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WorldNet Service Installation Disk - Cybercathlon Games and Interactive Tour of Olympic Museum (1996).ISO
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00843_Field_wt6.txt.txt
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1996-06-03
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There is a long history of stick
games on ice, going back at least
to 12th century England. But the
game of ice hockey as we know it
today was invented in Montreal in
1875. It was included in the 1920
Summer Games in Antwerp and
was played at the first Winter
Games in 1924.
Ice hockey is the world's fastest
team sport and the only team sport
played at the Winter Olympics. The
boot of the ice hockey skate has a
lower ankle support than figure
skating boots, and a straight,
narrow, pointed blade. The sticks
are made of wood and the puck is
vulcanized rubber.
In the first few Olympics, the
Canadians dominated the event
completely, even with their best
players ineligible because they
were professionals. The British
finally managed to win Gold in
1936. The Americans were also
coming on strong and the Czechs
were competitive. But from the
time the USSR entered their first
Winter Olympics in 1956, they
were pretty much unbeatable.
The Soviets' complete domination
of the sport at the Olympics was
interrupted only twice, when the
U.S. won Gold in 1960, at Squaw
Valley, and in 1980, at Lake Placid.
The 1980 USA/USSR hockey game
was a classic case of the
underdog winning. The unheralded
Americans were seeded seventh
but somehow managed to upset
the Soviets and then went on to
defeat the Finns for the Gold. The
Soviets quickly regained their form
and went on to win three more
Golds. Only the breakup of the
Soviet Union has stopped them --
the Swedes won in 1994. The
U.S. hasn't finished in the medals
since their stunning upset.