Speed skiing Speed skiing is the sport of skiing downhill in a straight line at as high a speed as possible, as timed over a fixed stretch of ski slope. There are two types of contest: breaking an existing speed record or having the fastest run at a given co ...

was a

demonstration sport A demonstration sport, or exhibition sport, is a sport which is played to promote it, rather than as part of standard medal competition. This occurs commonly during the Olympic Games, but may also occur at other sporting events. Demonstration spor ...

at the

1992 Winter Olympics ) , nations = 64 , athletes = 1,801 (1313 men, 488 women) , events = 57 in 6 sports (12 disciplines) , opening = 8 February 1992 , closing = 23 February 1992 , opened_by = President François Mitterrand , cauldron ...

. The venue was in

Les Arcs Les Arcs () is a ski resort located in Savoie, France, in the Tarentaise Valley town of Bourg-Saint-Maurice. Initially created by Robert Blanc and Roger Godino, it is a part of the huge Paradiski system which is under ownership by Compagnie de ...

, about 60 km from the host city,

Albertville Albertville (; Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a subprefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. It is best known for hosting the 1992 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. In 2018, the commune had ...

. Michael Prufer, a 31-year-old medical doctor from Savoie, improved his own 1988 world record by 5.558 km/h.

Philippe Goitschel Philippe Goitschel (born 1962) is a French skier. He won a silver medal in speed skiing, a demonstration sport at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. He is the nephew of champion skiers of the 1960s, Christine and Marielle Goi ...

, the nephew of French ski champion

Marielle Goitschel Marielle Goitschel (born 28 September 1945 in Sainte-Maxime) is a former French alpine skier. Marielle is the younger sister of Christine Goitschel, another champion skier of the time, and the aunt of speed skier Philippe Goitschel. After grea ...

, was second and the American Jeffrey Hamilton was third. The competition was, however, marred by the death of

Nicolas Bochatay Nicolas Bochatay (August 27, 1964 – February 22, 1992) was a Swiss speed skier who died during the 1992 Winter Olympics. Bochatay was killed when he collided with a snow grooming vehicle on the morning of the speed skiing finals. He was th ...

from Switzerland, who died while free skiing the morning of the finals. Tarja Mulari from Finland achieved a top speed of , breaking the previous women's world record of .

Men's event

Women's event

References

Official Olympic Report - Albertville 1992
Discontinued sports at the Winter Olympics 1992 Winter Olympics events

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

Skiing at the Winter Olympics Men's events at the 1992 Winter Olympics Women's events at the 1992 Winter Olympics {{1992-winter-Olympic-stub