Alpine skiing at the 1984 Winter Olympics – Men's downhill explained

Event:Men's Downhill
Games:1984 Winter
Venue:Bjelašnica, Yugoslavia
Date:February 16, 1984
Competitors:61
Nations:25
Win Value:1:45.59
Gold:Bill Johnson
Goldnoc:USA
Silver:Peter Müller
Silvernoc:SUI
Bronze:Anton Steiner
Bronzenoc:AUT
Prev:1980
Next:1988
Men's Downhill
Location:Bjelašnica, Yugoslavia
Olympia course
Vertical:   803m (2,635feet)
Top Elevation:2076m (6,811feet)  
Base Elevation:1273m (4,177feet)

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]

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 800abbr=off0abbr=off, 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 2076m (6,811feet) above sea level with a vertical drop of 803m (2,635feet) and a length of 3.066km (01.905miles). Johnson's winning time was 105.59 seconds, yielding an average speed of 104.533km/h, with an average vertical descent rate of 7.605m/s.

Results

The race was started at 12:00 local time, (UTC+1). At the starting gate, the skies were clear, the temperature was, and the snow condition was "good."

Rank Bib Name Country Time Difference
6 1:45.59 –
11 1:45.86 +0.27
13 1:45.95 +0.36
4 2 1:46.05 +0.46
5 9 1:46.32 +0.73
7
7 14 1:46.53 +0.94
8 12 1:46.59 +1.00
9 15 1:46.64 +1.05
10 3 1:47.04 +1.45
11 10 1:47.06 +1.47
12 21 1:47.12 +1.53
13 25 1:47.43 +1.84
14 5 1:47.63 +2.04
15 4 1:47.70 +2.11
16 18 1:47.87 +2.28
16
18 26 1:48.00 +2.41
19 8 1:48.02 +2.43
20 27 1:48.06 +2.47
19
22 24 1:48.39 +2.80
23 20 1:48.46 +2.87
24 22 1:48.49 +2.90
25 31 1:48.68 +3.09
26 1 1:48.79 +3.20
27 30 1:48.97 +3.38
28 28 1:49.02 +3.43
29 23 1:49.30 +3.71
30 32 1:49.68 +4.09
31 38 1:49.94 +4.35
32 29 1:50.06 +4.47
33 34 1:50.36 +4.77
34 35 1:50.57 +4.98
35 37 1:50.77 +5.18
36 36 1:50.94 +5.35
37 33 1:51.15 +5.56
38 41 1:51.57 +5.98
39 43 1:51.68 +6.09
40 40 1:52.40 +6.81
41 42 1:52.97 +7.38
42 44 1:54.36 +8.77
43 45 1:54.75 +9.16
44 48 1:54.91 +9.32
45 46 1:54.92 +9.33
46 39 1:55.72 +10.13
47 50 1:56.95 +11.36
48 57 1:57.88 +12.29
49 47 1:58.86 +13.27
50 56 1:59.06 +13.47
51 49 1:59.64 +14.05
52 60 1:59.74 +14.15
53 52 1:59.76 +14.17
54 51 2:01.60 +16.01
55 58 2:01.79 +16.20
56 53 2:01.88 +16.29
57 59 2:01.96 +16.37
58 54 2:02.67 +17.08
59 55 2:03.93 +18.34
60 61 3:13.86 +88.27
– 17 DNF –

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Sarajevo 1984 Official Report. LA84 Foundation. Organising Committee of the XlVth Winter Olympic Games 1984 at Sarajevo. 1984. January 3, 2014.
  2. News: Weather delays Johnson, men's downhill . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon) . wire service reports . February 10, 1984. 1C.
  3. Web site: Alpine Skiing at the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Games: Men's Downhill . https://web.archive.org/web/20200417200003/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/winter/1984/ASK/mens-downhill.html . dead . 17 April 2020 . 20 March 2018 . Sports Reference.
  4. News: Schedule revised for alpine skiing . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon) . UPI . February 13, 1984. 3C.
  5. Web site: 1983 World Cup standings. FIS. January 3, 2014.
  6. Web site: 1982 World Championships results. FIS. January 3, 2014.
  7. They were real troopers . Sports Illustrated . Ottum . Bob . March 14, 1983 . 82.
  8. They saved the best for last . Sports Illustrated . Johnson . William Oscar . February 27, 1984 . 14.
  9. News: Johnson lets his skis do the talking. Spokane Chronicle . (Washington) . Associated Press . Clarke . Norm . 41.
  10. News: Johnson's words turn to gold . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon) . (Washington Post) . Collins . Denis . February 17, 1984. 3D.
  11. News: Bill Johnson races to gold medal . Nashua Telegraph . (New Hampshire) . Associated Press . February 16, 1984 . 25.

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