The strong-minded son of the strong-minded patriarch Melvil Dewey, Godfrey indeed proved to be that American invention, the one-man band. sports, Olympic Games, Lake Placid, 1932, III Winter Olympics, 4.2. Speed Skating at the 1932 Winter Olympics Lake Placid had hosted its first major speed skating competition in 1919, with the Eastern Outdoor Championships, won by local skater Charlie Jewtraw, who went on to become Olympic Champion in the 500 m at the inaugural Winter Olympics in 1924. Billy Fiske, who had driven the 5–man U.S. bobsled to a gold medal at St. Moritz when he was only 16, steered the 4–man sled to victory in 1932.

Worldwide economic depression cast a shadow over the third Winter Olympics. Consequently, participation in the Games was the lowest since 1904, with only half as many athletes taking part as had in 1928. The 1932 Winter Olympics, officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event in the United States, held in Lake Placid, New York. The strong-minded son of the strong-minded patriarch Melvil Dewey, Godfrey indeed proved to be that American invention, the one-man band. The Lake Placid 1932 Winter Olympics was sought, awarded and brought about by the force of will of one man, a bravura performance by Godfrey Dewey, head of the Lake Placid Club in the New York Adirondacks. We conducted research on the III Olympic Winter Games held in Lake Placid in 1932 with emphasis on preparations for the event. It consists of one 291-page volume, published in English. George Lattimer, the compiler of the Offical reports for the 1932 Winter Games, asserts that “…the history of the Games in reality goes back to that day, over a quarter of a century ago, when organized enjoyment of the sports of snow and ice and cold began where the highest peaks of the Adirondack mountains cast their shadows on the village by the two lakes” (7). On board was Eddie Eagan, the 1920 Olympic light heavyweight champion, who remains the only athlete ever to win gold medals in both the Winter and Summer Games. Billy Fiske, who had driven the 5–man U.S. bobsled to a gold medal at St. Moritz when he was only 16, steered the 4–man sled to victory in 1932.

The Lake Placid Games were the third occurrence of the Winter Olympic Games. The Lake Placid 1932 Winter Olympics was sought, awarded and brought about by the force of will of one man, a bravura performance by Godfrey Dewey, head of the Lake Placid Club in the New York Adirondacks. On board was Eddie Eagan, the 1920 Olympic light heavyweight champion, who remains the only athlete ever to win gold medals in both the Winter and Summer Games. Lake Placid 1932 Olympic Winter Games, athletic festival held in Lake Placid, N.Y., that took place Feb. 4–15, 1932. The games opened on February 4 and closed on February 15. Update (May 14, 2020) The 1932 Olympic Games were held in the middle of the Great Depression and, given the transport links of the time, in the relatively remote region of California. Only 17 countries attended, It was the first of four Winter Olympics held in the United States; Lake Placid h

Site is Closed Update (May 26, 2020) The OlyMadMen who provided the data behind the Sports Reference Olympic site have reopened Olympedia.org.Please check it out and here is the announcement of its re-opening. The work: “III Olympic Winter Games, Lake Placid 1932: official report” provides a very full report on the organisation and running of the Olympic Games and a detailed history of the pioneering role of Lake Placid in the development of winter sport.