DESCRIPTION

The Innsbruck Olympic emblem (same used in 1964) lies at the center, surrounded by ice crystals and the legend XII OLYMISCHE WINTERSPIELE. The reverse shows the Bergisel ski jump with a city/landscape view of Innsbruck and Austrian Alps. The medals were presented in a blue presentation case.

THE GAMES

The 1976 Winter Olympics were awarded to the U.S. city of Denver, but the people of the state of Colorado voted to prohibit public funds from being used to support the Games. Innsbruck stepped in and hosted the Games only 12 years after its last Olympics. Rosi Mittermaier won two of the three Alpine skiing events and almost became the first woman to sweep all three events. But in the final race, Kathy Kreiner beat her by 12 hundredths of a second. The ice hockey team from the USSR won its fourth straight gold medal. A new figure skating event, ice dancing, was added to the program and like the pairs, it was dominated by Russian couples. The most memorable image of the Games was Franz Klammer flying wildly down the downhill course, barely keeping control, on his way to a gold medal.