Best Moments of Alpine Skiing in the Olympic Winter Games. Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956

After not being able to host the games in 1944, Cortina d'Ampezzo, in the Dolomite Alps, was selected to organize the Winter Olympics. Cortina d’Ampezzo was awarded the 7th Winter Games in 1949 during the 44th IOC Session in Rome, beating competition from Montreal (Canada), Colorado Springs (USA), and Lake Placid (USA).

The Cortina d’Ampezzo Olympic Winter Games were held from 26 January to 5 February 1956 and attracted 821 participants (687 men and 134 women) representing 32 different countries. The Soviet Union, Bolivia, and Iran competed for the first time in the Winter Games. South Korea, Liechtenstein, and Turkey returned to the competition after missing it in 1952, while Argentina, Denmark, New Zealand, and Portugal, who had participated four years earlier, did not compete in Cortina d'Ampezzo. Athletes from West Germany and East Germany competed together as the Unified German Team, a collaboration that continued for the next two Olympics.

The program consisted of four sports and 24 separate events.

Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 was the first Winter Games to be televised, and the first Olympics ever broadcast to an international audience.

The opening ceremony takes place on Thursday, January 26, 1956, in the Stadio Olympico. Giovanni Gronchi, President of the Italian Republic, declares the VII Olympic Winter Games open. The Olympic Oath is said by Giuliana Chenal-Minuzzo, bronze medallist in the Downhill at the 1952 Oslo Games; it is the first time that a female athlete has had this honor.

Anton "Toni" Sailer. Slalom, Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956

Six alpine skiing competitions were held: three for men and three for women: Downhill, Slalom, and the Giant Slalom. The program was the same as in 1952 and continued until 1984. The Men's Giant Slalom was held on Monte Faloria, overlooking the town of Cortina. All other events were held at the Tofana ski resort. Both areas were located high in the Dolomites, with the longest races starting above 2,200 meters, and even the Slaloms starting around 1,700–1,800 meters.

Austrian Anton "Toni" Sailer swept the men's gold medals, becoming the first person to win three Alpine Skiing golds in a single Olympics.

Known as "The Blitz from Kitz", because of his hometown, Sailer was the greatest Alpine skier in Olympic history. Although his feat of winning all three Alpine events at the 1956 Winter Games was matched by Jean-Claude Killy 12 years later, Sailer's overall performance was far more impressive. First, he won the Giant Slalom by 6.2 seconds, the largest margin of victory in Olympic history. He then won the Slalom, recording the fastest time in both runs, and finally, he closed his participation in the Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 Winter Games, winning the Downhill by 3.5 seconds.

Sailer nearly repeated the feat at the 1958 World Championships in Bad Gastein, Salzburg, Austria, with two golds (Downhill and Giant Slalom) and a silver (Slalom).

Led by Sailer, the Austrians dominated the Men's and Women's Alpine Skiing events, winning nine of the eighteen medals available, compared to only four for the Swiss. They were particularly successful in the Giant Slalom: Austrian Men won all three medals, and the Women took silver and bronze.

Chiharu Igaya became the first Japanese to win a medal at the Winter Olympics, placing second in the Slalom. Swiss Madeleine Berthod won the Downhill on her birthday with an impressive 4.7-second lead over second-placed compatriot Frieda Dänzer. Their teammate Renée Colliard won the Slalom.

Ossi Reichert won the German delegation's only gold medal, finishing first in the Giant Slalom.

Source: Olympedia