Alpine skiing at the 1948 Winter Olympics
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At the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland, the six alpine skiing events were held on Piz Nair from Monday, 2 February to Thursday, 5 February 1948.[1][2]
| Alpine skiing at the V Olympic Winter Games | |
|---|---|
St. Moritz sixty years later, in 2008 | |
| Venue | Piz Nair, St. Moritz Graubünden, Switzerland |
| Dates | 2–5 February 1948 |
| Competitors | 174 from 25 nations |
After these games, the giant slalom was added and the combined event was dropped as an Olympic medal event for four decades, until 1988. From 1956 through 1980, the combined continued as an FIS medal event for the concurrent World Championships, using the results from three events, conducted as a "paper race."
Henri Oreiller of France earned a medal in all three events, with two golds and a bronze. Trude Beiser of Austria and Gretchen Fraser of the United States both won two medals, a gold and a silver each.
The first Olympics after World War II did not invite Germany or Japan.
Medal summary
Men's events
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downhill |
Henri Oreiller France | 2:55.0 | Franz Gabl Austria | 2:59.1 | Rolf Olinger SwitzerlandKarl Molitor Switzerland | 3:00.3 |
| Slalom |
Edy Reinalter Switzerland | 2:10.3 | James Couttet France | 2:10.8 | Henri Oreiller France | 2:12.8 |
| Combined |
Henri Oreiller France | 3.27 | Karl Molitor Switzerland | 6.44 | James Couttet France | 6.95 |
Source:[1]
Women's events
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downhill |
Hedy Schlunegger Switzerland | 2:28.3 | Trude Beiser Austria | 2:29.1 | Resi Hammerer Austria | 2:30.2 |
| Slalom |
Gretchen Fraser United States | 1:57.2 | Antoinette Meyer Switzerland | 1:57.7 | Erika Mahringer Austria | 1:58.0 |
| Combined |
Trude Beiser Austria | 6.58 | Gretchen Fraser United States | 6.95 | Erika Mahringer Austria | 7.04 |
Source:[1]
Medal table
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Switzerland | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | France | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 3 | Austria | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 4 | United States | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Totals (4 entries) | 6 | 6 | 7 | 19 | |
Source:[1]
Participating nations
A total of 174 alpine skiers from 25 nations competed at the St. Moritz Games:
Argentina (6)
Austria (14)
Belgium (2)
Bulgaria (2)
Canada (5)
Chile (4)
Czechoslovakia (6)
Finland (2)
France (13)
Great Britain (14)
Greece (2)
Hungary (7)
Iceland (3)
Italy (8)
Lebanon (2)
Liechtenstein (6)
Norway (11)
Poland (5)
Romania (7)
Spain (8)
Sweden (6)
Switzerland (16)
Turkey (4)
United States (13)
Yugoslavia (8)
Course information
| Date | Race | Start Elevation |
Finish Elevation |
Vertical Drop |
Course Length |
Average Gradient |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2 Feb | Downhill – men | 2,700 m (8,858 ft) | 1,870 m (6,135 ft) | 830 m (2,723 ft) | 3.371 km (2.095 mi) | 24.6% |
| Mon 2 Feb | Downhill – women | 2,394 m (7,854 ft) | 1,870 m (6,135 ft) | 524 m (1,719 ft) | 2.135 km (1.327 mi) | 24.5% |
| Thu 5 Feb | Slalom – men | 2,090 m (6,857 ft) | 1,870 m (6,135 ft) | 220 m (722 ft) | ||
| Thu 5 Feb | Slalom – women | 2,050 m (6,726 ft) | 1,870 m (6,135 ft) | 180 m (591 ft) | ||
| Wed 4 Feb | Slalom – (K) – men | 2,090 m (6,857 ft) | 1,870 m (6,135 ft) | 220 m (722 ft) | ||
| Wed 4 Feb | Slalom – (K) – women | 2,050 m (6,726 ft) | 1,870 m (6,135 ft) | 220 m (722 ft) | ||