Most Popular Winter Olympic Sports (2024)

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The Winter Olympic Games only comes around every four years, but it is becoming increasingly popular, and sports which are not usually of interest can become popular for just that short period of time. Here are a few analyses of the popularity of Winter Olympic sports, with figure skating and ice hockey featuring predominantly, though it really depends on what is surveyed (online, TV, newspapers, social media), whether you are asking males or females, and where in the world the questions are asked.

• Popular Sports of the Winter Olympic Games- males v females (2022) — figure skating was the most popular Winter Olympic sport in the USA, though it also showed the most difference in interest in between men and women.
• Most Popular Winter Olympic Sport (for 2018) — according to Google Trends, ice skating was the most popular sport worldwide.
• Popularity of Winter Olympic Sports (2014) — The most popular event by far was figure skating, with almost three times as many users as the second most read-about sport, ice hockey. See more
• Sports Illustrated Most Popular Winter Olympics Events (2014) — listing events not just sports, but with no clear criteria, the top of this list was snowboard halfpipe, followed by four-man bobsled and women's figure skating. See more.
• USA Winter Olympic Sports (2010) — Freestyle skiing was the most popular Olympic sport among U.S. TV viewers in 2010, though ice hockey was the most discussed Olympic sport online. See more.
• Topend Sports Poll — the leading sport voted as the favorite Winter Olympics sport (poll runnning from 2014 till 2018) is Figure Skating by a long way followed by Ice Hockey. The least favorite sport is curling by a long way.
• Most Watched Winter Olympic Sports around the world 2014 — of the nine countries surveyed, there were five different sports as the most popular. See more.

Related Pages

• List of Winter Olympic Sports
• Discussion about the most popular Summer Olympic sports
• other top 10 lists of the world's most popular sports