Alpine skiing at the 1968 Winter Olympics

Alpine skiing at the 1968 Winter Olympics consisted of six events, held 9–17 February at Chamrousse, southeast of Grenoble, France.[1][2] Jean-Claude Killy of France won all three men's events, repeating Toni Sailer's triple-gold of 1956. Since Killy's feat, no male alpine ski racer has won three gold medals in a single Olympics. (Janica Kostelic later won three gold medals in the 2002 Winter Olympics).

Alpine skiing
at the X Olympic Winter Games
VenueChamrousse,
Isère, France
Dates9–17 February 1968
No. of events6
Competitors188 from 33 nations
← 1964
1972 →
Alpine skiing at the 1968 Winter Olympics is located in France
Grenoble
Grenoble
Chamrousse
Chamrousse

This was the first Olympics with a two-run men's giant slalom, with one run per day. The women's giant slalom was one run until 1980.

For the only time, the results from Olympic races were included in the World Cup standings, then in its second season. Following the 1970 season, Olympic and World Championship results were not included in the World Cup points standings.

Medal summary

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Four nations won medals in alpine skiing and the host country led the medal table with eight. France won four gold, three silver and a bronze, as Jean-Claude Killy swept the three men's events. The top women's medalist was Canada's Nancy Greene, with one gold and one silver.

Medal table

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RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1  France (FRA)4318
2  Austria (AUT)1135
3  Canada (CAN)1102
4  Switzerland (SUI)0123
Totals (4 entries)66618

Source:[1]

Men's events

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Event Gold Silver Bronze
Downhill
details
Jean-Claude Killy
  France
1:59.85 Guy Périllat
  France
1:59.93 Jean-Daniel Dätwyler
  Switzerland
2:00.32
Giant slalom
details
Jean-Claude Killy
  France
3:29.28 Willy Favre
  Switzerland
3:31.50 Heinrich Messner
  Austria
3:31.83
Slalom
details
Jean-Claude Killy
  France
1:39.73 Herbert Huber
  Austria
1:39.82 Alfred Matt
  Austria
1:40.09

Source:[1]

Women's events

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Event Gold Silver Bronze
Downhill
details
Olga Pall
  Austria
1:40.87 Isabelle Mir
  France
1:41.33 Christl Haas
  Austria
1:41.41
Giant slalom
details
Nancy Greene
  Canada
1:51.97 Annie Famose
  France
1:54.61 Fernande Bochatay
  Switzerland
1:54.74
Slalom
details
Marielle Goitschel
  France
1:25.86 Nancy Greene
  Canada
1:26.15 Annie Famose
  France
1:27.89

Source:[1]

Course information

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Date Race Start
Elevation
Finish
Elevation
Vertical
Drop
Course
Length
Average
Gradient
Thu 9-Feb  Downhill – men  2,252 m (7,388 ft)  1,412 m (4,633 ft)  840 m (2,756 ft)  2.890 km (1.796 mi) 29.1%
Fri 10-Feb  Downhill – women  2,252 m (7,388 ft)  1,650 m (5,413 ft)  602 m (1,975 ft)  2.160 km (1.342 mi) 27.9%
Sat 11-Feb  Giant slalom – men  (1st run)  2,090 m (6,857 ft)  1,650 m (5,413 ft)  440 m (1,444 ft)  1.650 km (1.025 mi) 26.7%
Sun 12-Feb  Giant slalom – men  (2nd run)  2,153 m (7,064 ft)  1,703 m (5,587 ft)  450 m (1,476 ft)  1.780 km (1.106 mi) 25.3%
Wed 15-Feb  Giant slalom – women  2,090 m (6,857 ft)  1,650 m (5,413 ft)  440 m (1,444 ft)  1.610 km (1.000 mi) 27.3%
Fri 17-Feb  Slalom – men  (2 runs)  1,827 m (5,994 ft)  1,650 m (5,413 ft)  177 m (581 ft)  0.520 km (0.323 mi) 34.0%
Mon 13-Feb  Slalom – women  (2 runs)  1,806 m (5,925 ft)  1,650 m (5,413 ft)  156 m (512 ft)  0.420 km (0.261 mi) 37.1%

Source:[1]

Participating nations

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Thirty-three nations sent alpine skiers to compete in the events in Innsbruck. West and East Germany competed separately for the first time and Morocco made its Olympic alpine skiing debut. Below is a list of the competing nations; in parentheses are the number of national competitors.[1]

World championships

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From 1948 through 1980, the alpine skiing events at the Winter Olympics also served as the World Championships, held every two years. With the addition of the giant slalom, the combined event was dropped for 1950 and 1952, but returned as a World Championship event in 1954 as a "paper race" which used the results from the three events. During the Olympics from 1956 through 1980, World Championship medals were awarded by the FIS for the combined event. The combined returned as a separate event at the World Championships in 1982 and at the Olympics in 1988.

Combined

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Rapport Officiel Xes Jeux Olympiques D'Hiver 1968 Grenoble" (PDF). Comité d'organisation des Xemes jeux olympiques d'hiver. LA84 Foundation. 1968. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
  2. ^ "Alpine Skiing at the 1968 Grenoble Winter Games". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
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  • FIS-Ski.com – alpine skiing – 1968 Winter Olympics – Grenoble, France