“Freeze Frame: A Photographic History of the Winter Olympics”
by Sue Macy.
National Geographic Society, Washington D.C., 2006, 96 pages, Grades 5-7.
The Olympic Games are among the most storied events in sports. Though the Olympics are famous in Greek history, they had died out by the time of the Roman Empire. In 1896, the Olympic Games were reintroduced. The first games were held in Athens and were then scheduled every four years.
At the beginning of the Olympic movement, winter sports were not included. An exception to this rule is figure skating, which is curiously held during the Summer Olympics. After a period of nearly 30 years in Olympic history, a Winter Olympiad was held in 1924. This will be the first Winter Olympics in history.
Sue Macy tells the story of the Winter Olympics in her excellent book entitled. “Freeze Frame: A Photographic History of the Winter Olympics.” In this excellently written and photographed book, readers are treated to many of the great champions of the Winter Olympics.
In the early Olympics, many unusual events took place. The first serious problem of the Winter Olympics was the weather. The temperature would sometimes rise and the snow and ice would melt. Needless to say, this put an end to skiing and skating competitions. This problem was solved many years later with the invention of indoor ice rinks and artificial snow machines. Now Mother Nature would not have the final say on when Olympic events would be held.
Because the sports in the Winter Olympics require cold weather, the number of nations entering the Olympics is small in comparison to the Summer Olympics - usually only 25% as large as the Summer Olympics. This does not mean, however, that the Winter Olympics does not have an avid following.
Macy details many Olympic champions in this book. There are a number of pictures of Sonja Henie, the famous Norwegian figure skater, and winner of three gold medals in the Winter Olympics. Snow skiing is also a very famous part of the Winter Olympics, and readers are treated to descriptions of famous skiing champions such as Jean Claude Killy, the winner of three gold medals in the 1968 Winter Olympics.
Some of the controversies that have dogged the Winter Olympics are also discussed. This primarily concerns the judging of figure skating events. It was not unusual to see judges rating the skaters from their own nations with higher scores than they should have earned. It became so blatant in several Olympics, that the scoring system was eventually modified and made more objective.
There still is controversy in this matter, however. Macy also discusses the celebrated case of Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan. Thugs hired by Harding’s husband attacked Kerrigan several weeks before the Olympic Games. Fortunately, Kerrigan was able to recover and compete. It was later determined that Harding’s group was behind the attack and Harding was banned from the sport of figure skating.
The book closes with a discussion of a number of the sports that have been included in the Olympics, such as snowboarding and short track speed skating.
This is an excellent book for students wanting to learn about the Winter Olympics. The author has written excellent accounts of most of the Winter Olympics. She has included short excerpts of many Olympic champions.
I would like to proudly state that I taught history to Bonnie Blair at Centennial High School in Champaign, Ill. Bonnie won five speed skating gold medals and one bronze in three Winter Olympics. She is a great person. Not that I am bragging, of course.
I would encourage you to share this book with the younger members of your family. It is a great introduction to the marvelous athletic events of the Winter Olympics. I think you will enjoy this book as much as I have.
