FIS Alpine World Ski Championships

Last updated
FIS Alpine World Ski Championships
FIS World Ski Championships Gold Medal.jpg
gold medal
Statusactive
Genresporting event
Date(s)January–February
Frequencybiennial
Location(s)various
Inaugurated1931 (1931)
Organised by FIS

The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships is an alpine skiing competition organized by the International Ski Federation (FIS).

Contents

History

The inaugural world championships in alpine skiing were held in 1931. During the 1930s, the event was held annually in Europe, until interrupted by the outbreak of World War II, preventing a 1940 event. An event was held in 1941, but included competitors only from nations from the Axis powers or nations not at war with them. The results were later cancelled by the FIS in 1946 because of the limited number of participants, so they are not considered official. [1]

Following the war, the championships were connected with the Olympics for several decades. From 1948 through 1982, the competition was held in even-numbered years, with the Winter Olympics acting as the World Championships through 1980, and a separate competition held in even-numbered non-Olympic years. The 1950 championships in the United States at Aspen were the first held outside of Europe and the first official championships separate of the Olympics since 1939.

The combined event was dropped after 1948 with the addition of the giant slalom in 1950, but returned in 1954 as a "paper" race which used the results of the three events: downhill, giant slalom, and slalom. During Olympic years from 1956 through 1980, FIS World Championship medals were awarded in the combined, but not Olympic medals. The combined returned as a separately run event in 1982 with its own downhill and two-run slalom, and the Super-G was added to the program in 1987. (Both were also added to the Olympics in 1988.)

There were no World Championships in 1983 or 1984 and since 1985, they have been scheduled in odd-numbered years, independent of the Winter Olympics. A lack of snow in southern Spain in 1995 caused a postponement to the following year.

Summary

YearPlaceCountryYearOfficial FIS designation [2] Events
1931 Mürren  Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1931  1st Alpine World Ski Championships4
1932 Cortina d'Ampezzo Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1932 2nd Alpine World Ski Championships6
1933 Innsbruck Flag of Austria.svg  Austria FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1933 3rd Alpine World Ski Championships6
1934 St. Moritz  Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1934 4th Alpine World Ski Championships6
1935 Mürren  Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1935 5th Alpine World Ski Championships6
1936 Innsbruck Flag of Austria.svg  Austria FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1936 6th Alpine World Ski Championships6
1937 Chamonix Flag of France.svg  France FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1937 7th Alpine World Ski Championships6
1938 Engelberg  Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1938 8th Alpine World Ski Championships6
1939 Zakopane Flag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1939 9th Alpine World Ski Championships6
1941 Cortina d'Ampezzo Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1941 none [1] -
1948 St. Moritz  Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 1948 Winter Olympics 10th Alpine World Ski Championships6
1950 Aspen, Colorado Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1950 11th Alpine World Ski Championships6
1952 Oslo Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 1952 Winter Olympics 12th Alpine World Ski Championships6
1954 Åre Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1954 13th Alpine World Ski Championships8
1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 1956 Winter Olympics 14th Alpine World Ski Championships6
1958 Badgastein Flag of Austria.svg  Austria FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1958 15th Alpine World Ski Championships6
1960 Squaw Valley, California Flag of the United States (1959-1960).svg  United States 1960 Winter Olympics 16th Alpine World Ski Championships6
1962 Chamonix Flag of France.svg  France FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1962 17th Alpine World Ski Championships8
1964 Innsbruck Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 1964 Winter Olympics 18th Alpine World Ski Championships6
1966 Portillo Flag of Chile.svg  Chile FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1966 19th Alpine World Ski Championships6
1968 Grenoble Flag of France.svg  France 1968 Winter Olympics 20th Alpine World Ski Championships6
1970 Val Gardena Flag of Italy.svg  Italy FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1970 21st Alpine World Ski Championships8
1972 Sapporo Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan 1972 Winter Olympics 22nd Alpine World Ski Championships6
1974 St. Moritz  Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1974 23rd Alpine World Ski Championships8
1976 Innsbruck Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 1976 Winter Olympics 24th Alpine World Ski Championships6
1978 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1978 25th Alpine World Ski Championships6
1980 Lake Placid, New York Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 1980 Winter Olympics 26th Alpine World Ski Championships6
1982 Schladming Flag of Austria.svg  Austria FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1982 27th Alpine World Ski Championships8
1985 Bormio Flag of Italy.svg  Italy FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1985 28th Alpine World Ski Championships10
1987 Crans-Montana  Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1987 29th Alpine World Ski Championships10
1989 Vail, Colorado Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1989 30th Alpine World Ski Championships10
1991 Saalbach Flag of Austria.svg  Austria FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1991 31st Alpine World Ski Championships10
1993 Morioka Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1993 32nd Alpine World Ski Championships9
1996 Sierra Nevada Flag of Spain.svg  Spain FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1996 33rd Alpine World Ski Championships10
1997 Sestriere Flag of Italy.svg  Italy FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1997 34th Alpine World Ski Championships10
1999 Vail/Beaver Creek, CO Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1999 35th Alpine World Ski Championships10
2001 St. Anton Flag of Austria.svg  Austria FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2001 36th Alpine World Ski Championships10
2003 St. Moritz  Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2003 37th Alpine World Ski Championships10
2005 Bormio Flag of Italy (2003-2006).svg  Italy FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2005 38th Alpine World Ski Championships11
2007 Åre Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2007 39th Alpine World Ski Championships11
2009 Val d'Isère Flag of France.svg  France FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2009 40th Alpine World Ski Championships10
2011 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Flag of Germany.svg  Germany FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2011 41st Alpine World Ski Championships11
2013 Schladming Flag of Austria.svg  Austria FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2013 42nd Alpine World Ski Championships11
2015 Vail/Beaver Creek, CO Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2015 43rd Alpine World Ski Championships11
2017 St. Moritz  Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2017 44th Alpine World Ski Championships11
2019 Åre Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2019 45th Alpine World Ski Championships11
2021 Cortina d'Ampezzo Flag of Italy.svg  Italy FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2021 46th Alpine World Ski Championships13
2023 Courchevel-Méribel Flag of France.svg  France FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2023 47th Alpine World Ski Championships13
2025 Saalbach Flag of Austria.svg  Austria FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2025 48th Alpine World Ski Championships13
2027 Crans-Montana  Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2027 49th Alpine World Ski Championships13
2029 Narvik  Flag of Norway.svg  Norway FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2029 50th Alpine World Ski Championships?
2031 Val Gardena Flag of Italy.svg  Italy FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2031 51st Alpine World Ski Championships?

List of host countries

A total of twelve countries have hosted the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, including those which were shared with the Winter Olympics. All of the top-7 on the list of nations which have won FIS World Cup races have been selected as host at least twice. The World Championships have been held only once in the Southern Hemisphere, in August 1966 at Portillo, Chile. The list is complete through 2021 and does not include the unofficial 1941 event.

CountryWorld Championships hostedEarliest
year
  Latest  
year
Future
Total numberIndependentShared with
Olympics
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 981193120172027
Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 972193320132025
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 761193220212031
Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 64219502015
Flag of France.svg  France 54119372023
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 33019542019
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 22019782011
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 21119721993
Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 1101939
Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 1101966
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 1101996
Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 10119522029
Totals4738919312023

Events

Event 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 85 87 89 91 93 96 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 11 13 15 17 19 21 23
Men's combined
Men's downhill
Men's slalom
Men's giant slalom
Men's super-G
Men's parallel event
Women's combined
Women's downhill
Women's slalom
Women's giant slalom
Women's super-G
Women's parallel event
Mixed Nations Team Event
Total Events46666666666688888888888888881010109101010101011111011111111111313

Note: The men's super-G in 1993 and the team event in 2009 were cancelled due to adverse weather conditions, and no medals were awarded.

Skiers with most victories

Top 10 skiers who won more gold medals at the Alpine Skiing World Championships (including at team events) are listed below. Boldface denotes active skiers and highest medal count among all skiers (including these who not included in these tables) per type.

Men

RankSkierCountryFromToGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Marcel Hirscher Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 20132019 7 **4 11 **
2 Toni Sailer Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 19561958718
3 Jean-Claude Killy Flag of France.svg  France 1966196866
4 Kjetil André Aamodt Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 1991200354312
5 Aksel Lund Svindal Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 200520195229
6 Gustav Thöni Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 19721976527
7 Ingemar Stenmark Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 197619825117
8 Ted Ligety Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 20092015527
9 Marc Girardelli Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg 1985199644311
10 Pirmin Zurbriggen Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 198519894419

Women

RankSkierCountryFromToGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Christl Cranz Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg Germany 1934193912315
2 Mikaela Shiffrin Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 2013202374314
3 Marielle Goitschel Flag of France.svg  France 196219687411
4 Anja Pärson Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 200120117 2 * 4 * 13 **
5 Erika Hess Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 19801987617
6 Annemarie Moser-Pröll Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 197019805229
7 Janica Kostelić Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia 2003200555
8 Tina Maze Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia 20092015459
9 Hanni Wenzel Flag of Liechtenstein.svg  Liechtenstein 197419804329
10 Pernilla Wiberg Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 199119994116

* Including one medal in the Mixed team event
** Including two medals in the Mixed team event

Skiers with most individual medals

Participants with five or more medals in the individual disciplines (not including team events) at the Alpine Skiing World Championships are (boldface denotes active skiers): [3] [4]

Most titles per discipline

Multiple individual discipline winners

Only seven skiers (three men and four women) have ever managed to win World championship in four or more different alpine skiing individual disciplines during their career, as listed in the table below. Anja Pärson of Sweden is the only skier in history to win World Championship golds in five individual disciplines.

Men

SkierPeriodDifferent discipline titles wonWins DH SG GS SL KB
Flag of Austria.svg Toni Sailer 1956–1958472212
Flag of France.svg Jean-Claude Killy 1966–1968462112
  Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Pirmin Zurbriggen 1985–1987441111

Women

SkierPeriodDifferent discipline titles wonWins DH SG GS SL KB
Flag of Sweden.svg Anja Pärson 2001–20075712211
Flag of the United States.svg Mikaela Shiffrin 2013–2023471141
Flag of France.svg Marielle Goitschel 1962–1968471213
Flag of Slovenia.svg Tina Maze 2011–2015441111

Medals by country

'The tables for both genders include medals won at the nine Winter Olympics from 1948 through 1980, though these were also World Championships. The mixed team events is not included for both genders, therefore there is special table for these team competitions. Also, there are two cumulative medal tables – the first one includes medals won at the nine Winter Olympics from 1948 through 1980, the second one do not includes these medals. All tables are current through 2023.

Mixed team events

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 3306
2Flag of France.svg  France 2013
3Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 1102
4Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 1023
5Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 1012
6Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 1001
7Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 0336
8Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 0112
9Flag of Slovakia.svg  Slovakia 0101
10Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 0011
Totals (10 entries)99927

See also

References and notes

  1. 1 2 "FIS History". FIS-Ski. Archived from the original on 27 May 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  2. "Alpine World Ski Championships". FIS-Ski. Archived from the original on 24 May 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  3. "Podiums". FIS-Ski. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  4. "Podiums". FIS-Ski. Archived from the original on 2 January 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2011.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skiing</span> Recreational activity and sport using snow skis

Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hanni Wenzel</span> Liechtensteiner alpine skier

Hannelore (Hanni) Wenzel is a retired Liechtensteiner alpine ski racer. Wenzel is a former Olympic, World Cup, and world champion. She won Liechtenstein's first-ever Olympic medal at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, and its first two Olympic gold medals four years later in Lake Placid, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FIS Alpine Ski World Cup</span> Top international circuit of alpine skiing competitions

The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is the top international circuit of alpine skiing competitions, launched in 1966 by a group of ski racing friends and experts which included French journalist Serge Lang and the alpine ski team directors from France and the USA. It was soon backed by International Ski Federation president Marc Hodler during the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1966 at Portillo, Chile, and became an official FIS event in the spring of 1967 after the FIS Congress at Beirut, Lebanon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giant slalom</span> Alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline

Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding competitive discipline. It involves racing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in slalom but less than in Super-G.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super-G</span> Racing discipline of alpine skiing

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 during the 1983 season and was added to the official schedule of the World Championships in 1987 and the Winter Olympics in 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franz Klammer</span> Austrian alpine skier

Franz Klammer is a former champion alpine ski racer from Austria. Klammer dominated the downhill event for four consecutive World Cup seasons (1975–78). He was the gold medalist at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, winning the downhill at Patscherkofel by a margin of 0.33 seconds with a time of 1:45.73. He won 25 World Cup downhills, including four on the Hahnenkamm at Kitzbühel. He also holds the record for the most victories (four) on the full course at Kitzbühel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alpine skiing at the 1964 Winter Olympics</span>

Alpine skiing at the 1964 Winter Olympics consisted of six events, held near Innsbruck, Austria, from January 30 to February 8, 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alpine skiing at the 1960 Winter Olympics</span>

Alpine skiing at the 1960 Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley, California, United States, consisted of six events. Competitions took place at Squaw Peak, KT-22, and Papoose Peak.

Alpine Skiing at the 1976 Winter Olympics consisted of six alpine skiing events. Similar to the 1964 games, the men's downhill was held on Patscherkofel, the other five events at Axamer Lizum. The events began on 5 February and ended on 13 February 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alpine skiing at the 1980 Winter Olympics</span>

Alpine Skiing at the 1980 Winter Olympics consisted of six alpine skiing events. The races were held February 14–23 at Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington, New York, northeast of host Lake Placid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alpine skiing at the 1972 Winter Olympics</span>

Alpine skiing at the 1972 Winter Olympics consisted of six events, held February 5–13 near Sapporo, Japan. The downhills were held at Mount Eniwa, and the four technical events at Teine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alpine skiing at the Winter Olympics</span>

Alpine skiing has been contested at every Winter Olympics since 1936, when a combined event was held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Ski Team</span>

The U.S. Ski Team, operating under the auspices of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, develops and supports men's and women's athletes in the sports of alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, cross-country, ski jumping, and Nordic combined. Since 1974 the team and association have been headquartered in Park City, Utah.

Combined is an event in alpine ski racing. The event format has changed within the last 30 years. A traditional combined competition is a two-day event consisting of one run of downhill and two runs of slalom; each discipline takes place on a separate day. The winner is the skier with the fastest aggregate time. Until the 1990s, a complicated point system was used to determine placings in the combined event. Since then, a modified version, called either a "super combined" or an "Alpine combined", has been run as an aggregate time event consisting of two runs: first, a one-run speed event and then only one run of slalom, with both portions held on the same day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gustav Thöni</span> Italian alpine skier

Gustav Thöni is an Italian retired alpine ski racer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willi Frommelt</span> Liechtenstein alpine skier

Willi Frommelt is a former Alpine skier from Liechtenstein who won a bronze medal in the slalom at the 1976 Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernhard Russi</span> Swiss alpine skier

Bernhard Russi is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Switzerland. Born in Andermatt in the canton of Uri, he is an Olympic, World Cup, and World champion in the downhill event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marielle Goitschel</span> French alpine skier

Marielle Goitschel is a French former alpine skier. Marielle is the younger sister of Christine Goitschel, another champion skier of the time, and the aunt of speed skier Philippe Goitschel.