Speed Skiing at the Winter Olympics
Speed Skiing was a demonstration sport at the 1992 Olympic Games in Albertville, France, held at Les Arcs, a venue about 60 km from the host city Albertville. Speed Skiing is simply a contest of who could go down the mountain fastest without crashing, reaching the greatest speed at any time during the straight-line run. Some competitors clocked speeds well over 200km per hour.
The Olympic course in Albertville was 1,740 meters in length and had a maximum decline of 70 percent. Competitors were allowed to wear aero suits in order to decrease drag and maximize their speeds.
The men's event was won by Michael Prufer, a 31-year-old medical doctor from Savoie, with with an average speed of 229.299 km/h (142.48 mph). Prufer improved his own 1988 world record by 5.558 km/hr. In second place was Philippe Goitschel, the nephew of French ski champion Marielle Goitschel, followed by American Jeffrey Hamilton.
The winner of the women's event was Tarja Mulari of Finland, who achieved a top speed of 219.245 km/hr, breaking the previous women's world record of 214.723 km/hr.
Trivia
- The competition was marred by the death of Nicolas Bochatay from Switzerland, who died while free skiing the morning of the finals. See more about Winter Olympic Deaths
Related Pages
- More about the sport of Speed Skiing
- More on Winter Olympic Games demonstration sports
- Winter Olympics Discontinued Sports
- More Demonstration Olympic Sports
- More about the Winter Olympic Games
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