1968 Winter Olympics / Alpine skiing

Alpine skiing at the 1968 Winter Olympics
information
venue	Chamrousse
Competition venue	Recoin de Chamrousse, Casserousse
Nations	33
Athletes	191 (136 , 55 )
date	9-17 February 1968
decisions	6th
← Innsbruck 1964 Sapporo 1972 →

Six competitions in alpine skiing were held at the X. Olympic Games in 1968 . The top three in downhill, giant slalom and slalom received not only Olympic medals but also world championship medals, as these competitions were also rated as the 20th  Alpine World Ski Championships. In the Alpine Combined, only World Championship medals were awarded. In addition, the races were part of the World Cup with the exception of the combination.

The venue for all alpine ski races was Chamrousse , a winter sports resort east of Grenoble. The finish of five of the six races was in the Recoin de Chamrousse area , the men's downhill in the Casserousse area .

Olympic record

Medal table

space	country				total
1	France	4th	3	1	8th
2	Austria	1	1	3	5
3	Canada	1	1	-	2
4th	Switzerland	-	1	2	3

Medalist

Men competitor gold silver bronze Departure Jean-Claude Killy Guy Périllat Jean-Daniel Datwyler Giant slalom Jean-Claude Killy Willy Favre Heinrich Messner slalom Jean-Claude Killy Herbert Huber Alfred Matt

Women competitor gold silver bronze Departure Olga Pall Isabelle Mir Christl Haas Giant slalom Nancy Greene Annie Famose Fernande Bochatay slalom Marielle Goitschel Nancy Greene Annie Famose

Results men

Departure

Olympic champion 1964: Egon Zimmermann (AUT) / World champion 1966: Jean-Claude Killy (FRA).

space	country	athlete	Time (min)
1	FRA	Jean-Claude Killy	1: 59.85
2	FRA	Guy Périllat	1: 59.93
3	SUI	Jean-Daniel Datwyler	2: 00.32
4th	AUT	Heinrich Messner	2: 01.03
5	AUT	Karl Schranz	2: 01.89
6th	ITA	Ivo Mahlknecht	2: 02.00
7th	FRG	Gerhard Prinzing	2: 02.10
8th	FRA	Bernard Orcel	2: 02.22
9	AUT	Gerhard Nenning	2: 02.31
10	SUI	Edmund Bruggmann	2: 02.36
12	FRG	Ludwig Leitner	2: 02.54
13	AUT	Egon Zimmermann	2: 02.55
14th	SUI	Josef Minsch	2: 02.76
15th	FRG	Franz Vogler	2: 02.94
16	SUI	Dumeng Giovanoli	2: 02.98
19th	FRG	Dieter Fersch	2: 03.41
33	LIE	Josef Gassner	2: 06.91
37	LIE	Wolfgang Ender	2: 08.08

Date: February 9th, 12:00 p.m.
Piste: “Chamrousse”
Start: 2252 m, finish: 1412 m,
altitude difference: 840 m, route length: 2890 m

86 runners from 29 countries took part, of which 73 made it to the finish. The race, which was initially scheduled to start on February 8th at 12 noon, had to be postponed by one day due to fog. For the time being, the two forerunners Andreas Sprecher and Rudolf Sailer had crossed the finish line, but from one minute to the next the storm had become so violent that Guy Périllat (No. 1) was not allowed to start . For the time being, the jury decided to postpone the event by ten minutes, but at 12:30 p.m. it was canceled for safety reasons.

Killy had won the “non-stop training”. As a technician, this route was best for him with an average gradient of 29% (highest gradient 65%) with its delicate curves, frequent bumps and treacherous steep walls. Olympic champion Zimmermann had not convinced in any of the training sessions, but was nevertheless set up by the Austrian team leadership instead of Rudolf Sailer . However, all of the ÖSV runners were a bit skeptical.

Périllat had initially led Dätwyler (No. 4), Messner (No. 9) and Schranz (No. 11) before Killy came with No. 14. In the meantime, his lead over Périllat was around a second, which melted down to eight hundredths in the flat parts of the lower half of the track due to incorrectly waxed skis. Nenning, leading in the Downhill World Cup, who had previously won both on the Lauberhorn and on the Hahnenkamm, did not have a good run: when he crossed the finish line with No. 10, he was already fifth. Bill Kidd's start seemed uncertain; he had a serious fall during training and injured his ankle, which he had broken two years earlier in Kitzbühel . Thanks to the postponement of the start by one day, he started the race (No. 12), more than 2: 03.40 minutes was not possible for him under these circumstances.

Giant slalom

Olympic Champion 1964: François Bonlieu (FRA) (career ended) / World Champion 1966: Guy Périllat (FRA).

space	country	athlete	Time (min)
1	FRA	Jean-Claude Killy	3: 29.28
2	SUI	Willy Favre	3: 31.50
3	AUT	Heinrich Messner	3: 31.83
4th	FRA	Guy Périllat	3: 32.06
5	United States	Billy Kidd	3: 32.37
6th	AUT	Karl Schranz	3: 33.08
7th	SUI	Dumeng Giovanoli	3: 33.55
8th	AUT	Gerhard Nenning	3: 33.61
9	FRA	Georges Mauduit	3: 33.78
10	United States	Jimmy Heuga	3: 33.89
12	SUI	Edmund Bruggmann	3: 34.91
22nd	FRG	Willi Lesch	3: 38.83
23	FRG	Ludwig Leitner	3: 38.85
24	FRG	Sepp Heckelmiller	3: 38.95
26th	ITA	Ivo Mahlknecht	3: 40.08
28	SUI	Stefan Kälin	3: 40.52
31	LIE	Josef Gassner	3: 42.38
32	LIE	Wolfgang Ender	3: 43.43
41	GDR	Eberhard Riedel	3: 46.67
56	LIE	Albert Frick	3: 55.90
57	LIE	Hans Schädler	3: 56.96

1st run: February 11, 12:00 p.m.
Piste: "Simond"
Start: 2090 m, finish: 1640 m,
altitude difference: 450 m, route length: 1800 m,
gates: 70

2nd run: February 12, 12:00 noon
piste: "Vallons"
start: 2153 m, finish: 1703 m,
altitude difference: 450 m, route length: 1780 m,
gates: 57

100 skiers from 36 countries started, 88 came into the evaluation. - Eliminated u. a. Gerhard Prinzig (FRG), Bernard Orcel (FRA) (both in the first run) and in the second run Rod Hebron (CAN), Werner Bleiner (AUT).
For the first time ever, an Olympic giant slalom was held in two runs, but in contrast to the later practice, it was held on two consecutive days and on two different slopes. This regulation was first used at the 1966 World Ski Championships. After the first run, Jean-Claude Killy was 1.20 seconds ahead of Willy Favre and 2.04 seconds ahead of Guy Périllat in 1: 42.74. While the first run could be carried out in sunshine, the second run was foggy and snowy. Heinrich Messner improved from fifth to third place thanks to an energy performance with the third best running time (1: 46.67), but a mistake in the final part cost him the silver medal. In contrast, the 5th running time (1: 47.28) left Périllat out of the medal ranks. Killy was able to extend his lead with the second best running time. His performance was the demonstration of a ski king. The best time in the second run was achieved by Billy Kidd, who was eight hundredths of a second faster than Killy and advanced from eighth to fifth place. Bleiner drove past gate 54 in the second run, so that his already weak 1: 51.20 (Kidd's best run time was 1: 46.46) did not count.

slalom

Olympic Champion 1964: Josef Stiegler (AUT) (career ended) / World Champion 1966: Carlo Senoner (ITA) (career ended).

space	country	athlete	Time (min)
1	FRA	Jean-Claude Killy	1: 39.73
2	AUT	Herbert Huber	1: 39.82
3	AUT	Alfred Matt	1: 40.09
4th	SUI	Dumeng Giovanoli	1: 40.22
5	United States	Vladimir Sabich	1: 40.49
6th	POLE	Andrzej Bachleda-Curuś	1: 40.61
7th	United States	Jimmy Heuga	1: 40.97
8th	FRA	Alain Penz	1: 41.14
9	United States	Rick Chaffee	1: 41.19
10	SUI	Peter Frei	1: 41.98
12	FRG	Ludwig Leitner	1: 43.50
13	GDR	Eberhard Riedel	1: 44.07
14th	AUT	Heinrich Messner	1: 44.15
16	FRG	Alfred Hagn	1: 44.65
19th	ITA	Ivo Mahlknecht	1: 45.25
20th	FRG	Max Rieger	1: 45.38

Date: February 17th, 12:00 p.m.
Piste: "Stade de Slalom"
Start: 1826 m, Finish: 1650 m
Difference in altitude: 176 m, route length: 520 m
Gates: 62 (1st run), 69 (2nd run)

Retired u. a .: Willy Favre (SUI), Billy Kidd (USA), Guy Périllat (FRA), Carlo Senoner (ITA); disqualified: Håkon Mjøen (NOR, goal mistake), Karl Schranz (AUT, goal mistake). There was thick fog over the route.

101 racers from 33 countries registered for the slalom. A two-part qualifying competition took place three days before the race. In the first part, the participants were divided into 17 groups, from which the two fastest could qualify directly for the race. This was followed by a hope race, in which a further 17 starting places were awarded. A classification run was also planned on February 16, in which the remaining 51 racers should fight for the most favorable starting position. This part was canceled due to thick fog and the start numbers were distributed based on the FIS points list.

Results women

Departure

Olympic Champion 1964: Christl Haas (AUT) / World Champion 1966: Marielle Goitschel (FRA).

space	country	sportswoman	Time (min)
1	AUT	Olga Pall	1: 40.87
2	FRA	Isabelle Mir	1: 41.33
3	AUT	Christl Haas	1: 41.41
4th	AUT	Brigitte Seiwald	1: 41.82
5	FRA	Annie Famose	1: 42.15
6th	GBR	Felicity Field	1: 42.79
7th	SUI	Fernande Bochatay	1: 42.87
8th	FRA	Marielle Goitschel	1: 42.95
9	FRA	Florence Steurer	1: 43.00
10	CAN	Nancy Greene	1: 43.12
11	SUI	Annerösli Zryd	1: 43.76
12	AUT	Gertrud Gabl	1: 43.97
14th	FRG	Burgl Färberinger	1: 44.29
16	SUI	Madeleine Wuilloud	1: 44.49
18th	SUI	Vreni Inäbnit	1: 45.16
19th	FRG	Margret Harbor	1: 45.33
24	FRG	Christine Laprell	1: 47.62
25th	FRG	Rosi Mittermaier	1: 47.73
38	LIE	Martha Bühler	1: 53.33

Date: February 10th, 12:00 p.m.
Piste: “Chamrousse”
Start: 2252 m, finish: 1650 m
Difference in altitude: 602 m, route length: 2160 m

The race took place in the sunshine under the best conditions. 39 female runners from 14 countries started, 38 crossed the finish line.
The Austrian Christl Haas (No. 7) took the lead as the first of the favorites. The Swiss Annerösli Zryd (No. 10) was in the range of the time of Haas, but fell a few meters from the finish, slipped on her back across the finish line and missed a medal. A little later Isabelle Mir (No. 13) took over the top position. The time of the French woman was finally undercut by Olga Pall (No. 15) by almost half a second.

Giant slalom

Olympic champion 1964 and world champion 1966: Marielle Goitschel (FRA).

space	country	sportswoman	Time (min)
1	CAN	Nancy Greene	1: 51.97
2	FRA	Annie Famose	1: 54.61
3	SUI	Fernande Bochatay	1: 54.74
4th	FRA	Florence Steurer	1: 54.75
5	AUT	Olga Pall	1: 55.61
6th	FRA	Isabelle Mir	1: 56.07
7th	FRA	Marielle Goitschel	1: 56.09
8th	GBR	Divina Galica	1: 56.58
9	AUT	Gertrud Gabl	1: 56.85
10	FRG	Burgl Färberinger	1: 57.20
11	AUT	Brigitte Seiwald	1: 57.26
13	SUI	Annerösli Zryd	1: 57.60
15th	FRG	Christine Laprell	1: 58.12
18th	FRG	Margret Harbor	1: 58.47
19th	SUI	Vreni Inäbnit	1: 58.50
20th	FRG	Rosi Mittermaier	1: 58.75
27	AUT	Elisabeth Pall	2: 00.91
31	ITA	Lotte Nogler	2: 04.87
33	LIE	Martha Bühler	2: 00.91

Date: February 15, 12:00 p.m.
Piste: "Gaboureaux"
Start: 2090 m, Finish: 1650 m Difference in
altitude: 440 m, route length: 1610 m
Gates: 68 (Course setter: Jean Béranger, FRA)

In contrast to the men's race, the women's giant slalom was only held in one run.
Heavily cloudy, but good visibility. 47 female racers from 18 countries, 42 crossed the finish line. Retired u. a .: Madeleine Wuilloud (SUI), Betsy Clifford (CAN).
The 2.64 second advantage of the winner Nancy Greene is the largest ever measured in an Olympic or World Championship race.

slalom

Olympic Champion 1964: Christine Goitschel (FRA) / World Champion 1966: Annie Famose (FRA).

space	country	sportswoman	Time (min)
1	FRA	Marielle Goitschel	1: 25.86
2	CAN	Nancy Greene	1: 26.15
3	FRA	Annie Famose	1: 27.89
4th	GBR	Gina Hathorn	1: 27.92
5	FRA	Isabelle Mir	1: 28.22
6th	FRG	Burgl Färberinger	1: 28.90
7th	ITA	Glorianda Cipolla	1: 29.74
8th	AUT	Bernadette Rauter	1: 30.44
9	AUT	Olga Pall	1: 31.11
10	FRG	Christine Laprell	1: 31.25
11	SUI	Annerösli Zryd	1: 31.41
13	SUI	Madeleine Wuilloud	1: 33.27
16	FRG	Christa Hintermaier	1: 34.62
17th	SUI	Vreni Inäbnit	1: 35.18
20th	ITA	Lotte Nogler	1: 38.33
24	AUT	Brigitte Seiwald	1: 41.29
28	LIE	Martha Bühler	1: 49.44

Date: February 13th, 12:00 p.m.
Piste: "Stade de Slalom"
Start: 1806 m, Finish: 1650 m
Difference in altitude: 156 m, route length: 420 m
Goals: 56 (1st run - course setter: Hermann Gamon, AUT) , 57 (2nd run - course setter Jean Béranger, FRA)

31 of the 49 female racers from 18 countries crossed the finish line. Retired u. a .: Fernande Bochatay (SUI), Betsy Clifford (CAN), Kiki Cutter (USA), Gertrud Gabl (AUT), Divina Galica (GBR), Rosi Mittermaier (FRG), Judy Nagel (USA), Florence Steurer (FRA) , Rosie Fortna (USA).

After the first run, Judy Nagel was in the lead, but as a 16-year-old she was not up to the task; there was no runner from the US federation at all.

From an Austrian point of view, Seiwald was ranked 4th. The world number one, Gabl, who started at No. 15, was eliminated after less than a hundred meters. In the second run, Greene was only able to minimize the backlog with a clear best time due to the backlog. Seiwald made a lot of mistakes, which threw her far back in the classification.

World Championship

Combination (men)

World Champion 1966: Jean-Claude Killy (FRA).

space	country	athlete	Points
1	FRA	Jean-Claude Killy	00.00
2	SUI	Dumeng Giovanoli	32.98
3	AUT	Heinrich Messner	38.57
4th	POLE	Andrzej Bachleda-Curuś	54.45
5	FRG	Ludwig Leitner	?
6th	SWE	Lindström rune	66.98

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.
After 2 competitions Killy had led to Périllat and Messner; Schranz, Nenning, Kidd, Giovanoli, Bruggmann, Mussner and Ludwig Leitner followed.

Combination (women)

World Champion 1966: Marielle Goitschel (FRA).

space	country	sportswoman	Points
1	CAN	Nancy Greene	16.31
2	FRA	Marielle Goitschel	36.00
3	FRA	Annie Famose	36.19
4th	FRA	Isabelle Mir	40.75
5	AUT	Olga Pall	52.50
6th	FRG	Burgl Färberinger	69.16

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 1968 Winter Olympics in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ «The forces of nature forced cancellation» . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 9, 1968, p. 16 ( Arbeiter-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
2. ↑ «Downhill run will take place today» . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 9, 1968, p. 16 ( Arbeiter-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
3. ^ «Jean-Claude Killy or the Austrians?» In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 8, 1968, p. 14 ( Arbeiter-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
4. ^ "Ski king Jean-Claude Killy struck" . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 10, 1968, p. 14 ( Arbeiter-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
5. ↑ "Sport Zürich" from February 15, 1968
6. ^ "Jean-Claude Killy in Toni Sailer's footsteps" . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 13, 1968, p. 14 ( Arbeiter-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
7. ↑ : «To Schranz, Matt & Co. Take your heart in both hands today !!! Nebel agreed with the runners. Grouping slalom canceled »; «Kleine Zeitung», Styria edition of February 17, 1968, page 19
8. ^ "Nancy Greene towered over everyone" . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 16, 1968, p. 16 ( Arbeiter-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
9. ↑ «Goitschel won the battle of nerves» . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 14, 1968, p. 12 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
10. ^ "Sport Zürich", from February 15, 1968, page 9.
11. ^ "EXPRESS" Vienna, February 14, 1968, page 16, author: Leo Lohberger.
12. ^ "Messner Note 14.79" . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna February 13, 1968, p. 12 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).