Category Archives: Vintage Ski Racing

I am particularly excited for (and anxious about) the women’s Olympic slalom race – mostly due to Mikaela Shiffrin and the very realistic chance that she could win Olympic gold.  Thankfully, this is a night race in Russia which means we in the USA can easily catch the first run live in the morning (7:45 am EST) – only hours away.  Now it’s just that pesky 11:00 am meeting I have to do something about.  Don’t think I can bear to miss the conclusive second run. . .

Mikaela winning the 2013 Slalom World Championship, photos taken at Schladming, Austria.  She went on to win the 2013 FIS Slalom Title at Lenzerheide, Switzerland.  Could Olympic gold be next?

Olympic slalom champions throughout the years:
1948 St. Moritz, Switzerland – Gretchen Fraser, USA
1952 Oslo, Norway – Andrea Mead Lawrence, USA
1956 Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy – Renée Colliard, Switzerland
1960 Squaw Valley, USA – Anne Heggtveit, Canada
1964 Innsbruck, Austria – Christine Goitschel, France
1968 Grenoble, France – Marielle Goitschel, France
1972 Sapporo, Japan – Barbara Ann Cochran, USA
1976 Innsbruck, Austria – Rosi Mittermaier, West Germany
1980 Lake Placid, USA —  Hanni Wenzel, Liechtenstein
1984 Sarajevo, Yugoslavia – Paoletta Magoni, Italy
1988 Calgary, Canada — Vreni Schneider, Switzerland
1992 Albertville, France – Petra Kronberger, Austria
1994 Lillehammer, Norway – Vreni Schneider, Switzerland
1998 Nagano, Japan – Hilde Gerg, Germany
2002 Salt Lake City, USA – Janica Kostelic, Croatia
2006 Torino, Italy – Anja Pärson, Sweden
2010 Vancouver, Canada – Maria Riesch, Germany
2014 Sochi, Russia — Mikaela Shiffrin, USA

2/19/1952 AP Photo:  Andrea Mead Lawrence, U.S. women’s ski star from Rutland, Vt., holds up the gold medal she received in Oslo, Norway, yesterday.  The medal was the Olympic award for her victory in the women’s giant slalom at the opening of the Winter Olympics last week.  One day following this photo, Andrea would go on to win a second gold in slalom.

2/10/1960 AP Photo:  HAPPY BETSY ZOOMS DOWN SLOPE – You can tell from Betsy Snite’s expression that she’s happy to get in her first practice run down Papoose Mountain today since coming to Squaw Valley, Calif., to get ready for the Winter Olympic games.  Betsy, of Norwich, Vt., is an experienced international competitor rated a good prospect to win a medal for Uncle Sam.  Betsy Snite won slalom silver at these Olympics.

Barbi Henneberger of West Germany followed Snite with bronze in the 1960 Squaw Valley slalom.  1/25/1964 AP Photo:  AWAITS OLYMPICS OPENING – This is Barbi Henneberger, a young German skier.  She is one of many girl skiers gathered at Innsbruck, Austria for the winter Olympic games which begin on Wednesday.  Barbi won a bronze medal at the 1960 Olympics.

2/13/1970 AP Photo:  Val Gardena, Italy – Barbara Cochran of Richmond, Vt., curls around one of the 60 gates to give United States its first silver medal of this world alpine ski championships, here today.  She placed second in the women’s special slalom, won by France’s Ingrid Lafforgue.  Two years later, Barbara won the slalom at the 1972 Sapporo Olympics.

Rosi Mittermaier of Germany wears her three Olympic medals earned in 1976 at Innsbruck, Austria.  The haul includes gold medals for slalom and downhill, a silver medal for giant slalom.  For Sochi 2014, it is the men’s slalom that is important to Rosi as favorite Felix Neureuther is her son.