Ice hockey is asport that is contested at theWinter Olympic Games. A men's ice hockey tournament has been held every Winter Olympics (starting in1924); an ice hockey tournament was also held at the1920 Summer Olympics.[1] From 1920 to1968, the Olympics also acted as theIce Hockey World Championships, and the two events occurred concurrently.[2] From 1920 until1984, only amateur athletes were allowed to compete in the tournament, and players from theNational Hockey League (NHL) were not allowed to compete. The countries that benefited most were the Soviet Bloc countries of Eastern Europe, where top athletes were state-sponsored while retaining their status as amateurs.[3][4] In 1970, after a disagreement over the definition of amateur players, Canada withdrew from the tournament and did not send a team to the1972 or1976 Winter Olympics.[5][6] In 1986, theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to allow professional athletes to compete in the Olympics, and starting in 1998, the NHL allowed its players to participate.[6][7] Women's ice hockey was added in 1992 and the first tournament was held at the1998 Winter Olympics.[8][9] Both events have been held at every Olympic Games since.[1]
In women's hockey, CanadiansJayna Hefford andHayley Wickenheiser hold the record for total medals (five), having won four gold and one silver. Their teammateCaroline Ouellette also won four gold medals. Five other athletes have won four medals: three Canadians –Becky Kellar,Jennifer Botterill, and Marie-Philip Poulin with three gold and a silver – and three Americans -Angela Ruggiero,Jenny Potter (each with one gold, two silver and one bronze) andJulie Chu (three silver and one bronze).
Eight male athletes have won four medals: RussiansVladislav Tretiak (three gold, one silver) andIgor Kravchuk (two gold, one silver, one bronze), CzechJiří Holík (two silver, two bronze) and five players from Finland, each with one silver and three bronze:Teemu Selänne,Kimmo Timonen,Saku Koivu,Jere Lehtinen andVille Peltonen. Six have won three gold medals (all from Russia): Tretiak,Anatoli Firsov,Viktor Kuzkin,Andrei Khomutov,Alexander Ragulin andVitali Davydov.[10]
From 1920 to1952, teams fromCanada dominated the men's tournament, winning six gold and one silver medal. Canada's dominance was broken only byGreat Britain in1936. TheSoviet Union began competing at the Olympics in1956 and won nine straight Olympic medals, including seven gold. The USSR's dominance was only broken by theUnited States in1960 and1980. The Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, and in 1992, aUnified Team composed mainly of former Soviet players won gold. Since then, the competition has been more even, with Canada winning three times,Sweden twice and theCzech Republic,Russia andFinland once each. Teams from Canada have won the most medals, with fifteen, including nine gold. As of the2018 Winter Olympics, 90 medals (30 of each color) have been awarded to teams from 14National Olympic Committees.
Individuals who have been inducted to theHockey Hall of Fame (including announced members awaiting induction) are indicated as follows:
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Canada | 9 | 4 | 3 |
| 2 |  Soviet Union | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 |  United States | 2 | 8 | 1 |
| 4 |  Sweden | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 5 |  Finland | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 6 |  Czech Republic | 1 | 1 | |
 Great Britain | 1 | 1 | ||
| 8 |  Unified Team | 1 | ||
| Olympic Athletes from Russia | 1 | |||
| 10 | Czechoslovakia | 4 | 4 | |
| 11 |  Germany | 1 | 2 | |
| 12 |  Russia | 1 | 1 | |
| 13 |  ROC | 1 | ||
| 14 |  Switzerland | 2 | ||
| 15 |  Slovakia | 1 |
Individuals who have been inducted to theHockey Hall of Fame (including announced members awaiting induction) are indicated as follows:
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada | 5 | 2 | |
| 2 | United States | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 3 | Sweden | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Finland | 4 | ||
| 5 | Switzerland | 1 |
^ Note 2. The members of the 1920 Czechoslovakia team vary depending on the source.Karel Hartmann,Vilém Loos,Jan Palouš,Jan Peka,Karel Pešek,Josef Šroubek andOtakar Vindyš are all consistently included on team lists. However, there is a discrepancy overKarel Wälzer,Josef Loos,Karel Kotrba andAdolf Dušek. The following are the lineups based on the listings of the Czech Olympic Committee (COC), International Olympic Committee (IOC) andInternational Society of Olympic Historians (ISOH). This table does not list the seven that are included in every source.
| Player | COC[11] | IOC | ISOH[12] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Karel Wälzer |  Y |  N | Y |
| Josef Loos | Y | N | N |
| Karel Kotrba | Y | N | N |
| Adolf Dušek | N | Y | N |
| Overview |  | |
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| Men's events | ||
| Women's events | ||
| Summer sports |
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| Winter sports | |
| Discontinued sports | |
| Unofficial sports | |
