At the first Winter Olympics, medals were awarded to mountain climbers for scaling the greatest peaks in the world. It wasn't even an actual competition that took place during the Games, but these men got Olympic medals nonetheless. 

Alison explains how and why the Olympics awarded medals in Alpinism, including the fact that the team who won this award was truly a mixed-country team, the likes of which we don’t really see very often in Olympic history.

For sources and a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.

Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!

Photo credit: Project Gutenberg

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Keep the Flame Alive: Games History Moment with hosts Jill Jaracz & Alison Brown is released monthly. In 2024, these episodes explore the first Winter Olympic Games at Chamonix, France in 1924. Look for our regular episodes every week, with daily editions during the Olympics and Paralympics.

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