The Men's downhill competition of the 1984 Winter Olympics was held at Bjelašnica, Yugoslavia.[1] Due to weather delays, it was run on Thursday, February 16, a full week after originally scheduled.[2][3][4]
| Men's Downhill at the XIV Olympic Winter Games | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||||||
| Venue | Bjelašnica, Yugoslavia | ||||||||||||
| Date | February 16, 1984 | ||||||||||||
| Competitors | 61 from 25 nations | ||||||||||||
| Winning time | 1:45.59 | ||||||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| 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 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.[5][6] 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.[7]
Bill Johnson of the United States became the first from outside the Alps to win an Olympic downhill.[8][9][10] In his first full World Cup season, he was a top "glider" and made up time on the flatter lower third of the course.[11] 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 edit
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:[1]
References edit
- ^ a b "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 edit
- Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 16 February 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
- FIS results