Olympedia – Austria (AUT)

Austria competed at the first Olympics in 1896 and has missed only one Games since – those of 1920, when it was not invited as an aggressor nation in World War I. Austria has also competed at every Olympic Winter Games, where it has often been the dominant nation in Alpine skiing. It is one of only three countries, with Norway and Liechtenstein, to have won more medals at the Winter Olympics than at the Olympic Games. Austria has also twice hosted the Olympic Winter Games, those of 1964 and 1976, both times in Innsbruck.

Felix Gottwald has won the most medals of any Austrian, with seven in Nordic combined skiing – three gold, one silver, and three bronze. He is one of only four Austrians who have won three gold medals, the others are Toni Sailer, Thomas Morgenstern, and Matthias Mayer – all at the Winter Games. Five Austrians have won four medals and more than one gold at the Olympic Winter Games – Morgenstern and Mayer, Hermann Maier, and Benjamin Raich (both in Alpine skiing), and Mario Stecher (Nordic combined).

At the Olympic Summer Games two Austrians have won two gold medals at the same Games, Julius Lenhart in 1904 and Gregor Hradetzky in 1936. Two Austrians have also won a total of three medals at the Summer Games: cyclist Adolf Schmal, with one gold and two bronze in 1896, and fencer Ellen Müller-Preis, with one gold in 1932, and a bronze in both 1936 and 1948, all in the foil individual event.

Several forerunners of the Austrian Olympic Committee have been established throughout the times. For the first Olympic Games in 1896 (Comité für die Olympischen Spiele in Athen für Österreich), in 1900 (Wiener Comité zur Beschickung der Pariser Olympischen Spiele 1900), and in 1906 (Allgemeiner Sportausschuss für Österreich), only part-time executive organizations were organized. For the 1904 Games, no committee was created.

On 24 February 1908, a meeting with representatives of numerous sports was held and, on 16 March 1908, the Zentrales Sportkomitee was founded as the first National Olympic Committee of Austria. But this organisation did not last long, and on 23 February 1911 the Österreichischer Zentralverband für gemeinsame Sportinteressen was founded. This organisation was renamed on 23 January 1920 to Österreichischer Hauptverband für Körpersport and, since 26 March 1926, Olympisches Komitee für Österreich was added to the name. Finally, on 19 June 1935, the name was changed to Österreichisches Olympisches Comité. The Austrian Olympic committee was merged into the German Olympic committee in 1938, after the Anschluss, and was recreated on 11 December 1946.