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A Brief History of Hockey at the Winter Olympics

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An experienced attorney in San Diego, California, Terry Chucas has spent nearly a decade focusing on dependency court appeals. He previously worked for 11 years as an attorney representing children in high conflict divorce cases in San Diego’s Superior Court, in addition to nearly nine years representing parents and children in Superior Court dependency proceedings. Beyond his legal activities, Terry Chucas enjoys hockey. He played for nearly four decades, including an appearance at the 1984 International Tournament in Stockholm.

Ice hockey has a unique place in the history of the Winter Olympic Games. Between 1924 and 1984, men’s ice hockey was contested at the Olympics by amateur athletes. However, various Eastern Bloc countries paid individuals, ostensibly as civil servants, to train full-time in preparation for the Games. Ahead of the 1988 Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted to allow professional athletes to officially compete. That said, the National Hockey League (NHL) refused to release players mid-season, leaving the United States and Canada with an amateur team competing against pros until 1998.

At the 1988 Olympics, the Soviet Union won a seventh gold medal, while the silver medal for Finland was the country's first ever Olympic medal in hockey. Sweden won bronze. The 1992 Games saw the Unified Team, comprised of several newly composed nations, win a gold medal just weeks after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The 2002 Games in Salt Lake City was won by Canada and saw the United States win a silver medal, its first medal in hockey since the 1980 Lake Placid Games.
Medals at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games went to Olympic athletes from Russia, Germany, and Canada. Women’s hockey, meanwhile, became part of the Olympic program in 1998. Either Canada or the United States have won the gold medal at every event.