Alpine skiing at the 1960 Winter Olympics – Men's downhill

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Men's Downhill
at the VIII Olympic Winter Games
Alpine skiing pictogram.svg
Venue Squaw Valley
DateFebruary 22, 1960
Competitors63 from 21 nations
Winning time2:06.0
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Jean Vuarnet Flag of France.svg  France
Silver medal icon.svg Hans Peter Lanig Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  United Team of Germany
Bronze medal icon.svg Guy Périllat Flag of France.svg  France
  1956
1964  
Men's Downhill
Squaw-Valley-1960-Ski-Venues.jpg
Location Squaw Valley
Squaw Peak
Vertical   758 m (2,487 ft)
Top elevation2,707 m (8,881 ft)  
Base elevation1,949 m (6,394 ft)

The Men's downhill competition of the 1960 Winter Olympics was held at Squaw Valley on Monday, February 22. The race was postponed from February 19, due to heavy snow fall. [1] [2] [3] [4]

The downhill race start was at the top of Squaw Peak at an elevation of 2,707 m (8,881 ft). The course length was 3.095 km (1.923 mi), with a vertical drop of 758 m (2,487 ft). [2]

Austrian Toni Sailer, the defending FIS Downhill World Champion did not compete as he had previously retired. [5]

Jean Vuarnet, the bronze medalist at the world championships two years earlier, won by a half-second in the only Olympic event of his career. It was the first time an Olympic race was won on metal skis. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] Vuarnet's winning time of 126.0 seconds yielded an average speed of 88.429 km/h (54.9 mph), with an average vertical descent rate of 6.016 m/s (19.7 ft/s).

Helmets

This was the first Olympic downhill in which crash helmets were mandatory, [11] following the race death in 1959 of Canadian John Semmelink at Garmisch, West Germany. [12] [13] During his final race, Semmelink wore a leather helmet, which was more protection than many racers used at the time. [11] The U.S. Ski Team first wore crash helmets at the 1956 Winter Olympics, [14] but most of the Europeans went without. [11] [15]

Results

Monday, February 22, 1960
The race was started at 10:00 local time, (UTC −8).

RankNameCountryTimeDifference
Gold medal icon.svg Jean Vuarnet Flag of France.svg  France 2:06.0
Silver medal icon.svg Hans Peter Lanig Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  United Team of Germany 2:06.5+0.5
Bronze medal icon.svg Guy Périllat Flag of France.svg  France 2:06.9+0.9
4 Willi Forrer Flag of Switzerland.svg  Switzerland 2:07.8+1.8
5 Roger Staub Flag of Switzerland.svg  Switzerland 2:08.9+2.9
6 Bruno Alberti Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 2:09.1+3.1
7 Karl Schranz Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 2:09.2+3.2
8 Charles Bozon Flag of France.svg  France 2:09.6+3.6
9 Willy Bogner Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  United Team of Germany 2:09.7+3.7
10 Egon N. Zimmermann Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 2:09.8+3.8
11 Luggi Leitner Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  United Team of Germany 2:10.2+4.2
12 Paride Milianti Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 2:10.8+4.8
13 Jakob Arduser Flag of Switzerland.svg  Switzerland 2:10.9+4.9
14 Dave Gorsuch US flag 49 stars.svg  United States 2:11.0+5.0
15 Pepi Stiegler Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 2:13.1+7.1
16 Eberhard Riedel Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  United Team of Germany 2:13.3+7.3
17 Gordi Eaton US flag 49 stars.svg  United States 2:14.0+8.0
18 Max Marolt US flag 49 stars.svg  United States 2:14.2+8.2
19 Anderl Molterer Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 2:15.1+9.1
20 Nando Pajarola Flag of Switzerland.svg  Switzerland 2:15.4+9.4
Oddvar Rønnestad Flag of Norway.svg  Norway
22 Marvin Melville US flag 49 stars.svg  United States 2:15.9+9.9
Verne Anderson Flag of Canada (1957-1965).svg  Canada
24 Italo Pedroncelli Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 2:16.8+10.8
25 Felice De Nicolo Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 2:18.1+12.1
26 Jean-Guy Brunet Flag of Canada (1957-1965).svg  Canada 2:18.2+12.2
27 Frederick Tommy Flag of Canada (1957-1965).svg  Canada 2:18.4+12.4
28 Don Bruneski Flag of Canada (1957-1965).svg  Canada 2:19.9+13.9
29 Georgi Varoshkin Flag of Bulgaria (1948-1967).svg  Bulgaria 2:20.0+14.0
30 Georgi Dimitrov Flag of Bulgaria (1948-1967).svg  Bulgaria 2:20.2+14.2
31 Francisco Cortes Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 2:20.8+14.8
32 Vicente Vera Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 2:24.5+18.5
33 Jóhann Vilbergsson Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland 2:24.6+18.6
34 Chiharu Igaya Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan 2:25.0+19.0
35 Charlach Mackintosh Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 2:25.1+19.1
36 Kristinn Benediktsson Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland 2:26.0+20.0
37 Eysteinn Þórðarson Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland 2:26.2+20.2
38 Hernán Boher Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 2:26.7+20.7
39 Victor Tagle Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 2:26.9+20.9
40 Geoff Pitchford Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 2:27.3+21.3
41 Adolf Fehr Flag of Liechtenstein (1937-1982).svg  Liechtenstein 2:27.4+21.4
42 Manuel García-Moran Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg  Spain 2:27.6+21.6
43 Robert Skepper Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 2:28.1+22.1
44 Luis Sánchez Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg  Spain 2:28.3+22.3
45 Osvaldo Ancinas Flag of Argentina (1861-2010).svg  Argentina 2:28.4+22.4
46 Osamu Tada Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan 2:28.5+22.5
47 Aleksandar Shalamanov Flag of Bulgaria (1948-1967).svg  Bulgaria 2:29.0+23.0
48 Sam Chaffey Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 2:29.3+23.3
49 Silvan Kindle
Hermann Kindle
Flag of Liechtenstein (1937-1982).svg  Liechtenstein 2:29.4+23.4
51 Luis Arias Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg  Spain 2:29.8+23.8
52 Bill Day Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 2:30.5+24.5
53 Masayoshi Mitani Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan 2:31.3+25.3
54 Bill Hunt Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 2:32.0+26.0
55 John Oakes Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 2:36.0+30.0
56 Ibrahim Geagea Flag of Lebanon (1943-1995).svg  Lebanon 2:39.2+33.2
57 Peter Brockhoff Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 2:39.7+33.7
58 Zeki Şamiloğlu Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 2:42.4+36.4
59Nazih GeageaFlag of Lebanon (1943-1995).svg  Lebanon 3:00.3+54.3
60 Clemente Tellechea Flag of Argentina (1861-2010).svg  Argentina 3:20.2+1:14.2
61 Im Gyeong-sun Flag of South Korea (1949-1984).svg  South Korea 3:34.4+1:28.4
- Adrien Duvillard Flag of France.svg  France DQ-
- Muzaffer Demirhan Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey DQ-
Source: [2]

References

  1. "Girls to precede men in ski event". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. February 19, 1960. p. 16. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "VIII Olympic Winter Games Squaw Valley, California 1960 - Final Report". California Olympic Commission. California State Printing Office. 1960. pp. 95–96. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  3. "Alpine Skiing at the 1960 Squaw Valley Winter Games: Men's Downhill". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  4. "Russia clinches team title". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. February 23, 1960. p. 20. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  5. "1958 World Championships results". FIS. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  6. Terrell, Roy (February 29, 1960). "Heroes of Squaw Valley". Sports Illustrated. p. 20.
  7. Uhrhammer, Jerry (February 23, 1960). "Metal skis, wax key items in men's downhill". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1D.
  8. "Ski-ing medal won by Frenchman". Glasgow Herald. February 23, 1960. p. 9.
  9. "Russ sew up title at Winter Olympics". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. February 23, 1960. p. 15.
  10. "Top downhill skiers". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). (AP photo). February 22, 1960. p. 15.
  11. 1 2 3 Masia, Seth. "Ski helmets: how we got here". International Skiing History Association. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  12. "Tragedy mars Canadian ski triumph". Montreal Gazette. Canadian Press. February 9, 1959. p. 17.
  13. "Ski crash kills Canadian youth". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. February 8, 1959. p. 4, sports.
  14. "Crash helmets for U.S. ski squad". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). Associated Press. January 25, 1956. p. 11.
  15. "Skiers cut loose at high speeds in tests". Ocala Star-Banner. (Florida). Associated Press. February 15, 1960. p. 7.