held at the 1998 Winter Olympics.[8][9] Both events have been held at every Olympic Games since.[1]
In men’s hockey, eight athletes have won four medals: Russians Vladislav Tretiak (three gold, one silver) and Igor Kravchuk (two gold, one silver, one bronze), Czech Jiří Holík (two silver, two bronze) and five players from Finland, each with one silver and three bronze: Teemu Selänne, Kimmo Timonen, Saku Koivu, Jere Lehtinen and Ville Peltonen. Six have won three gold medals (all from Russia): Tretiak, Anatoli Firsov, Viktor Kuzkin, Andrei Khomutov, Alexander Ragulin and Vitali Davydov.[10]
In women’s hockey, Canadians Jayna Hefford, Hayley Wickenheiser (both four gold and one silver) and Marie-Philip Poulin (three gold and two silver), and American Hilary Knight (two gold and three silver) hold the record for total medals, with five each. Canadian teammate Caroline Ouellette also won four gold medals. Twelve other athletes have won four medals: seven Canadians and five Americans.
From 1920 to 1952, teams from Canada dominated the men’s tournament, winning six gold and one silver medal. Canada’s dominance was broken only by Great Britain in 1936. The Soviet Union began competing at the Olympics in 1956 and won nine straight Olympic medals, including seven gold. The USSR’s dominance was only broken by the United States in 1960 and 1980. The Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, and in 1992, the Unified Team composed of former Soviet players won gold. Since then, the competition has been more even, with Canada winning three times, Sweden twice and the Czech Republic, Russia, Finland and the United States once each. Teams from Canada have won the most medals, with sixteen, including nine gold. As of the 2018 Winter Olympics, 90 medals (30 of each color) have been awarded to teams from 14 National Olympic Committees.
Men
Individuals who have been inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame (including announced members awaiting induction) are indicated as follows:
- Bold type: Inducted as players.
- Italics: Inducted in a non-playing role.
- Medals:
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Canada | 9 | 5 | 3 | 17 |
| 2 |  Soviet Union | 7 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| 3 |  United States | 3 | 8 | 1 | 12 |
| 4 |  Sweden | 2 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
| 5 |  Finland | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 |
| 6 |  Czech Republic | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
 Great Britain | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 8 |  Olympic Athletes from Russia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unified Team | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 10 | Czechoslovakia | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| 11 |  Germany | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
 Russia | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 13 |  ROC | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 |  Switzerland | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 15 |  Slovakia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| West Germany | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (16 entries) | 26 | 26 | 26 | 78 | |
Women
Individuals who have been inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame (including announced members awaiting induction) are indicated as follows:
- Bold type: Inducted as players.
- Italics: Inducted in a non-playing role.
- Medals:
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada | 5 | 3 | 0 | 8 |
| 2 | United States | 3 | 4 | 1 | 8 |
| 3 | Sweden | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | Finland | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Switzerland | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Totals (5 entries) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 24 | |
Athlete medal leaders
See also
- Triple Gold Club
- List of IIHF World Championship medalists
- List of Stanley Cup champions
- List of ice hockey players who won the Olympic Gold and the IIHF Championship
- List of men’s Olympic records in ice hockey
- List of women’s Olympic records in ice hockey
Notes
^ Note 2. The members of the 1920 Czechoslovakia team vary depending on the source. Karel Hartmann, Vilém Loos, Jan Palouš, Jan Peka, Karel Pešek, Josef Šroubek and Otakar Vindyš are all consistently included on team lists. However, there is a discrepancy over Karel Wälzer, Josef Loos, Karel Kotrba and Adolf Dušek. The following are the lineups based on the listings of the Czech Olympic Committee (COC), International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Society of Olympic Historians (ISOH). This table does not list the seven that are included in every source.
| Player | COC[27] | IOC | ISOH[28] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Karel Wälzer | 
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| Josef Loos |
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| Karel Kotrba |
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| Adolf Dušek |
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References
- General
- “Results database”. International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 9 May 2008. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
- “Ice Hockey: Ice Hockey Men”. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
- “Ice Hockey: Ice Hockey Women”. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 8 November 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
- “Olympic Review and Revue Olympique”. LA84 Foundation. Archived from the original on 1 May 2009. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
- Podnieks, Andrew (1997). Canada’s Olympic Hockey Teams: The Complete History, 1920–1998. Toronto: Doubleday Canada. ISBN 0-385-25688-4.
- Specific
- ^ a b “Ice hockey”. International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 23 March 2009. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
- ^ “International hockey timeline”. International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
- ^ IIHF (2008). “PROTESTING AMATEUR RULES, CANADA LEAVES INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY”. IIHF.com. Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
- ^ Soares, John (21 February 2018). “Amateur vs. Professional in Cold War Hockey: Consideration of Relative Skill Levels and Their Implications for Professional Hockey Today” (PDF). Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law. 8 (1). University of Notre Dame. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 March 2024.
- ^ “Summit Series ’72 Summary”. Hockey Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 7 August 2008. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
- ^ a b “Men’s Hockey History”. CBC Sports. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
- ^ Lapointe, Joe (16 September 1997). “The N.H.L.’s Olympic Gamble; Stars’ Participation in Nagano Could Raise Sport’s Profile”. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
- ^ “An Agreement By Nagano Games”. The New York Times. 29 November 1992. Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
- ^ “Women’s Hockey History”. CBC Sports. Archived from the original on 3 September 2009. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
- ^ “Factsheet: Records and medals at the Olympic Winter Games” (PDF) (Press release). International Olympic Committee. 1 August 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2009. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
- ^ a b c “United States Ice Hockey at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games”. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ^ a b c d e “Canada Ice Hockey at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games”. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ^ “Finland Ice Hockey at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games”. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i “Canada Ice Hockey at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games”. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 30 September 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ^ a b c d “United States Ice Hockey at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games”. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ^ “Sweden Ice Hockey at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games”. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 23 September 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l “Canada Ice Hockey at the 2006 Torino Winter Games”. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 7 March 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ^ “Sweden Ice Hockey at the 2006 Torino Winter Games”. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 30 September 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ^ a b c d “United States Ice Hockey at the 2006 Torino Winter Games”. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 5 January 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n “Canada Ice Hockey at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games”. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 24 April 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ^ a b c d e “United States Ice Hockey at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games”. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 24 April 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ^ “Finland Ice Hockey at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games”. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 24 April 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i “Canada Ice Hockey at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games”. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ^ a b c “United States Ice Hockey at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games”. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ^ “Switzerland Ice Hockey at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games”. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ^ a b c d e “Ice Hockey – Women – Medallists” (PDF). Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games. 22 February 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ^ “Antverpy 1920” (in Czech). Czech Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 20 September 2004. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
- ^ Hansen, Kenth (May 1996). “The Birth of Swedish Ice Hockey – Antwerp 1920” (PDF). Citius, Altius, Fortius. 4 (2). International Society of Olympic Historians: 5–27. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
External links
- Ice Hockey: Men’s Ice Hockey at sports-reference.com
- Ice Hockey: Women’s Ice Hockey at sports-reference.com
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