Olympic transport through the snow: the 1924 Winter Games

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The Olympic Winter Games have now been underway for almost a week. You may already have seen the speed skaters in action, the snowboarders, or one of the many other athletes chasing gold and, who knows, eternal glory.

The origins of this winter sports spectacle date back exactly a century. In 1924, the first Semaine des Sports d’Hiver des VIIIes Jeux Olympiques took place in the French town of Chamonix. For ten days, athletes from sixteen countries competed for prizes in the snow-covered Alps. Two years later—exactly one hundred years ago—this edition officially received the name by which we know it today: the Olympic Winter Games.

While it is, of course, the athletes and their performances that take center stage, a number of historical images featuring automobiles have also surfaced online. These are often photographs from the 1936 Winter Games in Germany, which were heavily exploited for propaganda purposes by the Third Reich. But we also came across the photograph above, taken in Chamonix in 1924, showing organizers being transported through deep snow.

The vehicle in question is a 1920 Citroën Type A, equipped with the Citroën-Kégresse-Hinstin autochenille system and skis at the front. What today might barely raise an eyebrow must have been a striking and innovative means of transport at the time.

We wish you much enjoyment watching the remaining days of the Winter Games.

Photo: IOC Archives; text: Laurens Klein

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