Welcome back to Olympic Wednesday, now that the 2024 Summer Games have ended, officially. We take on the 1984 Winter Olympiad today, and it’s been well publicized how civil war destroyed all the physical memories of Sarajevo. However, in the moment, almost 1,300 athletes from 49 nations competed in 39 events across 10 disciplines, making their own memories that would last their lifetimes and ours, too.

The Soviet Union (25 medals), East Germany (24), and Finland (13) were the big winners in these Games. The host nation won a single medal—silver by Jure Franko in the men’s giant slalom—but there were many moments those of us who watched this olympiad will remember: American Bill Johnson winning the downhill; England’s Torvill and Dean skating to perfection in ice dancing; and many more memories lost.

Most Outstanding Male Athlete: Gunde Svan, Sweden

Cross-country skiing isn’t the most romantic event, mostly because it doesn’t play well on television. But Swedish star Gunde Svan gets our nod here for winning four medals: gold in the 15km event; silver in the 50km event; bronze in the 30km event; and another gold in the 4x10km relay event. The array of distances he competed in was the clincher here, and he won the most medals of any male competitor in Sarajevo.

Most Outstanding Female Athlete: Marja-Liisa Hämäläinen, Finland

One of two women to win four medals in these Games, Marja-Liisa Hämäläinen has no hint of PED use in her background, unlike the other woman under consideration here (from East Germany). So the Finnish cross-country legend takes home our trophy: after competing in Innsbruck and Lake Placid without winning a medal, she finally cleaned up in Sarajevo, winning three individual golds and a team bronze.

At age 28, Hämäläinen was the first woman to win three gold medals in cross-country skiing at one Winter olympiad: the 5km, the 10km, and the 20km individual events. She helped her team to the bronze in the 4x5km relay event, too, a feat she would repeat in 1988. Hämäläinen also would win two more individual medals in 1994, which means she competed in six overall Winter Games. That, in itself, is stunning.

Most Outstanding Male Team: East German Bobsledding

While the East German women always fall under suspicion, sadly, we have no such concerns about the GDR men. The bobsledders from behind the Iron Curtain won four medals out of a possible four in the two bobsled events (2 man and 4 man), taking the gold and silver in each competition. That’s dominance: multiple gold-medal winners were Wolfgang Hoppe and Dietmar Schauerhammer. Kudos to them!

Most Outstanding Female Team: Finnish Cross-Country Skiing

The East German women dominated so many events here, it’s hard to sift through what remains to find a “winner” here, and that makes us sad—kind of like in baseball these days, you know? So, basically on her own, Hämäläinen helps the her cross-country team win this category. She was the only medal winner from her nation, though, so winning just four of a possible 10 medals is enough this time around the (ice) block.