The United States is one of 12 countries to participate in every Olympic Winter Games. The U.S. is third on the all-time medals list with 216 (78 gold, 80 silver, 58 bronze). The 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, were the country's fourth Winter Games as host. The U.S. also hosted the Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York (1932 and 1980) and Squaw Valley, California (1960).

Host with the most

No other country has hosted the Olympic Winter Games four times (France has hosted three times). The USA has sent the largest team to the Olympic Winter Games 15 times, including to the last 13 Games. The U.S. sent a record 203 athletes to Salt Lake.

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The American team has a wonderful tradition in the skating events, particularly figure skating. Team USA has claimed seven gold medals in ladies' figure skating and six in men's -- including back-to-back titles for Dick Button in 1948 and 1952. In Nagano, 15-year-old Tara Lipinski out-dueled Michelle Kwan for the ladies' figure skating gold, becoming the youngest American gold medalist in Olympic Winter Games history.

Figure skating fame

In Salt Lake, 16-year-old Sarah Hughes vaulted from fourth after the short program to first.

Both Peggy Fleming (1968) and Dorothy Hamill (1976) won unanimous gold medals and became celebrities in the U.S. after their Olympic victories. A Hamill doll was one of the inspirations for Kristi Yamaguchi to become a figure skater, and she continued the outstanding American skating tradition with a gold medal in 1992.

Medal tally

Team USA finished second in the medal count in Torino behind Germany, with 25 medals, nine gold. Seven of those medals came in snowboarding (three gold, three silver, one bronze). Also picked up seven medals in speed skating, three gold: Joey Cheek (500m), Shani Davis (1000m) and Chad Hedrick (5000m). Apolo Ohno added to his short track gold and silver from Salt Lake with a gold and two bronze medals in Torino.

Blair and Heiden still on top with five

Speed skaters Bonnie Blair and Eric Heiden have won more Olympic Winter Games gold medals (five) than any other Americans. Heiden won each of his five in Lake Placid, sweeping the men's events, while Blair is one of just three women to have won the same individual event (500m) in three consecutive Olympics (1988-94; Norwegian figure skater Sonja Henie and German speed skater Claudia Pechstein are the others).

Former lounge singer Cathy Turner earned four medals (two each in 1992 and 1994), including two gold, in short track, pushing her to second for career medals for an American woman in Olympic Winter Games competition. Tied with Turner is long track speed skater Dianne Holum, who won a gold, two silvers and a bronze in 1968 and 1972.

Way back when

Speed skater Charles Jewtraw won the first event ever held in the Olympic Winter Games, claiming the 500m in Chamonix in 1924 with a time of 44.0 seconds. The only team to disrupt the Soviet Union/Unified Team's run in men's ice hockey between 1956 and 1992 was the U.S., with stunning runs to the gold medal in 1960 and 1980.

Mike Eruzione's goal to beat the Soviets in Lake Placid is one of the most memorable moments in U.S. Olympic history and put the Americans in position to win the gold medal. The U.S. clinched the gold with a subsequent win over Finland.

Nagano 1998

In Nagano, the American women eked out a 3-1 victory over Canada (clinched by an empty-net goal with eight seconds left) to win the first gold medal in women's ice hockey. But the Canadian women got their revenge in 2002, beating the Americans in the gold-medal game.

The U.S. claimed its first luge medals in Nagano thanks to the pairs of Chris Thorpe and Gordy Sheer (silver) and Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin (bronze). Grimmette and Martin also won a silver medal in 2002. The U.S. has claimed 16 medals in bobsleigh - including six golds. In the inaugural Olympic women's competition, Jill Bakken and Vonetta Flowers won gold for the first U.S. bobsleigh gold since 1948.

Alpine records

Three American men have won alpine skiing events, but of those three, only Tommy Moe has won multiple medals. He took the downhill gold and super-G silver in Lillehammer, the first American man to win a medal in that event. Andrea Mead Lawrence is the only American to claim two gold medals in alpine events, winning the slalom and giant slalom in Oslo in 1952. In 2002, the U.S. won more medals (34) and gold medals (10) than ever before.

Skeleton is back

The return of skeleton to the Olympic program for the first time since 1948 benefited the United States - Jim Shea (the grandson of 1932 speed skating gold medalist Jack Shea and the son of 1964 nordic skiing Olympian James Shea) won gold in the men's event, and Tristan Gale (gold) and Lea Ann Parsley (silver) went 1-2 in the women's competition.

Halfpipe domination

American men swept the halfpipe medals in 2002, marking the first time since 1956 that Americans swept a winter event (men's singles figure skating). Kelly Clark won the women's halfpipe gold as well.

The U.S. is the only country to host the Games of the Olympiad four times (St. Louis in 1904, Los Angeles in 1932 and 1984, and Atlanta in 1996). Has competed in every Games of the Olympiad except for the 1980 Games in Moscow.

The U.S. boycotted those Games to protest the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. The only winter sports in which the U.S. has not won a medal are nordic combined and biathlon.