The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Albertville '92, were a winter multi-sport event held from 8 to 23 February 1992 in and around Albertville, France. Albertville won the bid to host the Winter Olympics in 1986, beating Sofia, Falun, Lillehammer, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Anchorage, and Berchtesgaden. The 1992 Winter Olympics were the last winter games held in the same year as the Summer Olympics. The Games were the fifth Olympic Games held in France and the country's third Winter Olympics, after the 1924 Winter Games in Chamonix and the 1968 Winter Games in Grenoble. This games was the first of two consecutive Olympic games to be held in Western Europe, preceding the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
Val-d'Isère is a commune of the Tarentaise Valley, in the Savoie department in southeastern France. It lies 5 km (3 mi) from the border with Italy. It is on the border of the Vanoise National Park created in 1963, with good transport links in and out of Lyon, Geneva and Chambéry.
The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event held in Albertville, France, from February 8 to 23. A total of 1,801 athletes representing 64 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in 57 events from 12 different sports and disciplines. In a break from tradition, the medals were primarily made of crystal rather than metal: gold, silver, or bronze was used only on the border.
Alberto Tomba is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Italy. He was the dominant technical skier in the late 1980s and 1990s. At 182 cm and 90 kg, his powerful build was a contrast to the lighter, more traditional technical skiers who prioritised agility over muscle. Tomba was able to take advantage of the introduction of spring-loaded ski gates which replaced the older, solid gates in the early 1980s by using his power to maintain a faster, more direct line through courses. Tomba won three Olympic gold medals, two World Championships, and nine World Cup season titles: four in slalom, four in giant slalom, and one overall title. He was popularly called Tomba la Bomba.
Marc Girardelli is an Austrian–Luxembourger former alpine ski racer, a five-time World Cup overall champion who excelled in all five alpine disciplines.
Alpine skiing at the 1988 Winter Olympics consisted of ten alpine skiing events, held February 15–27 at Nakiska on Mount Allan, a new ski area west of Calgary.
Alpine skiing at the 1984 Winter Olympics consisted of six alpine skiing events, held 13–19 February in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. The men's races were at Bjelašnica and the women's at Jahorina. Due to weather delays, both downhill races were postponed several days and run after the giant slalom races.
Alpine skiing at the 1994 Winter Olympics consisted of ten alpine skiing events, held north of the host city of Lillehammer, Norway. The speed events were held at Kvitfjell and the technical events at Hafjell from 13 to 21 February.
The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2009 were the 40th FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, held 2–15 February in France at Val-d'Isère, Savoie.
Franck Piccard is a French former Alpine skier. A native of Les Saisies, Piccard won a total of four Alpine Skiing World Cup races. At the 1988 Olympics in Calgary he won a gold medal in the Super-G competition and a bronze medal in the downhill. At the 1992 Olympics in Albertville he won a silver medal in the downhill. He also could achieve a bronze-medal in the Super-G-Race at the FIS Alpine Skiing World Championships 1991.
India competed at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, from 8 to 23 February 1992. This was the nation's fourth appearance at the Winter Olympics since its debut in 1964 and marked its second consecutive appearance after its return to the Games in 1988.
Luxembourg sent a delegation to compete at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France from 8 to 23 February 1992. This marked Luxembourg's fourth appearance at a Winter Olympic Games. The Luxembourgian delegation in Albertville consisted of a single athlete, alpine skier Marc Girardelli. He won two silver medals at these Olympics, which positioned Luxembourg 17th place on the medal table.
Luxembourg sent a delegation to compete at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway from 12–27 February 1994. The nation was making its fifth appearance at a Winter Olympic Games. The Luxembourgian delegation to Lillehammer consisted of a single athlete, alpine skier Marc Girardelli. His best performance in any event was fourth in the Super-G; he also finished fifth in the downhill and ninth in the combined. As well, he failed to finish the giant slalom, and was disqualified from the slalom.
The Philippines sent a delegation to compete at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France from 8–23 February 1992. This was the nation's third appearance at the Winter Olympic Games. The delegation consisted of a single athlete, alpine skier Michael Teruel. He competed in both the giant slalom, where he finished in 71st, and in the slalom, in which he finished in 49th.
Swaziland competed in the Winter Olympic Games for the first time at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France from 8–23 February 1992. The Swazi delegation consisted of a single competitor, the alpine skier Keith Fraser, who competed in the slalom, where he failed to finish the first run; in the giant slalom, where he came 63rd; and in the super-G, finishing 79th.
Elisabeth Görgl is a retired World Cup alpine ski racer from Austria.
For the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, a total of thirteen sports venues were used. Val-d'Isère has been part of the Alpine Skiing World Cup since the late 1960s while Tignes served as host of the first Freestyle World Ski Championships in 1986. Most of the venues used were constructed between 1987 and mid 1990 with the test events taking place in late 1990 and early 1991. It was the last Winter Olympics with an outdoor speed skating rink which led to weather issues for three of the ten events. Three cross-country skiing events were run in snowstorms while the men's 20 km biathlon was found to be 0.563 km (0.350 mi) too short. The downhill events in alpine skiing were criticized for being too steep. Freestyle skiing made its official debut at these games with the men's winner being stormed after his win while the women's winner won her event in a snow storm. La Plagne hosted the skeleton World Championships in 1993 while Val-d'Isère hosted the Alpine World Ski Championships in 2009.Some of the venues will be used again during the 2030 Winter Olympics,when the main host city will be Nice.
The men's super-G competition of the Albertville 1992 Olympics was held at Val-d'Isère on Sunday, 16 February.
The women's super-G competition of the Albertville 1992 Olympics was held at Meribel on Tuesday, 18 February.
The 47th FIS Alpine World Ski Championships took place from 6 to 19 February 2023 in two neighboring locations in the French Alps, Courchevel and Méribel.
