| Men's Downhill at the XIV Olympic Winter Games | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Alpine skiing | |||||||||||||
| Venue | Bjelašnica, Yugoslavia | ||||||||||||
| Date | February 16, 1984 | ||||||||||||
| Competitors | 61 from 25 nations | ||||||||||||
| Winning time | 1:45.59 | ||||||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||||||
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| ← 19801988 → | |||||||||||||
| Alpine skiing at the 1984 Winter Olympics | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Downhill | men | women |
| Giant slalom | men | women |
| Slalom | men | women |
| Men's Downhill | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Bjelašnica, Yugoslavia Olympia course |
| Vertical | 803 m (2,635 ft) |
| Top elevation | 2,076 m (6,811 ft) |
| Base elevation | 1,273 m (4,177 ft) |
The Men's downhill competition of the 1984 Winter Olympics was held at Bjelašnica, Yugoslavia. Due to weather delays, it was run on Thursday, February 16, a full week after originally scheduled.
The reigning world champion was Harti Weirather of Austria, while teammate Franz Klammer was the reigning World Cup downhill champion and Switzerland's Urs Räber led the current season. Similar to 1980, the defending Olympic downhill champion was from Austria and did not compete; Leonhard Stock was injured a month earlier in early January.
In order to meet the minimum vertical drop requirement of 800 meters (2,625 feet), the starting gate was in a newly constructed summit lodge and restaurant, with a connecting ramp to the mountain proper.
Bill Johnson of the United States became the first from outside the Alps to win an Olympic downhill. In his first full World Cup season, he was a top "glider" and made up time on the flatter lower third of the course. The previous best finishes for an American man in an Olympic downhill was fifth (1952, 1980), and sixth (1976); American women had won three medals (1960, 1972, 1976), but never a gold.
The course started at an elevation of 2,076 m (6,811 ft) above sea level with a vertical drop of 803 m (2,635 ft) and a length of 3.066 km (1.91 mi). Johnson's winning time was 105.59 seconds, yielding an average speed of 104.533 km/h (65.0 mph), with an average vertical descent rate of 7.605 m/s (25.0 ft/s).
Results
The race was started at 12:00 local time, (UTC+1). At the starting gate, the skies were clear, the temperature was −9.8 °C (14.4 °F), and the snow condition was "good."
- Source:
References
- ^ "Sarajevo 1984 Official Report" (PDF). Organising Committee of the XlVth Winter Olympic Games 1984 at Sarajevo. LA84 Foundation. 1984. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
- "Weather delays Johnson, men's downhill". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. February 10, 1984. p. 1C.
- "Alpine Skiing at the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Games: Men's Downhill". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
- "Schedule revised for alpine skiing". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. February 13, 1984. p. 3C.
- "1983 World Cup standings". FIS. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
- "1982 World Championships results". FIS. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
- Ottum, Bob (March 14, 1983). "They were real troopers". Sports Illustrated. p. 82.
- Johnson, William Oscar (February 27, 1984). "They saved the best for last". Sports Illustrated. p. 14.
- Clarke, Norm. "Johnson lets his skis do the talking". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. p. 41.
- Collins, Denis (February 17, 1984). "Johnson's words turn to gold". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). (Washington Post). p. 3D.
- "Bill Johnson races to gold medal". Nashua Telegraph. (New Hampshire). Associated Press. February 16, 1984. p. 25.
External links
- Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 16 February 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
- FIS results
| Olympic champions in alpine skiing – men's downhill | |
|---|---|
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