McKinney Creek Stadium

Last updated

McKinney Creek Stadium was a temporary ski stadium located at Tahoma, California, in the United States. Built in 1959, it was used for cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, and biathlon at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley.

Contents

History

As Squaw Valley was an undeveloped area at the time of being awarded the Olympics, the organizing committee was free to build a tailor-made Olympic resort. [1] The organizing committee originally intended to house all events in Squaw Valley proper, but real estate developments in Squaw Valley made this difficult. In 1958 the organizing committee therefore decided to move all cross-country and biathlon events to McKinney Creek. [2]

Rolf Gerlofsen had surveyed the area in March 1957, and work on the biathlon tracks and facilities was undertaken and completed during the summer of 1958. It was the first time that pull targets were installed for a biathlon competition. [3]

Work on the stadium began in August 1959. [4] Plans for the tracks were approved by the International Ski Federation's Knut Korsvold and Sigge Bergman, after which construction of the trails could start in the summer 1959. Trial events were undertaken in 1959, in which it was found that mechanical track preparation was more efficient than manual, given that there was at least 45 centimeters (18 in) of snow. [2] After the Olympics, the stadium was dismounted.

Facilities

McKinney Creek Stadium was located immediately off California State Route 89, 19 kilometers (12 mi) south of Squaw Valley. It was the only venue to not be located in the ski resort itself. [2] The stadium was 250 meters (820 ft) long and between 34 and 45 meters (112 and 148 ft) wide. Bleachers were erected on one side of the finish line with space for 1,000 spectators and 200 press officers. A 16 by 4 meter (54 by 13 ft) scoreboard was built behind the finish line, which at any given time showed the latest times and the ten best results. Flags for all participating nations at the games were hoisted along the stadium. [4]

The main building was the Timing Building, which consisted of a calculations room, a communications room, an office for the race secretary in addition to areas for timing staff and equipment. The upper section was used by the public announcer and featured sixteen radio booths. Two 6 by 15 meter (20 by 48 ft) Quonset huts with a total sixteen rooms were built for competitors for waxing, resting and changing. Lack of water caused the stadium to lack showers. An identically sized Quonset hut was built for administration personnel and course preparation works. A larger 6 by 20 meter (20 by 64 ft) Quonset hut was built for the press, which included typewriters, teletype machines, telephones and a darkroom. [4]

The biathlon course had four shooting ranges along the 20-kilometer (12 mi) course. A 200-meter (660 ft) range was installed at 6.5 kilometers (4.0 mi), a 250-meter (820 ft) range at 9.5 kilometers (5.9 mi), a 150-meter (490 ft) range at 12.5 kilometers (7.8 mi) and a 100-meter (330 ft) range at 15 kilometers (9.3 mi). The ranges had 15 pull-type targets with a "sleeve and plunger" system with five recharges. This allowed up to 75 participants in the race. An additional practice range was built in the Squaw Valley–Deer Park area, in addition to the 250-meter (820 ft) range being available for training. Coordination of the shooting station was undertaken by four groups of twenty men from the United States Air Force Rifle School. First aid stations were installed at each range. [3]

Track preparation was undertaken every evening before the events. Crews were assigned to sections of tracks, with the responsibility of skiing the courses one and a half hours before start, policing the section and removing markers after the event. Each event was color-coded and all marking and material for each event used the colors for visual identification. Training tracks were available in the McKinney Park area and the Squaw Valley–Deer Park area. Both official electronic and unofficial manual timing was used. Interval times were taken at 5-kilometer (3.1 mi) intervals and phoned to the stadium. [2]

Events

Cross-country skiing consisted of six events—four for men and two for women, including a relay race for both genders. The men's 30 kilometer saw a Swedish double won by Sixten Jernberg ahead of Rolf Rämgård. [5] In the men's 15 kilometer, Jernberg finished second after Norway's Hakon Brusveen. [2] The men's 4 × 10 kilometer relay saw Finland win ahead of Norway and the Soviet Union. The United States finished last of the eleven teams. [6] The final men's race was the men's 50 kilometer, which saw a Finnish double with Kalevi Hämäläinen win ahead of Veikko Hakulinen followed by three Swedes. [5] The men's relay saw the largest crowd, of 3,000 spectators. [2]

The women's 10 kilometer saw the Soviet Union win the four top positions, with Maria Gusakova winning gold and Lyubov Kozyreva winning silver. Five teams entered the women's 3 × 5 kilometer relay. Despite the Soviet dominance in the individual race, Sweden was successful at beating the Soviet Union, ahead of Finland, Poland and Germany. [6]

The ski jumping part of the Nordic combined took place at Papoose Peak Jumps in Squaw Valley. [7] Germany's Georg Thoma won the ski jumping event and succeeded at defending the gold through the 15 kilometer cross-country race. The Soviet Union's Dmitriy Kochkin finished second after the jumps, but was relegated to fifth after the cross-country event, with Norway's Tormod Knutsen taking silver. [8]

The 1960 Winter Olympics saw the debut of biathlon. Thirty competitors from nine nations entered the 20 kilometer race, which was undertaken with one-minute interval start. [3] The race was won by Klas Lestander of Sweden ahead of Finland's Antti Tyrvainen and four Soviet biathletes. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biathlon</span> Winter sport of skiing and rifle shooting

The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not timed per se, but depending on the competition, missed shots result in extra distance or time being added to the contestant's total.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1948 Winter Olympics</span> Multi-sport event in St. Moritz, Switzerland

The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as St. Moritz 1948, were a winter multi-sport event held from 30 January to 8 February 1948 in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The Games were the first to be celebrated after World War II; it had been twelve years since the last Winter Games in 1936.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1998 Winter Olympics</span> Multi-sport event in Nagano, Japan

The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVIII Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Nagano 1998, were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events taking place in the nearby mountain communities of Hakuba, Karuizawa, Nozawa Onsen, and Yamanouchi. The city of Nagano had previously been a candidate to host the 1940 Winter Olympics, as well as the 1972 Winter Olympics, but had been eliminated at the national level by Sapporo on both occasions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1994 Winter Olympics</span> Multi-sport event in Lillehammer, Norway

The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, were an international winter multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Having lost the bid for the 1992 Winter Olympics to Albertville in France, Lillehammer was awarded the 1994 Winter Games on 15 September 1988, two days before the 1988 Summer Olympics opening ceremonies at the 94th IOC Session in Seoul, South Korea. Due to the calendar changes made in 1985, this was the only time that the Winter Olympics took place two years after the previous Winter Games, and the first to be held in a different year from the Summer Olympics. This was the second Olympic Games of any type hosted in Norway — the first being the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo — and the fourth Olympics overall to be held in a Nordic country, after the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, and the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. Lillehammer is the northernmost city ever to host the Olympic Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1984 Winter Olympics</span> Multi-sport event in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia

The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Sarajevo '84, were a winter multi-sport event held between 8 and 19 February 1984 in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. It was the first Winter Olympic Games held in a Slavic language-speaking country, as well as the only Winter Olympics held in a communist country before the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. It was the second consecutive Olympic Games held in a communist country, after the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1960 Winter Olympics</span> Multi-sport event in Squaw Valley, California, US

The 1960 Winter Olympics were a winter multi-sport event held from February 18 to 28, 1960, at the Squaw Valley Resort in Squaw Valley, California, United States. The resort was chosen to host the Games at the 1956 meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Squaw Valley was an undeveloped resort in 1955, so the infrastructure and all of the venues were built between 1956 and 1960 at a cost of US$80,000,000. The layout was designed to be intimate, allowing spectators and competitors to reach most of the venues on foot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1964 Winter Olympics</span> Multi-sport event in Innsbruck, Austria

The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Innsbruck 1964, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964. The city was already an Olympic candidate, unsuccessfully bidding to host the 1960 Games. Innsbruck won the 1964 Games bid, defeating the cities of Calgary in Canada and Lahti in Finland. The sports venues, many of which were built for the Games, were located within a radius of 20 km (12 mi) around Innsbruck. The Games included 1,091 athletes from 36 nations, which was a record for the Winter Games at the time. Athletes participated in six sports and ten disciplines which bring together a total of thirty-four official events, seven more than the 1960 Winter Olympic Games. The luge made its debut on the Olympic program. Three Asian nations made their Winter Games debut: North Korea, India and Mongolia.

Biathlon at the 1960 Winter Olympics consisted of one biathlon event, held at McKinney Creek Stadium, Tahoma, California. The event occurred on 21 February 1960. This was the first appearance of modern biathlon in the Olympic Games. In 1924, a military patrol event was held. Some sources do not include this military patrol race as an Olympic event, but the IOC considers it an event within biathlon.

Nordic combined at the 1960 Winter Olympics consisted of one event, held from 21 February to 22 February. The ski jumping portion took place at Papoose Peak Jumps, while the cross-country portion took place at McKinney Creek Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birkebeineren Ski Stadium</span> Building in Lillehammer, Oppland, Norway

Birkebeineren Ski Stadium is a cross-country skiing and biathlon venue located in Lillehammer, Norway. Situated 3 kilometers (2 mi) from the town center and at 485 meters (1,591 ft) above mean sea level, it has two stadium areas, one for cross-country and one for biathlon. The former has a capacity for 31,000 spectators, and the latter for 13,500. The venue was built for the 1994 Winter Olympics, costing 83.6 million Norwegian krone (NOK). It was subsequently used by the 1994 Winter Paralympics for Paralympic Nordic skiing and Paralympic biathlon. After the games, ownership was transferred to the municipal Lillehammer Olympiapark. The venue has since been used for one Biathlon World Cup, three FIS Cross-Country World Cup and nine FIS Nordic Combined World Cup tournaments, the latter with the ski jumping competition taking place at the nearby Lysgårdsbakkene Ski Jumping Arena. Birkebeineren hosted the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papoose Peak Jumps</span> Ski jumping hill located at Palisades Tahoe

Papoose Peak Jumps was a ski jumping hill located at Palisades Tahoe in the US state of California. The hill consisted of three jumps, with K-points of 80, 60 and 40 meters, respectively. Constructed upon the hill-side of Little Papoose Peak, it was built for the 1960 Winter Olympics; the 80-meter hill hosted the ski jumping event and the 60-meter hill the Nordic combined event. The jump was designed by Heini Klopfer and opened in 1958. After the Olympics the venue saw little use; it was renovated for the 1976 US National Ski Jumping Championships, but has since fallen into disrepair and demolished to make room for the Far East Express ski lift.

For the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California, in the United States, a total of five sports venues were used. Except for the Palisades Tahoe, all of the venues had to be constructed. For the first time in Winter Olympic history, a temporary venue was constructed at McKinney Creek for biathlon, cross-country skiing, and Nordic combined. A bobsleigh track was not constructed over the guarantees from the FIBT not being able to field the minimum twelve teams needed to compete, making it the only time bobsleigh has not been included in the Winter Olympics.

The men's 4 × 10 km relay, a part of the cross-country skiing at the 1994 Winter Olympics, took place on 22 February at Birkebeineren Ski Stadium in Lillehammer, Norway. The race saw Italy beat Norway by 0.4 seconds on the finish line, with Finland finishing third. The three had followed each other closely through the first three rounds, but in the fourth heat, Silvio Fauner and Bjørn Dæhlie managed to break with Jari Isometsä. The event was the best attended of any in the games, with an estimated 100,000 spectators at the stadium and along the tracks. About 203,000 people applied for the 31,000 seats at the stadium, and some 75,000 ultimately watched from the track-side.

The Men's 20 kilometre individual biathlon competition at the 1960 Winter Olympics was held on 21 February, at McKinney Creek Stadium. The firing ranges were located at the following points on the 20-kilometer course: 6.5 km — 200 meter range, 9.5 km — 250 meter range, 12.5 km — 150 meter range and 15 km — 100 meter range. The first three series were fired from a prone position, the last standing. Each miss of the target cost two minutes.

The 15 kilometre cross-country skiing event was part of the cross-country skiing programme at the 1960 Winter Olympics, in Squaw Valley, California, United States. It was the second appearance of the event at its length of 15 km. The competition was held on Tuesday, February 23, 1960, at the McKinney Creek Stadium.

The 30 kilometre cross-country skiing event was part of the cross-country skiing programme at the 1960 Winter Olympics, in Squaw Valley, California, United States. It was the second appearance of the event at its length of 30 km. The competition was held on Saturday, February 19, 1960 at the McKinney Creek Stadium.

The 50 kilometre cross-country skiing event was part of the cross-country skiing programme at the 1960 Winter Olympics, in Squaw Valley, California, United States. It was the fifth appearance of the event at its length of 30 km. The competition was held on Saturday, February 27, 1960 at the McKinney Creek Stadium.

The men's 4 × 10 kilometre relay cross-country skiing event was part of the cross-country skiing programme at the 1960 Winter Olympics, in Squaw Valley, California, United States. It was the fifth appearance of the event. The competition was held on Saturday, February 27, 1960, at the McKinney Creek Stadium.

The women's 3 × 5 kilometre relay cross-country skiing event was part of the cross-country skiing programme at the 1960 Winter Olympics, in Squaw Valley, California, United States. It was the second appearance of the event. The competition was held on Friday, February 26, 1960, at the McKinney Creek Stadium.

References

Bibliography
Notes
  1. ↑ Squaw Valley Organizing Committee: 33
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Squaw Valley Organizing Committee: 115
  3. 1 2 3 Squaw Valley Organizing Committee: 118
  4. 1 2 3 Squaw Valley Organizing Committee: 109
  5. 1 2 Squaw Valley Organizing Committee: 116
  6. 1 2 Squaw Valley Organizing Committee: 117
  7. ↑ Squaw Valley Organizing Committee: 104
  8. ↑ Squaw Valley Organizing Committee: 106
  9. ↑ Squaw Valley Organizing Committee: 120
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.