The Lake Placid 1980 Olympic Winter Games will be forever remembered for the U.S. Men's Ice Hockey Team's "Miracle on Ice" gold-medal run as well as speed skater Eric Heiden's remarkable five gold medals.

With the region's reputation firmly established, Lake Placid made its bid for and was chosen to host the third ever Olympic Winter Games in 1932. The Olympic Legacy: With the region's reputation firmly established, Lake Placid was chosen to host the third ever Olympic Winter Games in 1932.

Lake Placid has had the privilege of hosting two Olympic Winter Games, first in 1932, and again in 1980. The venues used for the Games are collectively known as the Lake Placid Legacy Sites, and include: Olympic Center, Olympic Jumping Complex, Mt Van Hoevenberg, and Whiteface Mountain.

1932 -1980: The Winter Olympics come to Lake Placid Many were skeptical about Lake Placid's chances, but once the bid was awarded in 1929, the Town not only supported the effort, but it made a standout decision: it voted in a new tax to pay the town's portion of the 1932 games.

The sporting action, however, was memorable, as Lake Placid provided stunning victories for the Americans. The U.S. ice hockey team defeated the powerful Soviets, the dominant team in international hockey over the previous decade and Olympic champions since 1964, en route to winning the gold medal.

Lake Placid's congressman, Robert McEwen, floated several options, like turning the village into a hospital, housing space or a permanent athletics facility, but in the end the only government agency that would sign on was the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Nofil reports.

Miracle on Ice The fact-based story of how the U. S. Olympic hockey team beat the Soviets at the 1980 Lake Placid, N. Y., winter Olympics, then went on to win the gold medal.

The ancient Olympic Games were primarily a part of a religious festival in honor of Zeus, the father of the Greek gods and goddesses.

Mt Van Hoevenberg MVH Mt Van Hoevenberg MVH | Olympic Sports Complex | Lake Placid.

Lake Placid has had the privilege of hosting two Winter Olympic games, first in 1932 and again in 1980.

As a mega sports event, the Winter Olympic Game plays an important role in the social, economic and cultural development of the host country, including the improvement of local infrastructure and the holding of future events.

The U.S. triumph in Lake Placid - dubbed the “Miracle on Ice” - was far more than a dramatic upset in a sports event. The game aroused nationalistic exuberance among the American public because of the Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union.