Alpine World Ski Championships 1950

11th Alpine World Ski Championships
Place:	Aspen ( USA )
Start:	February 13, 1950
The End:	February 18, 1950
Competitions:	6th
winner
	Men's	Ladies
Departure	Zeno Colò	Trude Jochum-Beiser
Giant slalom	Zeno Colò	Dagmar Rome
slalom	Georges Schneider	Dagmar Rome
← St. Moritz 1948 Oslo 1952 →

The 11th Alpine World Ski Championships took place from 13 to 18 February 1950 in Aspen in the US -Bundesstaat Colorado instead.

opening

This took place on Sunday afternoon, February 12th. 104 competitors marched through Aspen, whose residents greeted the athletes with all kinds of noise instruments. At the head of the competitors marched with Toni Seelos , James Couttet and Evelyn Pinching three former world champions, as well as Sigmund Ruud .

Worth mentioning

• For the first time there were Alpine World Ski Championships outside of Europe
• Germany and Japan were excluded from the world championships
• The “Alpine Combination” was not on the program, but for the first time the giant slalom
• Furthermore, more than 4 runners per nation could be used per competition
• The Austrian ski team took part in the “FIS-Ball” in the “Münchnerhof” on January 19th in Vienna's Mariahilferstrasse and left for the USA on January 25th. However, due to the zone boundaries of the allied occupying powers, there were obstacles on the way to this event, so Dagmar Rom was stopped because she had forgotten her identity card (popularly known as the "I ID card"). And visa permits for entry into the USA were also required, all of which were issued

The departure took place with the "Arlberg-Express", which brought the delegation to Zurich , from where the flight to New York took place the next day. The team arrived there on January 27th, where it was unusually warm with 21 degrees plus. It didn't go on straight away either because the US hosts organized a “sightseeing tour” for the alpine people. The team arrived in Aspen around February 1st.

• Austria provided the numerically largest team with 8 men and 7 women. France had 7 men and 4 women, of which Suzanne Thiolliere was only registered as a replacement. Switzerland had 8 men, but only 3 women (Olympic champion Schlunegger was missing because her family ran a small restaurant and she was indispensable). Italy was also represented by only a few runners, of which Zeno Colò and Celina Seghi were the most famous (and Colò were given the best medal chances).
• The programming was deliberately made with the downhill race as the last competition, as this discipline was considered to be the riskiest with a high risk of injury. For the giant slalom, 8 participants per nation (men and women together) were allowed, while those for the slalom should still be determined according to the snow conditions. (The Austrian association decided to nominate five women for the starting competition, the women's giant slalom on February 13th, and seven Austrians competed in the men's race on February 14th). The American press was clearly more interested in the alpine competitions than in the previous Nordic World Championships in Lake Placid.
• The Norwegians jumped halfway through the lift so that they could show up earlier for slalom training. Then the competition complained, whereupon the FIS forbade this approach.
• Zeno Colò was the first men's gold medalist for Italy; With double gold, Italy now appeared in an overall balance of all previous world championships with three gold medals (after that in 1932 by Paula Wiesinger ). And Colò, who in 1952 again received downhill gold for both the Olympic and World Championships, remained (like Wiesinger) the only gold medal winner to date (May 2017) in Olympic or World Championship downhill runs.
• While the ÖSV men had to be satisfied with a bronze medal (perhaps also handicapped by the injury-related failures), the women each achieved double victories and fourth place everywhere.
• The Swiss men were able to repeat their slalom gold from 1948 and, including the prewar world championships (thanks to two Rudolf Rominger and one David Zogg ), had five gold medals, three silver and three bronze medals, but this gold medal from Georges Schneider should be the last up to current point in time (May 2017), because after that there was only one silver ( Silvan Zurbriggen 2003) and two bronze ( Jacques Lüthy 1980 and Michael von Grünigen 1996) and at the Olympic Games only the aforementioned Lüthy bronze 1980.

Preliminary reports, assessments

The weather conditions with too little snow in the US east (including the Rocky Mountains ) may have contributed to the fact that it had remained calm in Aspen in recent weeks - and the official press service, which was centralized for both Lake Placid and Aspen, was possibly - after a very "bulletin-rich" pre-winter - the material ran out. For European standards it was almost unimaginable how little the big daily press cared about these races. The monthly and bi-monthly ski magazines had provided information (rather incomplete).

The French team, consisting of 10 members, including three “Alpine women”, arrived in New York on the morning of January 31st and flew to Aspen the next day. Henri Oreiller declared to be in the shape of his life; he was confident that he could also beat Stein Eriksen , whom he regarded as his most dangerous rival. The French team manager, Jacques Tuot, held - apart from Eriksen - the Austrians, US-Americans and Italians as the biggest competitors, while the other countries had weaker teams than in previous World Cups. The plan of the "Tricolore" was to want to stay in North America for about five weeks and after the World Championships to take part in various competitions ("Harriman Cup" in Sun Valley , and also in Stowe and Banff at the North American Slalom and Canadian Championships).

The women's downhill run, starting from Silver Queen Mountain , was changed at the request of various nations because it turned out to be too dangerous; one of the best Canadian runners, broke ankle while training on February 2nd.

In a prognosis made by “Sport Zürich” in issue no. 18 of February 10, 1950, page 4, title “Aspen - a milestone in the history of alpine skiing”, it was stated that the “hegemony of the alpine countries by the Competition from the northern countries and America endangered, in the equilibrium of the competitors luck will play a major role. Nevertheless, the upcoming world champions, even if they should be so-called outsiders, have to have solid skills, the requirements for pure adventurers are too high ”.
Specifically, with regard to the men, a “great stranger, France, Zeno Colò as an outstanding athlete in Italy, strong Swiss facing difficult tasks” and a “balanced Austrian team” were written.
In the French elimination races, Oreiller and Couttet were dispensed with; Oreiller sustained a serious injury last winter, he only took part in the “Harriman Cup” (which he won with great difficulty), he then trained in St. Moritz, but disappeared into oblivion, prepared himself independently ( that caused some violent reviews). So it is difficult to form a judgment with him, but also with Couttet. With the exception of the Lauberhorn, where he partly spared himself, he did not contest any races - and one should not overlook the fact that the many years of racing have not left him without a trace. François Baud , a newcomer, was considered a "secret weapon" by his compatriots (had won several downhill runs in the eliminations). Georges Panisset could surpass himself in the slalom, he and Jean Pazzi stayed together in America a year ago and successfully contested several races. Claude Penz was on the Olympic team in 1948, but was just as unable to distinguish himself as he is now in the selections, owes his nomination to third place in last year's Arlberg-Kandahar , Désiré Lacroix (15th place in the Olympic slalom), was in the Chamonix ski week Made it big in 1949 , won the descent ahead of Colò and Oreiller and finished second in the slalom behind the latter.
Zeno Colò has become a big favorite with many experts; Although he had distinguished himself in various races last winter, he was called up to the eliminations, which he then won over and over again. We know from Silvio Alverà that he is capable of special performances in the slalom, while Albino Alverà and Carlo Gartner are not in a class of their own and could occupy honorable middle places.
The Swiss alpine team should possibly make up for what the Nordic colleagues had previously failed to do in Lake Placid and Rumford. The SSV has a favorite in all disciplines - in the slalom Georges Schneider , which is also feared by foreign opponents, Ralph Olinger was expected to have used the time to complete his form for the downhill. The giant slalom specialist is Fernand Grosjean . His explanation about Edy Rominger was given, "He had imposed some restraint on the eliminations in order not to suffer a setback at the crucial moment." Rudolf Graf had never gone all out this winter ("it was early on the World Championship downhill enough ”) - the other three, Fredy Ruby , Gottlieb and Bernard Perren, who were representatives of the younger guard, should take on the role of daredevils for tactical reasons - they would combine qualities such as technical ability and courage.
At the ÖSV, the selection "encountered some difficulties because young people kept pushing ahead, Edy Mall was named the most promising runner, Franz Gabl as the hope for the descent, the most brilliant driver was Egon Schöpf , Christian Pravda the greatest technician and stylist, Walter Schuster only made an impact in the elimination races, and another young man, Hans Senger , promised surprises ”.
The representatives from the USA (especially Jack Reddish ) were classified as “dangerous”, those from Norway (Marius and Stein Eriksen) and Sweden ( Olle Dahlman , Hans Hansson ) as “balanced”.

In the women's sector, the Austrians were given the clear favorite position, whereby Erika Mahringer should have the most promising chances, Trude Beiser has lost some of her skills and is number two. With Rosmarie Gebler-Proxauf , Anneliese Schuh-Proxauf , Dagmar Rom and Lydia Gstrein , the fighting strength will be completed - Resi Hammerer and Annelore Zückert are in reserve in the second member.
France is lamenting a bear market and has therefore only chosen three participants. Experts gave Jacqueline Martel the best chances (she caused a sensation last year with her downhill and combined win at Kandahar ). As a good technician, Micheline Demazière only has something to say in slalom, and Lucienne Schmitt-Couttet would also have solid skills in slalom.
Italy was obviously only represented by Celina Seghi , who too often got nervous at the crucial moment. Basically she would be one of the best drivers out there at the moment.
Both the US and Swiss runners are capable of surprises. Andrea Mead , Brynhild Grasmoen and Dodie Post are back from the Olympic team, who wanted to try to repeat Gretchen Fraser's prank . With the Canadians (Wurtele siblings), you grope in the dark. With the Swiss women, you shouldn't get too stuck on the miracle of St. Moritz: Rosmarie Bleuer could achieve first-class performances, especially in the slalom, Olivia Ausoni would probably be her somewhat controversial selection (see the summary of the "Sport Zurich" on the Nordic World Ski Championships in 1950 , because Ausoni had been given preference over a cross-country skier). Sylvia Mühlemann is trusted to “go all out”.
From the point of view of Marc Hodler , the head of downhill and slalom, according to an interview given for the French sports newspaper "L'Equipe", Aspen will beat Lake Placid, but will not achieve the almost perfect European perfection. But there are a certain number of officials who know what a competition is and who are not on their first try, as was the case at Lake Placid. Nobody would have to worry about the snow conditions, the slopes would have a solid foundation.

Opening ceremony

2,000 spectators attended the opening ceremony with 114 competitors from 14 countries in the presence of the FIS delegates. Colonel FIS President Nikolai Ramm Østgaard hoisted the FIS flag and declared in English, French and German: On behalf of the international ski association, I express my heartfelt thanks for the reception in Aspen. The Governor of Colorado State Lee Knous replied: I hope that the event we are gathered here for will contribute to a better understanding between our and your countries. For me, the translation of the long French expression Fédération Internationale de Ski is short and sweet: International friendship on skis (Note: The number 114 or 104 among the participants is used in another report by “Sport Zürich” under the title “All about the world championships »Specified in column 2 in issue no. 20 of February 15 with 112, although it can be assumed that probably only 90 would start because the others are out of action due to injuries.)

A preliminary report shows that the slopes remained closed for training on February 12th, that the Italians and French were not happy about the 20 cm of fresh snow and that there was an appeal to the residents of Aspen, who are known as great dog lovers has to keep the dogs indoors as much as possible for the next six days, as the stray animals could cause accidents. - From a sporting point of view, the knowledge and the excellent work of Friedl Pfeifer , a former Austrian top runner (3rd place in the 1935 World Championship slalom), and who also acted as course setter, was mentioned again and again. (Source both with regard to the opening ceremony and the further notes according to «Sport Zürich» No. 20 of February 15, 1950, page 1 under the main headline «Alpine World Championships have begun»)

Injuries

• During the training sessions, Sylvia Mühlemann (SUI) broke an ankle, Borghild Niskin (NOR) broke the shoulder blade and Walter Schuster broke his upper leg and a lower leg fracture . Even Toni Spiss injured in such a way that it turned out. The Swiss Fred Rubi and Gottlieb Perren as well as Klippgen (NOR) and Silva (CHIL) were among the victims, another 15 participants were in medical care, but their participation in the races was not endangered.

Review from an Austrian perspective

With regard to the men, the press came to the conclusion that it had taken a longer acclimatization period, which was shown by the fact that the results only improved towards the end of the World Championships. Overall, however, there would have been similar somewhat disappointing results for the Swiss and French, despite the gold medal for Georges Schneider. They all failed because of "the devil" Colò, Egon Schöpf could have beaten him on the descent because he was a second ahead before he fell.
As for the women's team, it was stated that Mahringer had exceeded her top form by a trifle. There was an unbelievable hype of reporters, whereby the questions were more about private life, and business people wanted to persuade the winners to take advertising pictures, according to the motto, "Dagmar Rome uses a certain soap". The reasons for the sporting successes were explained by FIS presidium member Marc Hodler to the effect that, compared to other nations, the Austrians would train together with the men on the same slopes, Trude Beiser, due to their technique, he valued higher than Christl Cranz was at the time .

Men

Departure

space	country	athlete	time
1	ITA	Zeno Colò	2: 34.4 min
2	FRA	James Couttet	2: 35.7 min
3	AUT	Egon Schöpf	2: 36.3 min
4th	SUI	Bernhard Perren	2: 37.7 min
5	AUT	Christian Pravda	2: 38.1 min
6th	FRA	Jean Pazzi	2: 38.6 min

World Champion 1948: Henri Oreiller (FRA)
Date: February 18th
Track: “Ruthie's Run”
Length: 3400 m, Difference in altitude: 800 m
Goals: 14
(The digits were according to “Sport-Zurich” but with a length of 3,700 m and 857 m Altitude difference indicated - but ultimately it emerges from the race report that the so-called "spar-guich-run" was 3,300 m long and there was about 750 m HU.)
Although 61 runners had initially named, Gottlieb Perren and Olle Dahlman had withdrawn due to persistent injuries; the US runner Steve Knowlton had become a father that morning, so he gave back his start number by saying that he had to spare his bones for his son, but he stayed as a spectator. There were 58 runners at the start, of which 48 crossed the finish line

Other important runners and best of their nations:

space	country	athlete	Time (min)
07th	AUT	Edi Mall	2: 38.9
08th	AUT	Hans Nogler	2: 39.5
09	SUI	Rolf Olinger	2: 39.7
10	SUI	Edy Rominger	2: 40.3
11	AUT	Franz Gabl	2: 41.1
12	AUT	Hans Senger	2: 41.5
13	SUI	Fernand Grosjean	2: 44.0
...
16	SUI	Georges Schneider	2: 45.5
...
18th	United States	Jim Griffith	2: 46.5
19th	ITA	Silvio Alverà	2: 46.7
20th	NOR	Jack Nielsen	2: 46.7
21st	AUT	Engelbert Haider	2: 47.1
...
23	YUG	Tino Mule	2: 49.0
...
26th	CAN	Yves Latreille	2: 51.3
27	NOR	Stone Eriksen	2: 51.4
...
33	SWE	Stig Sollander	2: 55.1
...
37	SUI	Rudolf Graf	2: 59.5
38	SUI	Fred Rubi	2: 59.7
...
41	United States	Toni Matt	3: 05.8
...
48 (last)	CHI	Sergio Navaretto	3: 29.1

All Americans who are enthusiastic about skiing considered the men's downhill run to be the “great attraction of the event”. Among the Europeans, the French and Italians first attached the greatest importance to this competition, which in their opinion was to get the greatest laurels in this area. The Austrians also had their trump cards in hand, the Swiss exercised wise restraint. It was expressed here that the chances of the SSV runners were not rated as high.
It had been planned to start on the summit of Mount Aspen , where the North American championship won by Frenchman Jean Pazzi had been held last year, but because this upper part of the course was fairly flat, the race management decided to shorten the route so that it would be the launch site was about 200 m above the chairlift intermediate station. In its entirety, the course was considered to be more difficult than that of the 1948 Olympics. Experts tended to believe that the winner had to reach a minimum speed of 96 km / h (this corresponded to a race time of 2:18), but the French guessed it - depending on the snow conditions - of 2:25 and 2:30.
According to reliable observers, there would actually only be ten runners who would qualify for the “Top Ten”, although the Swiss were not on the idea of ​​underestimating what they were happy to take on. These favorites were four French (Pazzi, Couttet, Oreiller and Panisset), three Austrians (Pravda, Schöpf, Gabl) plus Colò, Eriksen and Reddish.
The weather was a little warm, but the forecast snowfall did not materialize. Friedl Pfeifer, who had driven down the route again in the morning, had noticed that the snow was a bit soft, but its condition was excellent, but he did not believe that the previously calculated time of 2 minutes would be adhered to. 10 more control gates had been set in order to get the predicted (feared) high speeds under control.
The Swiss supervisor Arno Glatthard had indicated that his men would also have a serious say, although Zeno Colò was the big favorite - and the outcome of the race had shown that there was nothing we could do against him at the moment, although his renewed victory was not could only be traced back to his bravado, because he also showed stylistically and tactically a performance that left a lasting impression on the 8,000 spectators. While the competitors overcame the terrain waves by jumps (there were those up to 30 m), he drove out the bumps. Surprisingly, the "old" James Couttet shone again. But he got blown up during a cross-country jump and mastered this incident brilliantly; As is well known, he was also a good ski jumper and accordingly he sailed like such a 30 m deep. Henri Oreiller fell badly and gave up. Rudolf Graf and Fred Ruby, somewhat handicapped by his injury, also fell, but ended the race. Sixten Isberg and Carlo Gartner resigned, Toni Matt crossed the finish line after a fall.
Yves Latreille (CAN) had opened, followed by Bernhard Perren - whose time was initially not reached by Gabl, Pazzi, Baud and Mall, before Colò started the race and was 3.3 seconds faster. The next ones were Schöpf, Ohlinger and the fallen Hansson (2: 49.2). After that, Oreiller and McCullough were eliminated (both broke their skis). This was followed by the Swiss Grosjean, Schneider and Rominger, who showed themselves to be equal to the best French and Austrians, the latter being noticeable for their balanced performance - and as expected, the young Pravda noted the best time next to Schöpf. For a short time it was said that Bernhard Perren had missed a goal, but this did not come true. Some runners called the icy slope the "killer slope" *).
From Colò it was said that he drove “like a world champion”, from Schöpf that he “drove like someone who wants to become world champion”; Schöpf then fell before the finish, which may have cost him his dream of the title, because despite this mishap he was "only" 1.9 seconds behind Colò. Several runners fell and their skis broke. Christian Pravda has been called the "most stylish" driver. Colò justified his form with the fact that he had trained hard - and "there was no alcohol, no cigarettes and no women".

• ) In the Viennese newspaper »Sport und Toto« (please see the source reference in the »Review from an Austrian point of view«) it was stated that the Americans would use the word "suicide slide".

Giant slalom

space	country	athlete	time
1	ITA	Zeno Colò	1: 54.4 min
2	SUI	Fernand Grosjean	1: 55.2 min
3	FRA	James Couttet	1: 55.3 min
4th	FRA	Henri Oreiller	1: 55.8 min
5	SUI	Georges Schneider	1: 55.9 min
6th	ITA	Carlo Gartner	1: 56.0 min

For the first time in the world championship program
Date : February 14th
Track: “Silver Queen”
Length: 2000 m, difference in altitude: 480 m,
gates: 35

There were 63 runners at the start, 61 of them finished.

Other important runners or best of their nations:
7. George Panisset (FRA) 1: 56.3
8. Guttorm Berge (NOR) 1: 56.5
9. Silvio Alverà (ITA) 1: 56.8
10. Jean Pazzi (FRA) 1:57, 0
11 Stein Eriksen (NOR) 1: 57.1; 12 Christian Pravda (AUT) 1: 57.5; 13. ex aequo Bernhard Perren (SUI) & Hans Senger (AUT) 1: 57.7; 15. ex aequo Ernest McCullough (CAN) & Albino Alverà (ITA) 1: 57.8; 18. Olle Dahlman (SWE) 1: 58.6; 19. Edy Rominger (SUI) 1: 59.1; 20. Egon Schöpf (AUT) 1: 59.2; 22. Stig Sollander (SWE) 1: 59.7; 23. Rudolf Graf (SUI) 2: 01.0; 24. Engelbert Haider (AUT) 2: 01.6; 26. Edi Mall (AUT) 2: 02.2; 27. Jack Reddish (USA) 2:02.9; 29. Tino Mulej (YUG) 2: 03.3; 32. Ralph Olinger (SUI) 2: 03.7; 35. Josef Gabl (AUT) 2: 04.2; 37. Franz Gabl 2: 04.6; 38. Hans Nogler (2: 04.6? That would be the same as Franz Gabl - time according to "Arbeiterzeitung")

Ancestors were Karl Molitor, Toni Seelos and Dick Lawrence (USA). The racing drivers came from 13 nations, Silvio Alverà opened. The division had been made in such a way that the top 30 competitors could start in the first half of the field, and it turned out that the low start numbers had an advantage. At the start the slope was still in the shade, the sun only appeared over the mountain after 20 riders, which made the slope a bit soft and therefore slower.

Surprisingly, the Austrians had nothing to say in this competition. The popular Zeno Colò (car number 6) lived up to his reputation. Fernand Grosjean (No. 9) threw all his skills into the fight. James Couttet (No. 7) and Henri Oreiller, whose strength one was in the dark about, proved that they were still among the absolute top class. For those in the know, 5th place from Georges Schneider, who had previously only distinguished himself as a slalom specialist, meant a little surprise. The Italians were the big winners, France was even better numerically - only the Norwegian Berge managed to defy this three-way coalition in the top ten.

The Americans who started with 8 men experienced a nasty disappointment (Jack Reddish as their best in 27th place), but Christian Pravda also lost for the Austrian Ski Association with 12th place. By the time Pravda came first with No. 10, the decision had already been made. All Austrians drove far below their ability. Nervousness, a lack of concentration and uncertainty in places led to bad times. The complaint that the skis were too slow was brought forward not only by the Austrians but also by other runners who could not cope with the wax problem at high altitudes. The start numbers alone (the others had 12 Schöpf, 13 F. Gabl, 22 Mall, 28 Nogler, 29 Senger, 32 Haider) should not have been to blame for the failure.

The entire Swiss team performed excellently, it was argued that despite the mishap of the trio of accident victims, they should now put their inhibitions off.

The course of the race turned out to be a fight for tenths of a second due to the balance of the favorite group. Colò owed his title to a classy ride, but above all to a refinement at the crossing. While most of the runners were slowing down there, he had made a bold jump and, masterfully keeping his balance, had hurried towards the last part of the route. The French, who absolutely wanted to win, had even developed a special tactic: a special service kept the runner at the start informed of the time of the one who had started before him, while final instructions were given at the same time. However, Couttet had obviously had reservations about the time he had been given for Colò, who had started the race before him, because the 1: 54.4 had meant that the Italian had reached the unusual average of over 60 km / h. He then drove the race of his life, but was almost a second behind with 1: 55.3.

Note: There were rank corrections (obviously because of unspecified circumstances, probably disqualifications?), After which the Swiss Rominger, Graf and Olinger took positions 18, 20 and 30 (the times remained the same).

slalom

space	country	athlete	time
1	SUI	Georges Schneider	2: 06.4 min
2	ITA	Zeno Colò	2: 06.7 min
3	NOR	Stone Eriksen	2: 08.0 min
4th	United States	Jack Reddish	2: 08.4 min
5	AUT	Egon Schöpf	2: 09.0 min
	CAN	Ernest McCullough	2: 09.0 min
	FRA	James Couttet	2: 09.0 min

World champion 1948: Edy Reinalter (SUI)
Date : February 16,
length: 600 m, difference in altitude: 275 m,
goals: 40

60 runners started, 58 of them crossed the finish line - retired: Ralph Olinger (SUI) and the Austrian Toni Matt, who started for the USA

Running times as well as further ranking or best of their nations:
Schneider 63.6 / 62.8
Colò 62.8 / 63.9
Eriksen 62.7 / 65.3
Reddish 63.9 / 64.5
Couttet 65.1 / 63.9
Schöpf 64.2 / 64.8
McCullough 64.4 / 64.6
8. Olle Dahlman (SWE) 129.8 (64.6 / 65.2)
9. Franz Gabl (AUT) 129.9 (64.1 / 65.8)
10th Desirè Lacroix (FRA) 130.5 / 65.0 / 65.5)
11th Hans Nogler (AUT) 130.6 (65.3 / 65.3)
As for the ranks from 12 onwards, there was another correction, so that Grosjean moved up to 12th place - Rominger could actually have taken this place if he hadn't thrown the penalty seconds back to 29th place for touching a goal pole (a protest from the Swiss was rejected) - obviously the twelfth place for the time being , Stig Sollander (SWE) 131.3 or the thirteenth Jean Pazzi (FRA) 131.5, either disqualified or given penalty seconds or their times corrected
12. Fernand Grosjean (SUI) 131.7
14. Hans Senger (AUT) 131, 8
Further (correct) ranks of the Swiss:
27. Bernhard Perren 136.1
29 Edy Rominger 136.3
43. Rudolf Graf 144.7 (each including 5 penalty seconds)
The times and ranks of the other Austrians: 23rd Mall 134.7; 24. Haider 135.3; 39. Pravda 143.6; for Pepi Gabl 155.2 no placement was given.
10,000 visitors came to the “Magnifico Run”. Zeno Colò was considered the big favorite, but official bulletins also named Couttet, Oreiller, Dahlman, Grosjean and Eriksen - nevertheless it was a small sensation that Stein Eriksen set the best time with 62.7 seconds and that Colò was a tenth of a second behind. Due to the giant slalom result, the Austrians were not among the favorites this time. Georges Schneider was a bit behind in 63.6, but as third he had a say in the title. Jack Reddish's 63.9 was also a surprise. He started with No. 2 (behind Couttet), and this starting No. was also an occasion for harsh words on the part of the French, Swiss and Italians, because it was not exclusively drawn, but was placed here or there - and it was said “that the Americans had given their people the best numbers”. But nobody had expected McCullough either. Christian Pravda was the first Austrian to start the race with No. 10, but he fell on the third goal from the last, had to run back 10 m, scored 71.1 seconds. Egon Schöpf drove too cramped, his style was called «funny-zig-zag- run »apostrophized - it was measured in 64.2 seconds, Franz Gabl was a tenth of a second faster - and for Hans Senger (as a debutant in such a difficult international race) the 65.0 was to be estimated as high. Nogler reached 65.3, Haider 67.3 (because of his plump figure the Americans called him “sleeping car”).
In the second run the track had become a little slower so that it was no longer possible to match Eriksen's time from the first run. The Norwegian only got 65.3 and was well behind Colòs 63.9, so the Italian's victory was within reach. Georges Schneider could only bring success with one extra effort. He passed one goal after the other absolutely calmly, but very fluidly and precisely, and dashed steadfastly towards the goal - and he was 0.3 seconds faster than Colò. Since neither Schöpf nor Reddish could improve, only James Couttet was left. Although he was able to equalize the Colò time, he stayed in total on the same level as Schöpf and McCullough. Oreiller failed the second run. Pravda was even able to undercut the great time of winner Schneider with 62.6, but his gap from the first run was too enormous. Later the jury dictated 5 penalty seconds each to u. a. Oreiller, Edy Rominger and Rudolf Graf, the result was rectified.
In the first statements the opinion was expressed that the slalom would have been too easy, even the winner admitted that the requirements were not very high, Eriksen chose a middle thing, «not too easy, but it could have been harder» and the Italian coach Menardi complained that the course was too short, it should have included 5 to 10 more goals.

Women

Departure

space	country	athlete	time
1	AUT	Trude Jochum-Beiser	2: 06.6 min
2	AUT	Erika Mahringer	2: 07.5 min
3	FRA	Georgette Thiollière -Miller	2: 08.4 min
4th	AUT	Anneliese Schuh-Proxauf	2: 08.6 min
5	United States	Katy Rodolph	2: 08.9 min
6th	FRA	Lucienne Schmith -Couttet	2: 10.0 min

World champion 1948: Hedy Schlunegger (SUI) (career ended)
Date : February 17th
Slope: “Ruthie's Run”
Length: 2100 m, difference in altitude: 600 m
Goals: 16 (According to “Sport-Zürich” the digits were initially 2,815 m Length and 612 m difference in altitude are given, but 1.8 km and 560 m HU are mentioned in the race report.)
There were 27 runners at the start, 24 of them made it to the finish - among the three runners who had given up or were eliminated due to a fall also Olivia Ausoni (SUI). Before the race, Berrit Stensby and Borghild Niskin had withdrawn their entries due to injuries

Other important placings or best of her nations:
7th Jeanette Burr (USA) 2: 10.7
8th Susanne Thiollière (FRA) 2: 11.0
9th Dagmar Rom (AUT) 2: 11.1
10th Resi Hammerer ( AUT) 2: 11.3
11. Lydia Gstrein (AUT) 2: 11.8
12. Andrea Mead (USA) 2: 12.9
13. Sara Thomasson (SWE) 2: 14.0
15. Rosmarie Bleuer (SUI) 2: 16.3
16. Celina Seghi (ITA) 2: 16.9
19. Sandra Tomkinson (CAN) 2: 21.9
23. Eve Pinching (GBR) 2: 28.3
24th and last Rosmarie Schultz (CAN) 2: 32.1
The race took place in sensitive heat, which is why the slope had become quite soft, which meant that ski preparation played an important role. Schuh-Proxauf was the first to cross the slopes, Schmitt-Couttet was 1.4 seconds slower. Rosemarie Bleuer had suspected a short-term fall because in 2: 16.3 she was significantly worse. Beiser set an uncanny pace and thanks to her good stamina she also mastered the very coupé games flawlessly. Their average speed was 80 km / h. Jacqueline Martel (FRA) held up her gun after a fall. Co-favorite Mahringer also showed a wonderful performance, was 9 tenths of a second slower than her comrade. Seghi risked too much, fell and lost valuable time. Katy Rodolph surprisingly came at the fourth-best time to date. Dagmar Rom, who had aspirated on the hat trick, was too slow and just made it into the top ten. Georgette Miller-Thiollière, who had promised to absolutely win the race, also showed extraordinary bravado. Marge Owen (CAN) fell badly right after the start and had to be transported away seriously injured. The performance of the Swiss women was perceived as disappointing. Experts felt that there was a lack of fighting spirit. From the times of the Austrians in ranks 9 to 11 with the slight difference, the equivalence of the team was best seen.

Giant slalom

space	country	athlete	time
1	AUT	Dagmar Rome	1: 29.6 min
2	AUT	Trude Jochum-Beiser	1: 29.8 min
3	FRA	Lucienne Schmith -Couttet	1: 30.0 min
4th	AUT	Erika Mahringer	1: 31.8 min
5	AUT	Anneliese Schuh-Proxauf	1: 31.9 min
6th	AUT	Lydia Gstrein	1: 32.7 min

For the first time in the world championship program
Date : February 13th
Slope: "Silver Queen"
Length: 1200 m, difference in altitude: 300 m
Gates: 28

There were 28 runners at the start, 27 of them finished.

Other important runners and best of their nations:
7. Resi Hammerer (AUT) 1: 33.1
8. Katy Rodolph (USA) 1: 33.4
9. Andrea Mead (USA) 1: 33.5
10. Micheline Desmazières (FRA ) 1: 33.8
11. Sara Thomasson (SWE) 1: 34.1
12. Celina Seghi (ITA) 1: 34.3
13. Suzy Harris-Rytting (USA) 1: 36.2
14. Olivia Ausoni (SUI ) 1: 36.3
15. Georgette Miller-Thiollière (FRA) 1: 36.9
17. Rosmarie Bleuer (SUI) 1: 38.2
20. Lois Woodworth (CAN) 1: 43.4
22. Evelyne Pinching (GBR ) 1: 45.3
24. Borghild Niskin (NOR) 1: 46.8
28th and last: Sandra Tomkinson (CAN) 2: 06.6
Note: The «Sport-Zürich», which, however, published the report from «United Press »Had taken over, wrote of 35 goals. - It is also stated that the last of the three forerunners started at 12 noon. The riddle about Georgette Miller-Thiollière had been solved, she had decided to start. The first runner was Celina Seghi, followed by Rosmarie Bleuer. Erika Mahringer set the first new best time, then Jochum-Beiser was close to victory. Schmitt-Couttet caused a sensation, who was only two tenths behind Beiser. Dagmar Rom bet everything on one card. The disappointing performance of the two Swiss starters could be explained by the fact that they were inhibited in view of the injury-related losses of Sylvia Mühlemann and two male members of the SSV, which was somewhat understandable. Borghild Niskin also wanted to start despite her broken collarbone, but her supervisor would not allow that.

slalom

space	country	athlete	Points
1	AUT	Dagmar Rome	1: 47.8 min
2	AUT	Erika Mahringer	1: 47.9 min
3	ITA	Celina Seghi	1: 49.5 min
4th	AUT	Anneliese Schuh-Proxauf	1: 49.9 min
5	FRA	Lucienne Schmith -Couttet	1: 51.0 min
6th	United States	Andrea Mead-Lawrence	1: 51.7 min

World Champion 1948: Gretchen Fraser (USA)
Date : February 15,
Track: “Magnifico Slopes”
Length: 400 m, Difference in altitude: 175 m
Gates: 33 - Course setter Friedl Pfeifer 28 runners started, 23 of them made it through Disqualification eliminated: Rosemarie Bleuer (SUI)

Distribution of the running times and further classification with the best of their nations:
Rome 53.2 / 54.6
Mahringer 54.4 / 53.5
Seghi 54.1 / 55.4
Schuh-Prox to 54.4 / 55.5
Schmitt-Couttet 55, 1 / 55.9
Mead 56.9 / 54.8
7. Trude Jochum-Beiser (AUT) 114.4 (54.8 / 59.6)
8. Georgette Miller-Thiollière (FRA) 115.1 (57.4 / 57.7)
9. Resi Hammerer (AUT) 115.8 (57.4 / 58.4)
10. Katy Rodolph (USA) 116.2 (58.3 / 57.9)
11. Olivia Ausoni (SUI) 117.5 (58.3 / 59.2)
12. Rosemarie Gebler-Proxauf (AUT) 119.6 (58.7 / 60.9)
16. Lois Woodworth (CAN) 127.4
18. Sara Thomasson (SWE) 131.7
22nd Evi Pinching (GBR) 137.9
23rd and last Rosmarie Schultz (CAN) 142.2

6,000 spectators appeared at noon. Since only some of the starting numbers had been drawn, the starting order was Mead - Mahringer - Seghi - Rome - Schmitt-Couttet and Bleuer. Seghi achieved 54.1 seconds in the low driving position, thus second running time. For the time being she did not take off her skis, because now came Rome, whose security and maneuverability were amazing. For Bleuer, the 60.8 meant that she had already lost the race. Schuh-Proxauf equalized Mahringer's time, with Jochum-Beiser (54.8) an Austrian came to the fore, and Georgette Miller-Thiollière knew how to please better here with 57.4 (same time as Hammerer) than before in the giant slalom. Ausoni was faster than her Grindelwald team mate with 58.3, but she was already behind the contenders for top positions.
The starting order in the second run was the same as in the first, so again with Andrea Mead first, which was clearly undercut by Mahringer. Due to the higher sun, the snow had become a bit dull, so that the times from the first run could no longer be achieved. With Seghi it was clear: If she should be as fast as in the first run, she might be sure of victory, but she stayed behind Mahringer. For Dagmar Rom, 54.6 was the target time required for the gold medal, and this is exactly what she reached and was 0.1 seconds faster than her teammate. Bleuer drove a little faster this time than before (59.6), which would have brought her 14th place in the final ranking - but she (like four other competitors) missed a goal, which led to disqualification. Since Ausoni had to be content with rank 11, it was again an unconvincing performance by the Swiss women. Mead and Katy Rodolph were described as surprises, with Miller-Thiollière an increase in form was noted. Trude Beiser fell after a slight edge error, so she wasted a better time. The running times of the 2nd round brought Mahringer before Rome and Mead. Rosemarie Gebler-Proxauf, who was twelfth, was the only Austrian who did not make it into the top ten; it was set up instead of Lydia Gstrein from Kitzbühel.

Medal table

space	country	gold	silver	bronze	total
1	Austria	3	3	1	7th
2	Italy	2	1	1	4th
3	Switzerland	1	1	-	2
4th	France	-	1	3	4th
5	Norway	-	-	1	1

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Five Austrians among the top six . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 14, 1950, p. 7 , above ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
2. ↑ Today the FIS team says goodbye . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna January 19, 1950, p. 7 , top left ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
3. ↑ With all aces to Aspen . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna January 21, 1950, p. 7 , upper center ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
4. ↑ The Austrian FIS team left . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna January 26, 1950, p. 7 , column 1, below ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
5. ↑ Austria's skiers sweat in New York . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna January 28, 1950, p. 7 , upper center, right ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
6. ↑ Where do you get snow from and not steal it? - In Lake Placid the skiers are sitting on dry land . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna January 29, 1950, p. 7 , upper center ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
7. ↑ The ski race over the rubble heaps . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 2, 1950, p. 7 , Mitte ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
8. ↑ Only the risk drivers have opportunities . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna January 22, 1950, p. 9 , above ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
9. ↑ That is impossible even in America . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 10, 1950, p. 5 , upper center ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
10. ^ French list in Aspen . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 11, 1950, p. 7 , top right ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
11. ^ "Werner Grob reports on" Sport "from the USA"; “Sport Zürich” No. 15 of February 3, 1950, page 3, column 2
12. ^ «Arrival of French skiers in the USA»; “Sport Zürich” No. 15 of February 3, 1950, page 3, column 1
13. ↑ "Change to the women's downhill route"; “Sport Zürich” No. 16 of February 6, 1950, page 5, column 3, middle
14. ↑ Seriously injured cobbler in Aspen . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 11, 1950, p. 7 , top center right ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
15. ↑ The route claims its victims . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 12, 1950, p. 9 , lower center ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
16. ↑ «Sport Zürich» No. 20 of February 15, 1950, page 2, title: «All about the World Championships» with the subtitle «Despite bad luck, the Swiss hope for success»
17. ^ "American hype about Austria's Schimädel"; "Welt am Montag" No. 8, February 20, 1950, page 10
18. ^ "Austria's most successful skiing nation in the world"; “Tagblatt am Montag” of February 20, 1950, page 9
19. ^ "Austria's Triumph in Aspen"; "Sport und Toto" of February 21, 1950, page 3
20. ↑ "Giant Triumph COLOS!"; «Sport-Zürich» No. 22 of February 20, 1950, page 2
21. ↑ Colo: World Champion - Egon Schöpf: Third . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 19, 1950, p. 9 , above ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
22. ^ "Zeno Colo (Italy) world champion in giant slalom ahead of Fernand Grosjean" and subtitle: "Change of mood in the Swiss camp"; "Sport Zurich" No. 21 of February 17, 1950.
23. ↑ Colo the woodcutter became world champion . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 15, 1950, p. 7 , above ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
24. ↑ «Switzerland now has its world champion too!»; "Sport-Zurich" No. 22 of February 20, 1950
25. ↑ The Swiss Schneider Slalom World Champion . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 17, 1950, p. 5 , above ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized version).
26. ^ "Trude Jochum-Beiser (Austria) Downhill World Champion"; "Sport-Zurich" No. 22 of February 20, 1950
27. ↑ The third world title for Austria . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 18, 1950, p. 7 , above ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
28. ↑ «Alpine World Championships have begun»; Subtitle “Triumphant Austrian triumph in the women's giant slalom”; “Sport Zürich” No. 20 of February 15, 1950, pages 1 and 2
29. ↑ Five Austrians among the top six . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 14, 1950, p. 7 , above ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
30. ^ "Austrians moving forward again"; «Sport Zürich» No. 21 of February 17, 1950, page 2
31. ↑ The second world title for Austria . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 16, 1950, p. 7 , above ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).