SIce hockey has been part of the Winter Olympics since 1924, that is, for as long as the Winter Games have existed. Because the popularity of the sport has developed just as dynamically since the beginning of the century as the game itself, ice hockey was already part of the Olympic program in Antwerp in 1920 – in the summer! Gold won in 1920 and 1924, of course, Canada, the motherland of the sport, as well as in 1928, 1932 and… no, not in 1936, Great Britain won. Canada is still the record Olympic champion and once again the big favorite for gold because the National Hockey League, the North American professional league, is interrupting its season for the Olympics for the first time since 2014. The German team around Leon Draisaitl benefits from this, as do the USA, Sweden and Finland – but no nation has more NHL professionals than Canada, where playing with the puck over three 20-minute periods is part of the national identity. Incidentally, women have only been playing for Olympic gold since 1998; Record champion is… whoever.
