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Alpine skiing at the 1988 Winter Olympics

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Alpine skiing
at the XV Olympic Winter Games
Nakiska on Mount Allan
VenueNakiska
Kananaskis Country,
Alberta, Canada
DatesFebruary 15–27, 1988
No. of events10
Competitors271 from 43 nations
← 1984
1992 →
Calgary  is located in Canada
Calgary 
Calgary 
Alpine skiing at the 1988 Winter Olympics is located in Alberta
Nakiska  
Nakiska  
Calgary
Calgary

Alpine skiing at the 1988 Winter Olympics consisted of ten alpine skiing events, held February 15–27 at Nakiska on Mount Allan,[1] a new ski area west of Calgary.

These Olympics featured the first change in the alpine skiing program in more than 30 years. The Super-G was added and the combined event returned; it was last contested at the Winter Olympics in 1948, prior to the addition of the giant slalom.[2]

Background

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On February 25, 1988, 47 year old Austrian Olympic Team physician Joerg Oberhammer died after falling into the path of a snow-grooming machine after colliding with another skier between runs of the men's giant slalom.[3] Swiss team skiers Pirmin Zurbriggen and Martin Hangl witnessed Oberhammer's death from the chairlift, Zurbriggen went on to win the bronze medal, while Hangl withdrew from the giant slalom due to the incident.[4]

A total of 14 competitors, including the entire Canadian team was disqualified from the event after organizers became aware their ski suits were not previously approved by the International Ski Federation.[3][5]

Medal summary

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Nine nations won medals in alpine skiing, as Switzerland led the medal table with eleven (three gold, four silver, and four bronze), followed by Austria with six. Vreni Schneider of Switzerland and Alberto Tomba of Italy shared the lead in the individual medal table with two gold medals each.

Medal table

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RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Switzerland (SUI)34411
2 Austria (AUT)3306
3 Italy (ITA)2002
4 West Germany (FRG)1214
5 France (FRA)1012
6 Yugoslavia (YUG)0101
7 Canada (CAN)0022
8 Liechtenstein (LIE)0011
 Sweden (SWE)0011
Totals (9 entries)10101030

Source:[1]

Men's events

[edit]
Event Gold Silver Bronze
Downhill
details
Pirmin Zurbriggen
 Switzerland
1:59.63 Peter Müller
 Switzerland
2:00.14 Franck Piccard
 France
2:01.24
Super-G
details
Franck Piccard
 France
1:39.66 Helmut Mayer
 Austria
1:40.96 Lars-Börje Eriksson
 Sweden
1:41.08
Giant slalom
details
Alberto Tomba
 Italy
2:06.37 Hubert Strolz
 Austria
2:07.41 Pirmin Zurbriggen
 Switzerland
2:08.39
Slalom
details
Alberto Tomba
 Italy
1:39.47 Frank Wörndl
 West Germany
1:39.53 Paul Frommelt
 Liechtenstein
1:39.84
Combined
details
Hubert Strolz
 Austria
36.55 Bernhard Gstrein
 Austria
43.45 Paul Accola
 Switzerland
48.24

Source:[1]

Women's events

[edit]
Event Gold Silver Bronze
Downhill
details
Marina Kiehl
 West Germany
1:25.86 Brigitte Oertli
 Switzerland
1:26.61 Karen Percy
 Canada
1:26.62
Super-G
details
Sigrid Wolf
 Austria
1:19.03 Michela Figini
 Switzerland
1:20.03 Karen Percy
 Canada
1:20.29
Giant slalom
details
Vreni Schneider
 Switzerland
2:06.49 Christa Kinshofer
 West Germany
2:07.42 Maria Walliser
 Switzerland
2:07.72
Slalom
details
Vreni Schneider
 Switzerland
1:36.69 Mateja Svet
 Yugoslavia
1:38.37 Christa Kinshofer
 West Germany
1:38.40
Combined
details
Anita Wachter
 Austria
29.25 Brigitte Oertli
 Switzerland
29.48 Maria Walliser
 Switzerland
51.28

Source:[1]

Course information

[edit]
Date Race Start
Elevation
Finish
Elevation
Vertical
Drop
Course
Length
Average
Gradient
Mon 15-Feb Downhill – men  2,412 m (7,913 ft)  1,538 m (5,046 ft)  874 m (2,867 ft)  3.147 km (1.955 mi) 27.8%
Fri 19-Feb Downhill – women 2,179 m (7,149 ft) 1,532 m (5,026 ft) 647 m (2,123 ft) 2.238 km (1.391 mi) 28.9%
Tue 16-Feb Downhill - (K) – men 2,342 m (7,684 ft) 1,538 m (5,046 ft) 804 m (2,638 ft) 2.967 km (1.844 mi) 27.1%
Sat 20-Feb Downhill - (K) – women 2,108 m (6,916 ft) 1,532 m (5,026 ft) 576 m (1,890 ft) 2.054 km (1.276 mi) 28.0%
Sun 21-Feb Super-G – men 2,179 m (7,149 ft) 1,532 m (5,026 ft) 647 m (2,123 ft) 2.327 km (1.446 mi) 27.8%
Mon 22-Feb Super-G – women 2,039 m (6,690 ft) 1,532 m (5,026 ft) 507 m (1,663 ft) 1.943 km (1.207 mi) 26.1%
Thu 25-Feb Giant slalom – men 2,243 m (7,359 ft) 1,874 m (6,148 ft) 369 m (1,211 ft) 1.175 km (0.730 mi) 31.4%
Wed 24-Feb Giant slalom – women 2,205 m (7,234 ft) 1,880 m (6,168 ft) 325 m (1,066 ft) 0.839 km (0.521 mi) 38.7%
Sat 27-Feb Slalom – men 2,074 m (6,804 ft) 1,875 m (6,152 ft) 198 m (650 ft)    0.530 km (0.329 mi) 37.4%
Fri 26-Feb Slalom – women 2,060 m (6,759 ft) 1,880 m (6,168 ft) 180 m (591 ft)    0.550 km (0.342 mi) 32.7%
Wed 17-Feb Slalom – (K) – men 2,051 m (6,729 ft) 1,875 m (6,152 ft) 176 m (577 ft)   
Sun 21-Feb Slalom – (K) – women 2,024 m (6,640 ft) 1,880 m (6,168 ft) 144 m (472 ft)   

Source:[1]

Participating nations

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Forty-three nations sent alpine skiers to compete in the events in Calgary. Guatemala, the US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico made their Olympic alpine skiing debuts. Below is a list of the competing nations; in parentheses are the number of national competitors.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Calgary 1988 Official Report" (PDF). XV Olympic Winter Games Organizing Committee. LA84 Foundation. 1988. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
  2. ^ "Alpine Skiing at the 1988 Calgary Winter Games". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  3. ^ a b OCO'88 1988, p. 41
  4. ^ "'88 WINTER OLYMPICS: NOTEBOOK; Death on Slopes Is Ruled Accident". The New York Times. February 27, 1988. p. 52. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  5. ^ Gloster, Rob (February 25, 1988). "Fourteen Giant Slalomers, including the entire Canadian and Taiwanese". UPI. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
Works cited
[edit]
  • FIS-Ski.com – alpine skiing – 1988 Winter Olympics – Calgary, Canada