OLYMPIC PHILATELY

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Hungary Issue for 1976 Innsbruck Winter Games

History :
The 1976 Winter Olympics were awarded to the U.S. city of Denver, but the people of the state of Colorado voted to prohibit public funds from being used to support the Games. Innsbruck was subsequently selected by the IOC Executive Board to take over. By updating some facilities and building others they were able to host the Games on short notice, just 12 years after Innsbruck had first hosted an edition of the Winter Games. Rosi Mittermaier won two of the three Alpine skiing events and almost became the first woman to sweep all three events. But in the final race, Kathy Kreiner beat her by 12 hundredths of a second. The ice hockey team from the USSR won its fourth straight gold medal. A new figure skating event, ice dancing, was added to the programme and, like the pairs, it was dominated by Russian couples. The most memorable image of the Games was Franz Klammer flying wildly down the downhill course, barely keeping control, on his way to a gold medal.
37 NOCs (Nations)
1,123 athletes (231 women, 892 men)
37 events

USA Issue for 1980 Lake Placid Winter Games

History:
The 1980 Winter Games, held in Lake Placid, New York, were filled with impressive performances. The great Swedish skier, Ingemar Stenmark, won both the giant slalom and the slalom. Hanni Wenzel did the same in the women’s races and her nation, Liechtenstein, became the smallest country to produce an Olympic champion. Ulrich Wehling won the Nordic combined for the third time and pairs skater Irina Rodnina did the same in her event. In the biathlon relay, Aleksandr Tikhonov earned his fourth straight gold medal. Nikolay Zimyatov earned three gold medals in cross-country skiing. In an unprecedented achievement, Eric Heiden of the United States won all five speed skating races, from 500m all the way up to 10,000m. Nonetheless, for the home crowd, the highlight was the unexpected victory of the US ice hockey team.
37 NOCs (Nations)
1,072 athletes (232 women, 840 men)
38 events
6,703 volunteers

Lativia Issue for 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games

History:
In 1986 the IOC voted to change the schedule of the Olympic Games so that the Summer and Winter Games would be held in different years. To adjust to this new schedule, the Lillehammer Games were held in 1994, the only time that two Games have been staged two years apart. The 1994 Games were extremely well organised and the Norwegian host' natural love of winter sports added a refreshing purity of spirit. Local hero Johann Koss won three speed skating events and set a world record in every one. Vreni Schneider won a complete set of medals in alpine skiing and Manuela Di Centa earned medals in all five cross-country events. Myriam Bedard won both women's individual biathlon races. Gustav Weder and Donat Acklin became the first repeat winners of the two-man bobsled. Pairs skaters Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov returned to repeat their Olympic victory of 1988.
67 NOCs (Nations)
1,737 athletes (522 women, 1, 215 men)
61 events
9,054 volunteers
6,633 media (2,615 written press, 4,018 broadcasters)

Friday, January 23, 2009

Bahrain Grand Prix 2004

Commemorative Stamp for Formula 1
Bahrain Grand Prix 2004
سباق البحرين للفورميلا 1 إبريل 2004

The 2004 Grand Prix was a Formula One race Held on 4th April 2004, at the Bahrain International Circuit. It was first Formula 1 Race to be held in the Kingdom Of Bahrain.