1960 Winter Olympics / Alpine skiing

Alpine skiing at the 1960 Winter Olympics
information
venue	Squaw Valley
Competition venue	Squaw Valley Ski Resort
Nations	22nd
Athletes	133 (82 , 51 )
date	20.-26. February 1960
decisions	6th
← Cortina 1956 Innsbruck 1964 →

At the VIII. Olympic Games in 1960 in Squaw Valley , six competitions in alpine skiing took place. The venues were the Squaw Peak (men's downhill), KT-22 (women's downhill, men's slalom and giant slalom) and Little Papoose Peak (women's giant slalom and slalom) slopes in the Squaw Valley Ski Resort . The top three in downhill, giant slalom and slalom received not only Olympic medals but also world championship medals, as these competitions were also classified as the 16th  Alpine World Ski Championships. In the Alpine Combined, only World Championship medals were awarded.

Olympic record

Medal table

space	country				total
1	Switzerland	2	-	-	2
2	Austria	1	2	2	5
3	Germany	1	1	1	3
4th	France	1	-	2	3
5	Canada	1	-	-	1
6th	United States	-	3	-	3
7th	Italy	-	-	1	1

Medalist

Men competitor gold silver bronze Departure Jean Vuarnet Hans-Peter Lanig Guy Périllat Giant slalom Roger dust Josef Stiegler Ernst Hinterseer slalom Ernst Hinterseer Mathias Leitner Charles Bozon

Women competitor gold silver bronze Departure Heidi Biebl Penny Pitou Traudl Hecher Giant slalom Yvonne Rüegg Penny Pitou Giuliana Chenal Minuzzo slalom Anne Heggtveit Betsy Snite Barbara Henneberger

preview

The local hero Wallace "Bud" Werner , who had been given good chances due to his performances in the previous season (victories in the Hahnenkamm downhill, in Lenzerheide and Davos ), had a broken leg in a training session at the beginning of January and was unable to participate. Even then, there were exact schedules for the training sessions; the Swiss Willy Forrer exceeded this limit by ten minutes during downhill training on February 13th, and was summoned to the jury, whereby he got away with a reprimand. Nevertheless, he did not follow the rules again during the next training session. Several days before the races, Sepp Behr renounced his nomination in favor of Willy Bogner in the German team . According to the world rankings, Behr was better classified, but experts kept Bogner in better shape than currently.

"Sport Zürich" gave a preview of the alpine competitions in its February 19, 1960. For the men it was assumed that the Austrians would use three combiners and a specialist in each discipline. Stiegler has proven to be the most regular. The French caused a sensation in Kitzbühel ( Guy Périllat downhill and combined winner and slalom runner-up). Adrien Duvillard as number 1 can be expected in all disciplines. Germany has made unusual progress in the past two years and there has been a changing of the guard. Willy Bogner in particular has what it takes to be a great champion. The Italians started well, but then struggled to assert themselves in the front. The best weapons of the Swiss are Roger Staub and Willy Forrer, whereby Staub is particularly strong in the giant slalom and Forrer in the downhill. The Japanese Igaya, who has come back from oblivion, has shown good preparation at races in the USA. The US runners were not given great chances and Grahn could perhaps deliver a surprise for the northerners.

The Swiss women have real chances. The list of Olympic and world champions has been proving their class since 1948 and they could provide an Olympic champion in every discipline. The Austrian team consists of a good mix of experienced and young talented drivers. Traudl Hecher and Marianne Jahn were carefree. With the Italians, who have been asserting themselves in the head group for a long time, Pia Riva should be considered in particular . The French women, on the other hand, would have a hard time maintaining the standards of their male colleagues. The German female racers should not be underestimated, even if they could not have fully built on the performance of the previous winter. Heidi Biebl has done best so far. The Norwegians have not yet come into their own because of injuries, while the dangers from the east are doubtful. The US runners, on the other hand, should be hard to beat, and the Canadians were also given chances.

Results men

Departure

space	country	athlete	Time (min)
1	FRA	Jean Vuarnet	2: 06.0
2	EUA	Hans-Peter Lanig	2: 06.5
3	FRA	Guy Périllat	2: 06.9
4th	SUI	Willi Forrer	2: 07.8
5	SUI	Roger dust	2: 08.9
6th	ITA	Bruno Alberti	2: 09.1
7th	AUT	Karl Schranz	2: 09.2
8th	FRA	Charles Bozon	2: 09.6
9	EUA	Willy Bogner	2: 09.7
10	AUT	Egon Zimmermann	2: 09.8
11	EUA	Ludwig Leitner	2: 10.2
13	SUI	Jakob Ardüser	2: 10.9
15th	AUT	Josef Stiegler	2: 13.1
16	EUA	Eberhard Riedel	2: 13.3
19th	AUT	Andreas Molterer	2: 15.1
20th	SUI	Nando Pajarola	2: 15.4
41	LIE	Adolf Fehr	2: 27.4
49	LIE	Silvan Kindle	2: 29.4
	LIE	Hermann Kindle

Date: February 22nd, 10:00 am
Slope: "Squaw Peak"
Start: 2707 m, Finish: 1949 m
Difference in altitude: 758 m, route length: 3095 m
20 gates, course setter: Willy Schäffler (USA)

63 participants, 61 of them in the rating.

The race was scheduled for Friday, February 19 (from 10 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.), but heavy snowfall from the morning of February 18 (30 to 50 cm of fresh snow on the upper part of the track) made it impossible to take place on the scheduled day. Before that there was a conflict about the formation of the all-German team: The performance principle based on the current FIS world rankings should apply. All runners from the west were better placed there. In the current winter, however, the East German Eberhard Riedel was better than Fritz Wagnerberger , so that the "Chef de mission" Herbert Kunze reported because of a protest by the GDR officials Riedel.

The route began with a traverse, followed by a "big shot", in the transition to the next off-road ledge, fast skis and good gliding were required. The next steep section with a wave running diagonally through the direction of travel should not be underestimated. This ended the technical difficulties, in the final section stamina and gliding ability were required. The route made enormous demands on technical skills. The top drivers were determined after the first practice session on February 13th. While these mastered the key points, weaker competitors struggled.

Jean Vuarnet's victory was not entirely unexpected, but it was still surprising, especially since he had not done well in training. As a good glider, he ensured his success especially in the lower flat section. The second-placed Hans-Peter Lanig had been one of the best downhill specialists in the world for years. He had the lead from the start and was only beaten in the last section. As expected, Willy Bogner was also among the best. Although the Swiss did not get a medal this time, they were even better overall than in the giant slalom. The best Austrian was Karl Schranz in eighth place and like the other ÖSV runners far from a medal. Trainer Othmar Schneider had obviously used the wax that had brought the medals in the giant slalom the day before, but the snow conditions had changed and it had become colder. In contrast to the French, Swiss and Germans, they had not made any wax samples before the race.

Adrien Duvillard fell when he hit the "camel hump" with the ends of his ski and fell on his back; he was brought down unconscious, but his injuries weren't too severe. It was the first time that an Olympic race on metal skis had been won. Sport Zürich asked to what extent “developments with brand wars like in professional cycling can occur; In any case, it is high time that the FIS finally dealt very energetically with certain unpleasant phenomena in this area ”.

Giant slalom

space	country	athlete	Time (min)
1	SUI	Roger dust	1: 48.3
2	AUT	Josef Stiegler	1: 48.7
3	AUT	Ernst Hinterseer	1: 49.1
4th	United States	Thomas Corcoran	1: 49.7
5	ITA	Bruno Alberti	1: 50.1
6th	FRA	Guy Périllat	1: 50.7
7th	AUT	Karl Schranz	1: 50.8
8th	ITA	Paride Milianti	1: 50.9
9	FRA	Charles Bozon	1: 51.0
10	FRA	Adrien Duvillard	1: 51.1
12	AUT	Andreas Molterer	1: 51.6
13	EUA	Hans-Peter Lanig	1: 51.9
15th	EUA	Fritz Wagnerberger	1: 52.5
18th	EUA	Ludwig Leitner	1: 53.6
20th	SUI	Willi Forrer	1: 53.9
22nd	SUI	Fredy Brupbacher	1: 55.0
25th	SUI	Nando Pajarola	1: 56.2
39	LIE	Silvan Kindle	2: 08.9
40	LIE	Hermann Kindle	2: 11.7
43	LIE	Adolf Fehr	2: 13.3

Date: February 21, 10:00 am
Runway: "KT-22"
Start: 2,447 m, Finish: 1,894 m
Difference in altitude: 553 m, route length: 1,800 m
Gates: 55, course setter Barney McLean (USA)

65 participants, 58 of them in the rating. Retired u. a .: Willy Bogner (EUA).

Once again the ÖSV supervisors decided to nominate their quartet, whereby the postponement of the men's downhill also played a role. By Egon Zimmermann a good departure placement had been expected, but was not nominated because of the pending departure. Anderl Molterer was also given preference over Hias Leitner. After the ancestors Jean Vuarnet and Egon Zimmermann I, Karl Schranz opened the race. He had let everyone know before the games that he would win downhill and giant slalom, but he was too nervous, tore the gates and controlled the pace poorly. Stiegler had been declared the winner by mistake due to incorrect timing, which was corrected after 18 minutes (he had been nine tenths of a second faster than Staub due to an early start); he knew straight away that its running time could not be correct. Staub became Switzerland's first men's alpine Olympic champion since Edy Reinalter in slalom in 1948 and the first men's alpine world champion since Georges Schneider's slalom gold in 1950. He was able to put an end to his reputation of being “the eternal runner-up”. The Austrians had to acknowledge that the Sailer era was over, but they were the best team in terms of rank. The French did excellent as a team, but the effect of the metal ski wasn't that much noticeable. The US team surprised with fourth place and two other runners among the first 16. The award ceremony took place in the ice oval on the same afternoon; the medals were presented by IOC President Avery Brundage .

slalom

space	country	athlete	Time (min)
1	AUT	Ernst Hinterseer	2: 08.9
2	AUT	Mathias Leitner	2: 10.3
3	FRA	Charles Bozon	2: 10.4
4th	EUA	Ludwig Leitner	2: 10.5
5	AUT	Josef Stiegler	2: 11.1
6th	FRA	Guy Périllat	2: 11.8
7th	EUA	Hans-Peter Lanig	2: 14.3
8th	ITA	Paride Milianti	2: 14.4
9	United States	Tom Corcoran	2: 14.7
10	EUA	Sepp Behr	2: 16.0
15th	SUI	Adolf Mathis	2: 23.5
21st	LIE	Silvan Kindle	2: 30.7
27	LIE	Hermann Kindle	2: 45.7
31	SUI	Georges Schneider	2: 52.7

Date: February 24th, 9:30 am
Piste: "KT-22"
Start: 2110 m, Finish: 1894 m
Difference in altitude: 216 m, route length: 590 m
Gates: 69 (1st run), 62 (2nd run) , Course setters Stein Eriksen and Karl Molitor

63 participants, 40 of them in the ranking. Retired u. a .: Willy Bogner (EUA) after fastest time in the first run, François Bonlieu (FRA), Willi Forrer (SUI), Ernst Oberaigner (AUT), Roger Staub (SUI).

The race was driven in glorious weather. There was a high failure rate on the two difficult and different courses. Already in the first starting group only seven got through well, in the second eleven out of 14 had dropped out or were too late. The starting order was still such that the number one in the first run also started first in the second run. As the first to start the decisive round, Bogner hit a pole with the rear ends of his skis after a good start and fell. The gold medal was won by Hinterseer, who was only a substitute. Behind him, Hias Leitner classified himself in second place, while Stiegler saved a medal in the combination with fifth place. Ludwig Leitner and Hanspeter Lanig were able to place themselves in place of Bogner, with the latter winning a medal in the combination. Of the French, only Bozon kept pace with the Austrians, while Périllat did not take too great risks in order not to endanger his leading position in the combination. The defeat of the Swiss came as no surprise, “but its extent was astonishing; even the specialists Mathis and Schneider had nothing to order this time. The slalom has been the weakest discipline in the Swiss men's team for years. "

There were disqualification requests against Bozon and Périllat, but the jury rejected them because of the race film. Complaints that Bozon started too early and that Austrian supervisors had entered the slopes were not allowed.

Results women

Departure

space	country	sportswoman	Time (min)
1	EUA	Heidi Biebl	1: 37.6
2	United States	Penny Pitou	1: 38.6
3	AUT	Traudl Hecher	1: 38.9
4th	ITA	Pia Riva	1: 39.9
5	ITA	Jerta Schir	1: 40.5
6th	EUA	Anneliese Meggl	1: 40.8
7th	EUA	Sonja Sperl	1: 41.0
8th	AUT	Erika Netzer	1: 41.1
9	ITA	Carla Marchelli	1: 41.6
	SUI	Yvonne Rüegg
11	EUA	Barbara Henneberger	1: 42.4
26th	SUI	Margrit Gertsch	1: 50.4
35	SUI	Liselotte Michel	2: 01.0
39	AUT	Josefa Frandl	2: 11.6

Date: February 20, 10:00 a.m.
Piste: "KT-22"
Start: 2447 m, finish: 1894 m,
altitude difference: 553 m, route length: 1828 m, course setter: Gordy Prager (USA)

42 participants, 39 of them in the evaluation. Eliminated: Herlinde Beutlhauser (AUT), Betsy Snite (USA), Annemarie Waser (SUI).

On February 16, there was a test run. During the previous visit, the Swiss Olympic champion from 1956, Madeleine Berthod , fell on the finish slope, falling on her shoulder, which was already injured. Lilo Michel was nominated in her place. The fastest on the trial run were the Swiss Margrit Gertsch and Annemarie Waser.

The big winners were the Germans, who exceeded all forecasts with three drivers in the top seven and four in the first dozen. Biebl had been the most successful German runner throughout the winter and was ahead of the race from the start. There were three falls among both the US and Swiss representatives. The host country still got the silver medal. A bump in the ground was fatal for the fallen, Rüegg complained about a ski that was too slow. Among the Austrians, Hecher was able to win the bronze medal (despite falling down the stairs the day before); both Frandl and Beutlhauser fell in the traverse, with the latter having to be transported away with a concussion. The French also lost their best downhill skier, Janine Monterrain , to a fall in the traverse.

Giant slalom

space	country	sportswoman	Time (min)
1	SUI	Yvonne Rüegg	1: 39.9
2	United States	Penny Pitou	1: 40.0
3	ITA	Giuliana Chenal Minuzzo	1: 40.2
4th	United States	Betsy Snite	1: 40.4
5	EUA	Anneliese Meggl	1: 40.7
	ITA	Carla Marchelli
7th	FRA	Thérèse Leduc	1: 40.8
8th	FRA	Anne-Marie Leduc	1: 41.5
9	SUI	Madeleine Berthod	1: 41.9
	AUT	Hilde Hofherr
	EUA	Sonja Sperl
14th	SUI	Liselotte Michel	1: 42.5
15th	EUA	Barbara Henneberger	1: 42.6
21st	AUT	Josefa Frandl	1: 45.7
23	SUI	Annemarie Waser	1: 46.0
25th	AUT	Traudl Hecher	1: 46.7
37	EUA	Heidi Biebl	2: 01.5

Date: February 23, 10:00 am
Slope: "Little Papoose Peak"
Start: 2276 m, Finish: 1894 m
Difference in altitude: 382 m, route length: 1300 m
65 gates, course setter: Barney McLean (USA)

44 participants, 40 of them in the evaluation. Retired u. a .: Erika Netzer (AUT).

In addition to Netzer, Heidi Biebl and Traudl Hecher also fell. The narrow course in steep terrain with many bumps and waves required maximum concentration and stability. Rüegg was initially not intended for participation in the giant slalom and was only nominated after Margrit Gertsch had been eliminated internally . Rüegg's victory came as a surprise; Pitou had been the big favorite. Chenal Minuzzo's third place was also a surprise.

slalom

space	country	sportswoman	Time (min)
1	CAN	Anne Heggtveit	1: 49.6
2	United States	Betsy Snite	1: 52.9
3	EUA	Barbara Henneberger	1: 56.6
4th	FRA	Thérèse Leduc	1: 57.4
5	SUI	Liselotte Michel	1: 58.0
	AUT	Hilde Hofherr
7th	URS	Stalina Demidowa-Korsuchina	1: 58.4
8th	EUA	Sonja Sperl	1: 58.8
9	United States	Renie Cox	1: 59.2
10	ITA	Giuliana Chenal Minuzzo	1: 59.3
13	EUA	Anneliese Meggl	2: 02.4
16	AUT	Josefa Frandl	2: 03.0
21st	EUA	Heidi Biebl	2: 06.5
28	SUI	Madeleine Berthod	2: 15.4

Date: February 26th, 9:30 am
Piste: "Little Papoose Peak"
Start: 2080 m, Finish: 1894 m
Difference in altitude: 186 m, route length: 480 m
1st run: 53 goals, course setter: Kjell Borge Andersson (NOR)
2nd run: 55 goals

43 participants, 38 of them in the rating. Retired u. a .: Traudl Hecher (AUT), Marianne Jahn (AUT), Yvonne Rüegg (SUI), Annemarie Waser (SUI).

The later winner, Heggtveit, came with start number 2, followed immediately by Betsy Snite, who came in second . When the slope was already open, Henneberger won the bronze medal with start number 20. The Swiss team was set up on February 23, whereby Margrit Gertsch had waived in favor of Berthod and only came into question if she could not have started. After the first run, Heggtveit was in the lead with 54.0 s ahead of Marianne Jahn with 55.5 s, the Norwegian Inger Bjørnbakken was third with 57.3 s. In extremely cold weather, the piste remained hard, but the first competitors had better ski guidance than the skiers who went into the race later. The first course was not exactly imaginative, the classic slalom goal combinations were missing; instead one saw staggered goals in a row, which gave the slalom a rather monotonous character. Heggtveit's victory was only a "limited surprise", as she had won the Kandahar in 1959 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen . The Austrians had great expectations after Marianne Jahn finished 2nd after the first run, but the Vorarlberg woman crashed at gate 51, rolled over, fell back to 12th and was ultimately disqualified because of a goal error.

World Championship

Combination (men)

space	country	athlete	Points
1	FRA	Guy Périllat	03.98
2	FRA	Charles Bozon	05.52
3	EUA	Hans-Peter Lanig	05.66
4th	AUT	Josef Stiegler	06.75
5	EUA	Ludwig Leitner	08.00
6th	ITA	Paride Milianti	08.22
7th	ITA	Bruno Alberti	13.91
8th	ITA	Italo Pedroncelli	17.49
9	CAN	Verne Anderson	23.07
10	JPN	Chiharu Igaya	25.51

No Olympic medals were awarded for the combined competition, only World Cup medals. The positions were determined according to a point system from the results of the downhill, giant slalom and slalom.

Combination (women)

space	country	sportswoman	Points
1	CAN	Anne Heggtveit	06.96
2	EUA	Sonja Sperl	10.08
3	EUA	Barbara Henneberger	10.80
4th	EUA	Anneliese Meggl	10.88
5	FRA	Thérèse Leduc	11.44
6th	ITA	Carla Marchelli	11.93
7th	ITA	Jerta Schir	14.31
8th	United States	Penny Pitou	17.85
9	URS	Stalina Demidowa-Korsuchina	18.40
10	FRA	Arlette Grosso	19.33

No Olympic medals were awarded for the combined competition, only World Cup medals. The positions were determined according to a point system from the results of the downhill, giant slalom and slalom.

Web links

• Overview of all races in the database of the International Ski Federation (English)
• Alpine skiing at the 1960 Winter Olympics in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )

Individual evidence

1. ^ "The alpine USA team without Bud Werner". Sport Zurich, January 11, 1960, p. 3.
2. ↑ "The truth about the men's Olympic downhill course". Sport Zurich, February 17, 1960, p. 1.
3. ^ "Olympic fever in Squaw Valley" . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 19, 1960, p. 10 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
4. ↑ ^{a b} Sport Zürich, February 19, 1960, pp. 5 and 7.
5. ↑ The men's downhill run only on Monday? In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 19, 1960, p. 10 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
6. ↑ No names yet . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 20, 1960, p. 9 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
7. ↑ Der Spiegel , edition 9/1960, February 24, 1960.
8. ↑ "The truth about the men's Olympic downhill course". Sport Zurich, February 17, 1960, p. 1.
9. ^ «Outsider Jean Vuarnet (France) winner in the men's downhill». Sport Zurich, February 24, 1960, p. 6.
10. ↑ Column 4: «Errors and omissions» . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 25, 1960, p. 10 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
11. ↑ «Alarm call to ski manufacturing». Sport Zurich, February 24, 1960, p. 1.
12. ↑ «The worst defeat in years» . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 23, 1960, p. 12 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
13. ^ "Made to measure Olympic champion: Roger Staub" . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 23, 1960, p. 11 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
14. ^ "Gold for dust in the giant slalom" and "Roger Staub in front of the Austrians Stiegler and Hinterseer in the giant slalom". Sport Zürich, February 22, 1950, pp. 1 and 7.
15. ^ "Roger Staub - a popular Olympic champion". Sport Zurich, February 24, 1960, p. 4.
16. ^ "Austria suddenly back: double victory in the difficult slalom by Ernst Hinterseer and Hias Leitner". Sport Zurich, February 26, 1960, p. 1.
17. ^ "Gold for Ernst Hinterseer, silver for Hias Leitner" . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 26, 1960, p. 10 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
18. ↑ «What They Said». Sport Zurich, February 26, 1960, p. 2.
19. ↑ «14 disqualifications in slalom». Sport Zurich, February 26, 1960, p. 4.
20. ^ "Olympic favorite Chamot-Berthod injured" . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna January 31, 1960, p. 28 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
21. ↑ Madeleine Chamot does not start! In: Sport Zurich. February 19, 1960, p. 12.
22. ^ "Heidi Biebl (Germany) downhill winner" Sport Zürich, February 22, 1960, p. 3 and 4.
23. ↑ "Traudl Hecher wins the bronze medal" . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 21, 1960, p. 32 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
24. ^ "Yvonne Rüegg's big day". Sport Zurich, February 26, 1960, p. 4.
25. ^ "The Swiss woman Ruegg wins the giant" . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 24, 1960, p. 10 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
26. ↑ "Now gold for Yvonne Rüegg too!" and “Gold for Yvonne Rüegg too”. Sport Zurich, February 24, 1960, pp. 1 to 3.
27. ↑ "Women's slalom starting order". Sport Zurich, February 26, 1960, p. 4.
28. ↑ A fall cost Marianne Jahn the silver medal . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 27, 1960, p. 10 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
29. ↑ «Austria's female runners lost their nerve», middle . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 28, 1960, p. 28 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
30. ↑ "Alpine Three combination (Official World Cup)." Sport Zurich, February 27, 1960, p. 5.
31. ↑ "Official ranking list for women in Alpine Combination". Sport Zurich, February 29, 1960, p. 5.