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when did ice dancing became an olympic sport

Ice dancing became an official Olympic medal sport at the 1976 Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria.

Quick Scoop: The Key Dates

  • 1968 – Ice dancing appeared at the Grenoble Winter Olympics as a demonstration event only, with no official medals awarded.
  • 1976 – It was added to the Olympic program as a full medal discipline in figure skating at the Innsbruck Winter Games.
  • The first Olympic champions in ice dancing were Lyudmila Pakhomova and Alexandr Gorshkov of the Soviet Union.

So if you’re answering “when did ice dancing become an Olympic sport,” the precise answer is: 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck , with a notable “preview” as a demonstration event in 1968.

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