Athletes from Germany have taken part in most of the modern Olympic Games held since 1896. Germany has hosted three Olympic Games, in 1936 both the Winter and Summer Games, and the 1972 Summer Olympics. In addition, Germany had been selected to host the 1916 Summer Olympics as well as the 1940 Winter Olympics, both of which had to be cancelled due to World Wars. After these wars, Germany was banned from participating in the 1920, 1924 and 1948 Olympics.
While the country was divided, each of the two German states boycotted one of the Summer Games. In 1980, West Germany was one of 66 nations which did not go to Moscow in protest at the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan, and in 1984 East Germany joined the Soviet Union and several others in the boycott of the Summer Games in Los Angeles. In 1990, East Germany and West Germany would reunite, with Germany once again competing as a single full sovereign state since the 1992 Olympic year.
The IOC currently splits German results among four codes, even though only the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1968 to 1988 had sent a separate team to compete against the team of the German NOC that represented Germany (GER) since 1896.
German post-WW2 division until 1990
After German organisations had been dissolved by the Allies in 1947, in 1950 the IOC recognized the reorganized Nationales Olympisches Komitee für Deutschland for all of Germany, based in (West) Germany.
Due to the Cold War, an East German state (German Democratic Republic) was created in October 1949, and a separate National Olympic Committee (NOC) for East Germany was established in 1951. It was not immediately recognized by the IOC, which until 1965 required that athletes of the NOC of East Germany join the German team represented by the West Germany-based NOC of Germany. This team, which competed together from 1956 to 1964, is nowadays called the United Team of Germany (EUA, "Equipe Unifiée Allemande"), but was Germany (GER) then. As a result of Germany being divided, from 1968 to 1990 two independent teams competed in each of the Games; the original designations were GER for the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and GDR for the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). In 1980 the West German code was changed to FRG (which is currently also applied by the IOC in retrospect). After the GDR ceased to exist in 1990 and its states joined the Federal Republic of Germany, Germany once again was represented by a single team, designated GER.
Additionally, in the early 1950s the French-occupied Saar had its own NOC and competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics before joining the German Olympic team in 1956 and the (West) German state by 1957.
Overview of Olympic participation
Timeline of participation
| Olympic Year/s | Team(s) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1896–1912 |  German Empire | |
| 1920–1924 | denied participation after WWI | |
| 1928–1932 |  Germany | |
| 1936 |  Germany | |
| 1948 | occupied country after WWII: former German Olympic Committee was dissolved | |
| 1952 |  Germany | |
 Saar |  East Germanydid not participate | |
| 1956–1964 |  United Team of Germany (EUA) | |
| 1968–1988 | West Germany (FRG) | East Germany (GDR) |
| 1992–present | Germany | |
Medals by Summer Games
Host country
| Games | Athletes | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1896 Athens | 19 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 13 | 3 |
 1900 Paris | 78 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 7 |
 1904 St. Louis | 18 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 15 | 2 |
 1908 London | 81 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 13 | 5 |
 1912 Stockholm | 185 | 5 | 13 | 7 | 25 | 6 |
 1920 Antwerp | did not participate | |||||
| 1924 Paris | ||||||
 1928 Amsterdam | 296 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 31 | 2 |
| 1932 Los Angeles | 143 | 3 | 12 | 5 | 20 | 9 |
| 1936 Berlin | 433 | 33 | 26 | 30 | 89 | 1 |
| 1948 London | did not participate | |||||
 1952 Helsinki | 205 | 0 | 7 | 17 | 24 | 28 |
| 1956–1964 | as the United Team of Germany | |||||
| 1968–1988 | as West Germany and East Germany | |||||
 1992 Barcelona | 463 | 33 | 21 | 28 | 82 | 3 |
| 1996 Atlanta | 465 | 20 | 18 | 27 | 65 | 3 |
 2000 Sydney | 422 | 13 | 17 | 26 | 56 | 5 |
 2004 Athens | 441 | 13 | 16 | 20 | 49 | 6 |
 2008 Beijing | 463 | 16 | 11 | 14 | 41 | 5 |
| 2012 London | 392 | 11 | 20 | 13 | 44 | 6 |
 2016 Rio de Janeiro | 425 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 42 | 5 |
 2020 Tokyo | 425 | 10 | 11 | 16 | 37 | 9 |
 2024 Paris | 428 | 12 | 13 | 8 | 33 | 10 |
| 2028 Los Angeles | future event | |||||
| 2032 Brisbane | ||||||
| Total (18/30) | 5,382 | 213 | 220 | 255 | 688 | 7 |
Medals by Winter Games
Host country
| Games | Athletes | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1928 St. Moritz | 44 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| 1932 Lake Placid | 20 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen | 55 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| 1948 St. Moritz | did not participate | |||||
 1952 Oslo | 53 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 4 |
| 1956–1964 | as the United Team of Germany | |||||
| 1968–1988 | as West Germany and East Germany | |||||
| 1992 Albertville | 111 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 26 | 1 |
| 1994 Lillehammer | 112 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 24 | 3 |
| 1998 Nagano | 125 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 29 | 1 |
| 2002 Salt Lake City | 157 | 12 | 16 | 8 | 36 | 2 |
 2006 Turin | 162 | 11 | 12 | 6 | 29 | 1 |
 2010 Vancouver | 153 | 10 | 13 | 7 | 30 | 2 |
 2014 Sochi | 153 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 19 | 5 |
 2018 Pyeongchang | 153 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 31 | 2 |
| 2022 Beijing | 149 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 27 | 2 |
| 2026 Milano Cortina | 185 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 26 | 5 |
| 2030 French Alps | future event | |||||
| 2034 Utah | ||||||
| Total (14/25) | 1,632 | 113 | 107 | 73 | 293 | 3 |
Medals by summer sport
| Sport | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Canoeing | 36 | 21 | 26 | 83 |
 Equestrian | 32 | 15 | 14 | 61 |
 Rowing | 24 | 16 | 15 | 55 |
 Athletics | 20 | 30 | 37 | 87 |
 Cycling | 15 | 17 | 17 | 49 |
 Gymnastics | 15 | 12 | 14 | 41 |
 Swimming | 14 | 18 | 31 | 63 |
 Shooting | 10 | 9 | 5 | 24 |
 Weightlifting | 6 | 7 | 9 | 22 |
 Wrestling | 5 | 13 | 11 | 29 |
 Fencing | 5 | 7 | 9 | 21 |
 Boxing | 4 | 9 | 11 | 24 |
 Field hockey | 4 | 3 | 4 | 11 |
 Tennis | 3 | 6 | 2 | 11 |
 Sailing | 3 | 5 | 7 | 15 |
 Judo | 3 | 4 | 15 | 22 |
 Diving | 2 | 8 | 12 | 22 |
 Beach volleyball | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
 Triathlon | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
 Modern pentathlon | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
 Handball | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
 Marathon swimming | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
 Water polo | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
 Football | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
 3x3 basketball | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Table tennis | 0 | 4 | 5 | 9 |
 Archery | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
 Taekwondo | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
 Golf | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Rugby union | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals (30 entries) | 212 | 219 | 255 | 686 |
*This table does not include two medals – one gold and one silver – awarded in the figure skating events at the 1908 Summer Olympics.
Medals by winter sport
| Sport | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Luge | 25 | 13 | 10 | 48 |
 Biathlon | 21 | 20 | 14 | 55 |
 Bobsleigh | 19 | 13 | 8 | 40 |
 Speed skating | 13 | 15 | 10 | 38 |
 Alpine skiing | 12 | 10 | 7 | 29 |
 Ski jumping | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
 Nordic combined | 6 | 6 | 4 | 16 |
 Figure skating | 4 | 2 | 4 | 10 |
 Cross country skiing | 3 | 10 | 5 | 18 |
 Skeleton | 2 | 6 | 4 | 12 |
 Snowboarding | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 |
 Freestyle skiing | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
 Ice hockey | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Totals (13 entries) | 114 | 108 | 73 | 295 |
*This table includes two medals – one gold and one silver – awarded in the figure skating events at the 1908 Summer Olympics.
Best results in non-medaling sports
Combined medals of all German NOCs
Germany has competed at the Olympics under five different designations, including as two separate teams at several Games. Sources vary in how they present the medals won by these teams. The table below shows sourced combinations of these teams, when applied to the main table. Saar competed independently in the Summer Olympic games in 1952, but failed to win any medals. Due to most lists only listing medal counts, it's possible but not certain Saar was included as part of Germany in their calculations.
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Medal counts:
status after the 2026 Olympics
| Summer Games | Winter Games | Combined total | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team (IOC code) |
No. |
|
|
|
|
No. |
|
|
|
|
No. |
|
|
|
|
| Germany |
18 | 213 | 220 | 255 | 688 | 14 | 113 | 107 | 73 | 293 | 32 | 326 | 327 | 328 | 981 |
| Saar |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| United Team of Germany |
3 | 28 | 54 | 36 | 118 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 19 | 6 | 36 | 60 | 41 | 137 |
| West Germany |
5 | 56 | 67 | 81 | 204 | 6 | 11 | 15 | 13 | 39 | 11 | 67 | 82 | 94 | 243 |
| East Germany |
5 | 153 | 129 | 127 | 409 | 6 | 39 | 36 | 35 | 110 | 11 | 192 | 165 | 162 | 519 |
| Total | 28 | 450 | 470 | 499 | 1419 | 23 | 171 | 164 | 126 | 461 | 51 | 621 | 634 | 625 | 1880 |
| Combined IOC codes | No. Games |  |
 |
 |
Combined total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany (GER) |
32 | 326 | 327 | 328 | 981 |
| Germany (GER) (EUA) |
38 | 362 | 387 | 369 | 1,118 |
| Germany (GER) (EUA) (FRG) |
50 | 429 | 469 | 463 | 1,361 |
| Germany (GER) (EUA) (FRG) (GDR) |
61[a] | 621 | 634 | 625 | 1,880 |
- ↑ Counting the 10 Games (four at the Summer and six at the Winter Olympics), where both East Germany (GDR) and West Germany (FRG) competed as two appearances.
Hosted Games
For the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, see West Germany at the Olympics.
| Games | Host city | Dates | Nations | Participants | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 Winter Olympics | Garmisch-Partenkirchen | 6 – 16 February | 28 | 646 | 17 |
| 1936 Summer Olympics | Berlin | 1 – 6 August | 49 | 3,963 | 129 |
Unsuccessful bids
| Games | City | Winner of bid[1] |
|---|---|---|
| 1908 Summer Olympics | Berlin | London, United Kingdom |
| 2000 Summer Olympics | Berlin | Sydney, Australia |
| 2012 Summer Olympics | Leipzig[a] | London, United Kingdom |
| 2018 Winter Olympics | Munich | Pyeongchang, South Korea |
| 2024 Summer Olympics | Hamburg | Paris, France |
- ↑ Not shortlisted into candidate stage
See also
References
- ↑ "Past Olympic host city election results". GamesBids. Archived from the original on January 24, 2011. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
External links
- "Germany". International Olympic Committee.
- "Germany". Olympedia.com.
- "Olympic Analytics/GER". olympanalyt.com.
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