Date | 9 February 1968 | |
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Status | Olympic | |
Location | Casserousse, Chamrousse (Piste Casserousse) | |
Participants | 86 from 29 countries | |
Course Setter | UNK | |
Details | Gates: ? Length: 2890 m Start Altitude: 2252 m Vertical Drop: 840 m |
Jean-Claude Killy was considered possibly the greatest Alpine skier ever. He had been World Champion in 1966 in the downhill and combined and in the inaugural World Cup year of 1966-67, he won the title in the overall and all three disciplines. Born in Val d’Isère in the Savoy Alps, the movie star handsome Killy was a local boy in Grenoble and all French hopes rested on his shoulders. The first skier off in the downhill was Killy’s teammate, Guy Périllat, who posted 1:59.93, a time which held up thru the first 13 skiiers. But Killy was the 14th skier and Périllat expected him to better his time. Killy did, to win the gold medal, but by only 8/100ths of a second. Killy, though a titular amateur, was known to have numerous endorsement contracts and when he finished his race, he was embraced by his manager, Michel Arpin, who made certain that Killy’s back, containing the name “Dynamic”, the skis Killy used, was visible to all in the television audience.