<P> The inaugural Winter Olympics were held in Chamonix, France, from 25 January to 4 February 1924 . A total of 258 athletes from 16 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) competed in 16 events across 9 disciplines . Women also took part in these Games, although the only events they were allowed to compete in were the figure skating ladies' singles and pairs . When the Games were held, they were not recognized as the Winter Olympics but rather as a winter sports week festival . It was not until 1926 that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) officially recognized them as the first Winter Olympics . </P> <P> A total of 104 athletes won medals for their NOCs, but the athletes from Norway and Finland stood out and dominated the Games, winning 17 and 11 medals, respectively . The United States and Great Britain tied for third place in the count of total medals, with four each . Athletes from 10 of the 16 participating NOCs won at least one medal; eight won at least one gold medal . Many of the athletes who won these medals had already returned to their home countries by the time the medals were awarded, on 5 February, and other participants from their countries had to take the medals to the winning athletes . </P> <P> Finnish speed skater Clas Thunberg topped the medal count with five medals: three golds, one silver, and one bronze . One of his competitors, Roald Larsen of Norway, also won five medals, with two silver and three bronze medal - winning performances . The first gold medalist at these Games--and therefore the first gold medalist in Winter Olympic history--was American speed skater Charles Jewtraw . Only one medal change took place after the Games: in the ski jump competition, a marking error deprived American athlete Anders Haugen of a bronze medal . Haugen pursued an appeal to the IOC many years after the fact; he was awarded the medal after a 1974 decision in his favor . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> Event </Th> <Th_colspan="1"> Gold </Th> <Th_colspan="1"> Silver </Th> <Th_colspan="1"> Bronze </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Men's four - man details </Th> <Td> Switzerland (SUI) Alfred Neveu Eduard Scherrer Alfred Schläppi Heinrich Schläppi </Td> <Td> Great Britain (GBR) Thomas Arnold Ralph Broome Alexander Richardson Rodney Soher </Td> <Td> Belgium (BEL) Charles Mulder René Mortiaux Paul Van den Broeck Victor Verschueren Henri Willems </Td> </Tr> </Table>

Who won the first gold medal at the winter olympics