Best Moments of Alpine Skiing in the Olympic Winter Games. Oslo 1952

In 1952, the Games finally came to Norway, the birthplace of modern skiing. A symbolic flame was lit in the hearth of the home of skiing pioneer Sondre Nordheim, known as the father of Telemark skiing, and the torch relay was conducted by 94 participants entirely on skis. At the end of a ski relay, the flame was lit at Bislett Stadium by Eigil Nansen, the grandson of explorer Fridtjof Nansen. His book, The First Crossing of Greenland, provided modern skiing with its most significant intellectual impetus.

All of the Olympic venues for Oslo 1952 were located within the city's metropolitan area, except for the alpine skiing events, which were held at Norefjell.

Oslo was awarded the 1952 Olympic Winter Games at the 1947 IOC Session in Stockholm, after winning the first-ever formal host-city selection procedure (Helsinki was similarly awarded the Summer Games). The unsuccessful candidate cities were Lake Placid and Cortina d’Ampezzo.

The Oslo Olympic Winter Games were held from 14 to 25 February 1952 and attracted 694 participants (585 men and 109 women) representing 30 different countries. The program consisted of four sports and 22 separate events. In Alpine skiing, the Combined event was replaced by the Giant Slalom. The top three in each Alpine Skiing event received World Championship medals in addition to the Olympic medals.

Alpine skiing is the oldest Olympic sport for which the Men’s and Women’s programs have always been precisely the same.

The opening ceremony was held at Bislett Stadium on 15 February 1952. King George VI of the United Kingdom had died on 6 February, eight days before the Games began. As a result, the flags of the participating nations were flown at half-mast, and Princess Ragnhild opened the Games in place of her grandfather, King Haakon VII, who was in London to attend the funeral with Crown Prince Olav. This was the first time in Olympic history that a woman had declared the Games open.

For the first time, an Olympic flame was lit at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games.

Oslo 1952 Winter Games, Slalom. Picture: Oslo Museum

The Alpine Skiing events were split between Norefjell and Rødkleiva. The Slalom was held in Rødkleiva, on the same ridge as Holmenkollbakken and Frognerseteren. The course had a height difference of 200 m and was 480 m long. A ski lift was constructed to transport skiers to the summit of the hill. The Downhill and Giant Slalom were held at Norefjell, located 113 km from Oslo.

Austrian skiers dominated the Alpine Skiing events, winning a total of 7 out of 18 possible medals, including Othmar Schneider's gold in the Slalom and silver in the Downhill. Norway's Stein Eriksen won gold in the Giant Slalom and silver in the Slalom. Greek slalom skier Antoin Miliordos fell 18 times on the way down and crossed the finish line backwards.

Andy Mead was the first American alpine skier to win two Olympic gold medals. Mead's first big international moment came in 1948 when she placed third in the Arlberg Kandahar race. Between 1948 and 1952, she won virtually every women’s race. In 1952, Andrea Mead Lawrence continued her domination of women’s skiing by winning the two technical events (Giant Slalom and Slalom) at the Olympics.

Source: Olympedia