This Day in History: , First Winter Olympics.br January 25, 1924.br The first Winter Olympics br took off in style at Chamonix br in the French Alps.br Scandinavians dominated br the 14 events that involved br a total of six sports.br Norway won the br unofficial team br competition with 17 medals.br The United States br came in third.br Of the nearly 300 athletes, br only 13 were women, and they br only competed in the figure-skating events.br The Olympics offered a particular br boost to skiing, a sport that would br become extremely popular br within the next decade.