Venues of the 1968 Winter Olympics

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For the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France, a total of ten sports venues were used. Most venues were constructed between the 1964 Winter Games in Innsbruck and the 1968 Games. Thawing was an issue for the four-man bobsleigh run. They were limited to only two runs. Thawing also affected the men's 500 m speed skating event. Electronic timing in alpine skiing affected the results of the women's giant slalom event. It gave Canada's Nancy Greene a headache for two days despite her gold medal in the event.

Contents

Venues

VenueSportsCapacityRef.
Autrans Biathlon, Cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, Ski jumping (normal hill)40,000 (ski jump) [1]
Chamrousse Alpine skiing (men)Not listed. [2]
La Patinoire Municipale Ice hockey 2,700 [3]
L'Anneau de Vitesse Speed skating 2,500 [4]
Le Stade de Glace Closing ceremonies, Figure skating, Ice hockey12,000 [5]
Piste de Bobsleigh Bobsleigh Not listed. [6]
Piste de Luge Luge Not listed. [7]
Recoin de Chamrousse Alpine skiing (women)Not listed. [2]
Saint-Nizier-du-Moucherotte Ski jumping (large hill)50,000 [8]
Olympic Stadium (Grenoble) Opening ceremonies60,000 [9]

Before the Olympics

In 1960, a local paper informed the public in Grenoble that it was making a bid for the 1968 Winter Olympics. They were awarded those games on 28 January 1964 in Innsbruck, the day before the start of the 1964 Winter Olympics. [10] La Patinoire Municipale was constructed in 1963 for the Brûleurs de Loups hockey team. [3] It hosted the European Figure Skating Championships the following year. [3]

In 1965, an aggressive construction scheduled was established using Program Evaluation and Review Technique that was used for both venue construction and all of the support systems, including transportation, communications, and public works to ensure all venues were completed in a timely manner. [11] Le Stade de Glace was the last venue completed, having been done so in November 1967. [5]

Alpe d'Huez hosted the Bobsleigh World Championships in 1967 though the four-man event was cancelled due to warm temperatures causing the ice to melt. [6] [12] This was fixed by adding more refrigeration to the exposed area of the track to reduce melting. [6]

During the Olympics

Thawing ice affected several events at these games. In the men's 500 m speed skating event, American Terry McDermott drew the last of the 24 pairs on ice that had badly melted despite artificial refrigeration. [13] McDermott tied for silver with Norwegian Magne Thomassen in the event. [13] Thawing also limited the bobsleigh four-man event to two runs. [14]

Bad weather limited the men's single luge event to three runs instead of four. [15] It also affected the women's single luge event, but the three East Germans were disqualified for heating their luge runners illegally. [16] Another event affected by bad weather was the alpine skiing men's slalom event where Austrian Karl Schranz was disqualified for missing two gates during his initial run in fog before he stopped at the 21st gate and demanded a rerun. [17]

Electronic timekeeping had debuted in alpine skiing at the previous Winter Olympics. Omega and Longines were the official timekeepers of the 1968 Games. [18] The reliability of the timing had athletes on their toes when they completed their performances. The most notable incident of the 1968 Winter Olympics which involved electronic timing took place with the women's alpine skiing giant slalom event. Canada's Nancy Greene had skied a perfect race, but when she turned around to look at the stop clock, the numbers were still moving. It took two or three seconds to correct the stop clock malfunction. Greene thought originally that the officials missed her time, causing her blood pressure to rise to the point that she had a headache for two days. Her margin of victory was 3.24 seconds over France's Annie Famose. [19]

After the Olympics

Autrans remains a popular skiing venue, having started in 1896 and continuing to do so as of 2010. [20] Chamrousse is a popular skiing venue. [21] La Patinoire Municipale was renamed Halle Clemenceau in 2001, the last year the Grenoble Hockey Club played before moving into a new sports arena. [22]

Le Stade de Glace continues to host sporting events and musical concerts as of 2010. [23] Alpe d'Huez's bobsleigh track is no longer in use, having last run in 1972. Since 1976, the city is a popular mountain stage in the Tour de France. [24] Villard-de-Lans's luge track is no longer in use, but the city remains a tourist attraction. [25]

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For the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, a total of six sports venues were used. Alpine skiing events took place for the first time and were held in three different locations. Riessersee held the speed skating and some of the ice hockey matches while the bobsleigh events took place south of the lake. The ski jump and its neighboring stadium played host to the cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, and ski jumping events. Even though figure skating and some of the ice hockey matches took place outdoors at the ice stadium, the ice itself was artificially refrigerated to prevent ice thawing.

For the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland, a total of eight sports venues were used. The five venues used for the 1928 Winter Olympics were reused for these games. Three new venues were added for alpine skiing which had been added to the Winter Olympics program twelve years earlier in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. As of 2015, the bob run continues to be used for bobsleigh and the Cresta Run for skeleton while alpine skiing remains popular in St. Moritz.

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For the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, a total of eight sports venues were used. Luge made its debut at these games, but were marred by the death of a British slider two weeks prior to the Games. A second ski jumping event debuted and the best two out of three jumps were used in both events for the only time in the history of the Winter Olympics. All eight venues would be used again when the Winter Games returned to Innsbruck twelve years later though the venues would undergo renovations in time for the 1976 Games.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venues of the 1972 Summer Olympics</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venues of the 1976 Winter Olympics</span>

For the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, a total of eight sports venues were used. The games were originally awarded to Denver, Colorado in the United States in 1970, but they withdrew in the wake of Colorado residents voting against it for environmental and cost reasons in November 1972. This led to the International Olympic Committee opening up the bids for the games again, eventually awarding them to Innsbruck in February 1973. The Austrian city, having hosted the Winter Olympics in 1964, was in the process of having the venues used for those Games before Denver's with clear cutting of the alpine skiing venues, lessening of the amount of cross-country skiing routes, upgrading the ski jumps, adding lighting in the indoor sports arena to accommodate color television, and the construction of a combination bobsleigh and luge track. After the 1976 Games, the venues have remained in use, hosting events in Nordic skiing and the sliding sports. They hosted some of the events for the Winter Universiade in 2005 and seven of the eight venues served as host for the first Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venues of the 1980 Winter Olympics</span>

For the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, United States, a total of seven sports venues were used. All five of the venues used for the 1932 Winter Olympics were also used at the 1980 Winter Games with adjustments. These adjustments included electronic scoreboards, increased refrigeration, and the addition of a separate luge track. This was the last Winter Olympics where there were separate bobsleigh and luge tracks. The closest finish in Olympic history in cross-country skiing led skiing officials to time future events in hundredths of a second rather than tenths of a second. This would also apply to biathlon events. Eric Heiden won five gold medals at the speed skating oval while the "Miracle on Ice" took place between Americans and Soviets at the Olympic Center. In the late 1990s, the luge track was demolished and a new combination track was constructed in time for the only Winter Goodwill Games held. The sliding venue was named to the American National Register of Historical Places in February 2010.

For the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, a total of nine sports venues were used. The idea for the Games came around from a 1968 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development study on promoting winter tourism in Yugoslavia. After Sarajevo was awarded the 1984 Games in 1978, venue construction and renovation took place between 1979 and 1983. Weather postponed the men's downhill alpine skiing event three times before it was finally run. The men's cross-country skiing 30 km event was run during a blizzard. After the games, all but one of the venues were damaged during the Bosnian War and the siege of Sarajevo. After the war, Zetra Ice Hall was rebuilt and is in use as of 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venues of the 1988 Winter Olympics</span>

For the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, a total of nine sports venues were used. Calgary tried twice to host the Winter Olympics in the 1960s without success before finally winning the 1988 Winter Games in 1981. Stampede Corral was built in 1950 while McMahon Stadium was built in 1960. When the National Hockey League (NHL) Flames franchise was relocated from Atlanta, Georgia in the United States during the summer of 1980, a new arena was needed. The Saddledome construction was underway in late 1981 when Calgary was awarded the 1988 Games. Completed in 1983, the Olympic Saddledome has played host to the Flames ever since, including three Stanley Cup Finals and the NHL All-Star Game in 1985. An innovation for the games was the first indoor long-track speed skating venue which has served as a model for future Olympics. The bobsleigh and luge track was the first combination track in North America and was noted for the Jamaican bobsleigh team crash during the four-man event. Both the Oval and the bobsleigh/luge track continue to host the World Championships in their respective sports since the 1988 Winter Olympics.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venues of the 1998 Winter Olympics</span>

For the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, a total of fifteen sports venues were used. Nagano had attempted twice to host the Winter Olympics, losing out to Sapporo, host of the 1972 Winter Olympics. The third time, in 1991, Nagano edged out Salt Lake City to host the 1998 Games. The biathlon venue was adjusted in accordance with the Washington Convention over endangered species. The biggest venue controversy was at Happo'one resort on the length of the men's downhill and the battle that ensued to the point where skiing officials threatened to pull the event entirely before a compromise was reached three months before the Olympics. M-Wave has hosted three World Speed Skating Championships since the Olympics, while the Spiral has hosted a couple of world championships in bobsleigh, luge and skeleton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venues of the 2006 Winter Olympics</span>

For the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, a total of fifteen sports venues were used. Venue construction ran from 2002 to 2005. Cesana Pariol had to have turns 17 and 18 modified following the Luge World Cup in January 2005, but they were not cleared out until October 2005. Winds postponed the Nordic combined team event for a day. Many of the venues served as host for the Winter Universidade the following year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarajevo Olympic Bobsleigh and Luge Track</span>

Sarajevo Olympic Bobsleigh and Luge Track is a bobsleigh and luge track situated on Trebević mountain overlooking the City of Sarajevo, built for the 1984 Winter Olympics.

The Doubles luge competition at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo was held on 10 February, at Sapporo Teine. A malfunctioning starting gate cancelled the results of the first run. Italy, whose doubles team of Paul Hildgartner and Walter Plaikner won the first run, protested to event officials the results should stand since all contestants had suffered equally, but to no avail. After the protest was denied, a rerun was ordered.

References

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  2. 1 2 1968 Winter Olympics official report. Archived 2008-02-26 at the Wayback Machine pp. 77-84. Accessed 1 November 2010.(in English and French)
  3. 1 2 3 1968 Winter Olympics official report. Archived 2008-02-26 at the Wayback Machine pp. 106, 108. Accessed 1 November 2010. (in English and French)
  4. 1968 Winter Olympics official report. Archived 2008-02-26 at the Wayback Machine pp. 105-6. Accessed 1 November 2010. (in English and French)
  5. 1 2 1968 Winter Olympics official report. Archived 2008-02-26 at the Wayback Machine pp. 108-11. Accessed 1 November 2010. (in English and French)
  6. 1 2 3 1968 Winter Olympics official report. Archived 2008-02-26 at the Wayback Machine pp. 104-105. Accessed 1 November 2010. (in English and French)
  7. 1968 Winter Olympics official report. Archived 2008-02-26 at the Wayback Machine pp. 102-104. Accessed 1 November 2010. (in English and French)
  8. 1968 Winter Olympics official report. Archived 2008-02-26 at the Wayback Machine pp. 95-8. Accessed 1 November 2010. (in English and French)
  9. 1968 Winter Olympics official report. Archived 2008-02-26 at the Wayback Machine pp. 200-4. Accessed 1 November 2010. (in English and French)
  10. 1968 Winter Olympics official report. Archived 2008-02-26 at the Wayback Machine p. 17. Accessed 1 November 2010. (in English and French)
  11. 1968 Winter Olympics official report. Archived 2008-02-26 at the Wayback Machine pp. 49-51. Accessed 1 November 2010. (in English and French)
  12. FIBT.com Men's World Championships and Olympic Games medalists: 1924-2007. Accessed 1 November 2010.
  13. 1 2 Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2009). "Speed Skating: Men: 500 Meters" In The Complete Book of the Winter Olympics: 2010 Edition. London: Aurum Press Limited. p. 101.
  14. Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2009). "Bobsleigh: Four-Man". In The Complete Book of the Winter Olympics: 2010 Edition. London: Aurum Press Limited. p. 163.
  15. Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2009). "Luge (Toboggan): Men". In The Complete Book of the Winter Olympics: 2010 Edition. London: Aurum Press Limited. pp. 168-9.
  16. Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2009). "Luge (Toboggan): Women". In The Complete Book of the Winter Olympics: 2010 Edition. London: Aurum Press Limited. p. 171.
  17. Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2009). "Alpine Skiing, Men: Slalom". In The Complete Book of the Winter Olympics: 2010 Edition. London: Aurum Press Limited. pp. 198-9.
  18. 1968 Winter Olympics official report. Archived 2008-02-26 at the Wayback Machine pp. 246-8. Accessed 2 November 2010. (in English and French)
  19. Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2009). "Alpine Skiing, Women: Giant Slalom". In The Complete Book of the Winter Olympics: 2010 Edition. London: Aurum Press Limited. pp. 215-6.
  20. http://www.autrans.fr/index.php?PHPSESSID=a819d2f8315651e466765e363470e922&template[0]=matricecommune.html&template[1]=commune.html&oidRub=T012:207fca610ae6e6f168f608afd2138f2f (History of Nordic skiing in Autrans: 1896 - present. Accessed 2 November 2010. (in French))
  21. Chamrousse.com profile of skiing activities. Accessed 2 November 2010. (in English and French)
  22. Hockeyarenas.net profile of Halle Clemenceau. Accessed 2 November 2010.
  23. Palais des sports official website. Accessed 2 November 2010. (in French)
  24. Alpe d'Huez profile. Accessed 2 November 2010.
  25. Villard-de-lans.fr tourism information. Accessed 2 November 2010. (in French)