| Event: | Women's downhill |
| Games: | 1968 Winter |
| Venue: | Chamrousse |
| Date: | February 10 |
| Competitors: | 39 |
| Nations: | 14 |
| Win Value: | 1:40.87 |
| Gold: | Olga Pall |
| Goldnoc: | AUT |
| Silver: | Isabelle Mir |
| Silvernoc: | FRA |
| Bronze: | Christl Haas |
| Bronzenoc: | AUT |
| Prev: | 1964 |
| Next: | 1972 |
| Women's Downhill | |
| Location: | Chamrousse |
| Vertical: | 602m (1,975feet) |
| Top Elevation: | 2252m (7,388feet) |
| Base Elevation: | 1650m (5,410feet) |
The Women's Downhill competition of the Grenoble 1968 Olympics was held at Chamrousse on Saturday, 10 February.[1] [2]
The defending world champion was Marielle Goitschel of France, who was also the defending World Cup downhill champion and Austria's Olga Pall led the current season.[3] [4] Christl Haas of Austria was the defending Olympic champion.
Pall won the gold medal, Isabelle Mir of France took the silver, and Haas was the bronze medalist.[5] [6]
The starting gate was at an elevation of 2252m (7,388feet), and the vertical drop was 602m (1,975feet). The course length was 2.16km (01.34miles) and Pall's winning time of 100.87 seconds resulted in an average speed of 77.089km/h, with an average vertical descent rate of 5.968m/s.
About an hour before the race, eighteen-year-old American Karen Budge was testing her wax on the practice course and narrowly avoided a full collision with a member of the Moroccan men's team, Said Housni, who had been warned once before to stay off the hill. She fell, suffered a dislocated shoulder, and did not start.[5] [7]
Saturday, 10 February 1968
| Rank | Bib | Name | Country | Time | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 1:40.87 | — | ||||
| 13 | 1:41.33 | +0.46 | ||||
| 7 | 1:41.41 | +0.54 | ||||
| 4 | 8 | 1:41.82 | +0.95 | |||
| 5 | 14 | 1:42.15 | +1.28 | |||
| 6 | 21 | 1:42.79 | +1.92 | |||
| 7 | 18 | 1:42.87 | +2.00 | |||
| 8 | 11 | 1:42.95 | +2.08 | |||
| 9 | 3 | 1:43.00 | +2.13 | |||
| 10 | 5 | 1:43.12 | +2.25 | |||
| 11 | 10 | 1:43.76 | +2.89 | |||
| 12 | 30 | 1:43.97 | +3.10 | |||
| 13 | 6 | 1:44.22 | +3.35 | |||
| 14 | 2 | 1:44.29 | +3.42 | |||
| 15 | 31 | 1:44.36 | +3.49 | |||
| 16 | 32 | 1:44.49 | +3.62 | |||
| 17 | 25 | 1:44.94 | +4.07 | |||
| 18 | 28 | 1:45.16 | +4.29 | |||
| 19 | 1 | 1:45.33 | +4.46 | |||
| 20 | 38 | 1:45.60 | +4.73 | |||
| 21 | 29 | 1:46.53 | +5.66 | |||
| 22 | 20 | 1:47.55 | +6.68 | |||
| 23 | 27 | 1:47.60 | +6.73 | |||
| 24 | 24 | 1:47.62 | +6.75 | |||
| 25 | 19 | 1:47.73 | +6.86 | |||
| 26 | 37 | 1:48.03 | +7.16 | |||
| 27 | 36 | 1:48.04 | +7.17 | |||
| 28 | 9 | 1:48.50 | +7.63 | |||
| 29 | 46 | 1:48.74 | +7.87 | |||
| 30 | 39 | 1:48.90 | +8.03 | |||
| 31 | 22 | 1:49.02 | +8.15 | |||
| 32 | 12 | 1:49.39 | +8.52 | |||
| 33 | 23 | 1:50.22 | +9.35 | |||
| 34 | 48 | 1:51.60 | +10.73 | |||
| 35 | 34 | 1:51.74 | +10.87 | |||
| 36 | 35 | 1:52.13 | +11.26 | |||
| 37 | 44 | 1:53.12 | +12.25 | |||
| 38 | 47 | 1:53.53 | +12.66 | |||
| - | 26 | DNF | - | |||
| - | 4 | DNS | - | |||
| - | 45 | Irina Touroundaevsk | DNS | - |