<P> Finnish speed skater Clas Thunberg topped the medal count with five medals : three golds , one silver , and one bronze . One of his competitors , Roald Larsen of Norway , also won five medals , with two silver and three bronze medal - winning performances . The first gold medalist at these Games -- and therefore the first gold medalist in Winter Olympic history -- was American speed skater Charles Jewtraw . Only one medal change took place after the Games : in the ski jump competition , a marking error deprived American athlete Anders Haugen of a bronze medal . Haugen pursued an appeal to the IOC many years after the fact ; he was awarded the medal after a 1974 decision in his favor . </P>
<P> Finnish speed skater Clas Thunberg topped the medal count with five medals : three golds , one silver , and one bronze . One of his competitors , Roald Larsen of Norway , also won five medals , with two silver and three bronze medal - winning performances . The first gold medalist at these Games -- and therefore the first gold medalist in Winter Olympic history -- was American speed skater Charles Jewtraw . Only one medal change took place after the Games : in the ski jump competition , a marking error deprived American athlete Anders Haugen of a bronze medal . Haugen pursued an appeal to the IOC many years after the fact ; he was awarded the medal after a 1974 decision in his favor . </P>
who won the first gold medal at the winter olympics
who won the first gold medal at the winter olympics
American speed skater Charles Jewtraw
American speed skater Charles Jewtraw