Alpine Skiing at the
1988 Winter Olympics
The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games (french: XVes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Calgary 1988 ( bla, Mohkínsstsisi 1988; sto, Wîchîspa Oyade 1988 or ; cr, Otôskwanihk 1998/; srs, Guts� ...
consisted of ten
alpine skiing
Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...
events, held February 15–27 at
Nakiska
Nakiska is a ski resort in western Canada, in the Kananaskis Country region of the province of Alberta. It is located from Calgary, west on Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway) and south on Highway 40 (Kananaskis Trail). "Nakiska" is a Cree word me ...
on Mount Allan,
a new ski area west of
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
.
These Olympics featured the first change in the alpine skiing program in more than 30 years. The
Super-G
Super giant slalom, or super-G, is a racing discipline of alpine skiing. Along with the faster downhill, it is regarded as a "speed" event, in contrast to the technical events giant slalom and slalom. It debuted as an official World Cup event d ...
was added and the
combined event returned; it was last contested at the
Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
in
1948, prior to the addition of the
giant slalom.
Background
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.
Swiss team skiers
Pirmin Zurbriggen
Pirmin Zurbriggen (born 4 February 1963) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Switzerland. One of the most successful ski racers ever, he won the overall World Cup title four times, an Olympic gold medal in 1988 in Downhill, and nine W ...
and
Martin Hangl
Martin Hangl (born June 17, 1962) is a retired Swiss alpine skier. He won the gold medal in the Super-G at the WC 1989 in Vail. In addition he won three other world cup competitions. He also competed in three events at the 1988 Winter Olympi ...
witnessed Oberhammer's death from the chairlift, Zurbriggen went on to win a gold medal, while Hangl withdrew from the giant slalom due to the incident.
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
The ''Fédération internationale de ski et de snowboard'' (FIS; en, International Ski and Snowboard Federation) is the highest international governing body for skiing and snowboarding. Founded on 2 February 1924 in Chamonix, France during the ...
.
Medal summary
Nine nations won medals in alpine skiing, as
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
led the medal table with eleven (three gold, four silver, and four bronze), followed by Austria with six.
Vreni Schneider
Verena "Vreni" Schneider (born 26 November 1964) is a retired ski racer from Switzerland. She is the most successful alpine ski racer of her country, the fourth most successful female ski racer ever (after Lindsey Vonn, Annemarie Moser-Pröll an ...
of Switzerland and
Alberto Tomba
Alberto Tomba (born 19 December 1966 in San Lazzaro di Savena) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Italy. He was the dominant technical skier ( slalom and giant slalom) in the late 1980s and 1990s. At 182 cm and 90 kg, his powerfu ...
of
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
shared the lead in the individual medal table with two gold medals each.
Medal table
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Men's events
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Women's events
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Course information
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Participating nations
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.[
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See also
*Alpine skiing at the 1988 Winter Paralympics
Alpine skiing at the 1988 Winter Paralympics consisted of 44 events, 29 for men and 15 for women.
Medal table
Medal summary
The competition events were:
*Downhill: men - women
*Giant slalom: men - women
*Slalom: men - women
Each event had s ...
References
;Works cited
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External links
FIS-Ski.com
– alpine skiing – 1988 Winter Olympics – Calgary, Canada
{{Alpine skiing at the Winter Olympics
1988 Winter Olympics events
Alpine skiing at the Winter Olympics
Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
Alpine skiing competitions in Canada