also established the World Championship Events for Ladies and Pairs, who were not recognised before this. Balck was known as the ISU president with the longest tenure of 30 years of any president before him. He was elected the first honorary president of the ISU. All of his participation helped the Olympics take hold. The Winter Olympics as we know it today began in Chamonix, France in 1924. Prior to this time, some winter sports such as figure skating and ice hockey were held during the Summer Olympics. Decline The Nordic Games mainly included only competitors from the Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, and Norway. These countries ended up opposing the establishment of a separate Winter Olympics because it would take away from their nationalistic efforts. Sweden and Norway had political differences during this time which led Norway to cease participation in the games, which caused some controversy. After Viktor Balck died in 1928, there was no one to champion the cause, especially after the 1930 games had to be cancelled due to a lack of snow. The Winter Olympics turned out to be highly successful right from the beginning and their international appeal overshadowed the Nordic Games. References See also 1913 Nordic Games Defunct multi-sport events International sports competitions hosted by Norway International sports competitions hosted by Sweden Multi-sport events in Europe Winter multi-sport events in Norway Multi-sport events in Sweden Recurring sporting events established in 1901 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1926 Winter multi-sport events Winter sports competitions in Sweden Inter-Nordic sports competitions