Winter sports such as figure skating, skiing, snowboarding, ice hockey, and many others are featured at the Winter Games. The Winter Olympic Games have had some changes since their inception. The committee has introduced events such as Alpine (which is known as skiing), luge, short track speed skating, and freestyle skiing.
Skeleton and snowboarding have also been introduced. Some of the new sports, such as curling and bobsleigh, have since become regular events. Unfortunately, others games, such as military patrol, have been permanently phased out. Notably, the present biathlon game at these Olympics originated from the phased-out game.
As of 2022, twelve countries, Austria, Canada, Finland, France, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States, have competed in every Winter Olympic Games. Also, before its disintegration, Czechoslovakia competed in every Winter Olympic Games. Its successors, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, have similarly been in every event.
Austria, Canada, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and the United States are distinct countries to win medals at every edition of the Winter Olympics. The United States is the only nation to have a gold medal at each winter event. Norway is the leader in the all-time medals standings.