Ice hockey first appeared in the Summer Olympic Games in 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium and was a men's event only. The first Winter Olympics to include ice hockey on the schedule were the inaugural Winter Games in Chamonix, France in 1924. Women's Olympic ice hockey was for the first time introduced in Nagano, Japan in 1998.

A round-robin competition was implemented to determine Olympic medalists until 1992. Since that year, the top six nations from the preceding Winter Games qualify automatically, and other eight teams are divided into two groups for round-robin tournament to determine two other qualifiers. After that, the eight eligible teams play in a single-elimination competition.

Olympic ice hockey rules are under the auspices of the International Ice Hockey Federation and differ from those of National Hockey League. The Olympic ice hockey puts fewer accents on body contact than National League does.

Remarkable Facts about the Olympic Ice Hockey

- The Soviet Union and Canada have dominated in Olympic ice hockey since its inception. The two nations have been the victors of fourteen out of the nineteen Olympic tournaments.

- 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano allowed professional players for the first time, and biggest hockey stars from all around the world brought a brand new stage of competitiveness to Olympic ice hockey tournament.

Olympic Ice Hockey Winners

Men's Tournaments:
2002, Salt Lake City: Canada (Gold), United States (Silver), Russia (Bronze);
1998, Nagano: Czech Republic (Gold), Russia (Silver), Finland (Bronze);
1994, Lillehammer: Sweden (Gold), Canada (Silver), Finland (Bronze);
1992, Albertville: Russia (Gold), Canada (Silver), Czechoslovakia (Bronze);
1988, Calgary: USSR (Gold), Finland (Silver), Sweden (Bronze);
1984, Sarajevo: USSR (Gold), Czechoslovakia (Silver), Sweden (Bronze);
1980, Lake Placid: United States (Gold), USSR (Silver), Sweden (Bronze);
1976, Innsbruck: USSR (Gold), Czechoslovakia (Silver), West Germany (Bronze);
1972, Sapporo: USSR (Gold), United States (Silver), Czechoslovakia (Bronze);
1968, Grenoble: USSR (Gold), Czechoslovakia (Silver), Canada (Bronze);
1964, Innsbruck: USSR (Gold), Sweden (Silver), Czechoslovakia (Bronze);
1960, Squaw Valley: United States (Gold), Canada (Silver), USSR (Bronze);
1956, Cortina d?Ampezzo: USSR (Gold), United States (Silver), Canada (Bronze);
1952, Oslo: Canada (Gold), United States (Silver), Sweden (Bronze);
1948, St. Moritz: Canada (Gold), Czechoslovakia (Silver), Switzerland (Bronze);
1936, Garmisch-Partenkirchen: United Kingdom (Gold), Canada (Silver), United States (Bronze);
1932, Lake Placid: Canada (Gold), United States (Silver), Germany (Bronze);
1928, St. Moritz: Canada (Gold), Sweden (Silver), Switzerland (Bronze);
1924, Chamonix: Canada (Gold), United States (Silver), United Kingdom (Bronze);
1920, Antwerp (Summer Olympics): Canada (Gold), United States (Silver), Czechoslovakia (Bronze).

Women's Tournaments:
1998, Nagano: United States (Gold), Canada (Silver), Finland (Bronze);
2002, Salt Lake City: Canada (Gold), United States (Silver), Sweden (Bronze).