Skeleton, Men

Twenty years after the first Olympic skeleton competition, one of the competitors of 1928 was again competing. Former silver medallist Jack Heaton, 39, was not only an entrant in the field, but also considered one of the favourites, along with Christian Fischbacher of Switzerland, and John Crammond of Britain. Crammond and Heaton lived up to the expectations on the first day, Crammond winning the first run, and Heaton the second. The third was won by a relative newcomer on the Cresta Run, Italian Nino Bibbia. After one day of racing, Crammond led by only two tenths of a second over Heaton and Bibbia, who were tied for second. The home favourite, Fischbacher, had crashed out at the infamous Shuttlecock curve in the first run. On day two, Bibbia moved into the lead with a consistent performance, winning all three runs (tying with Heaton in the 5th and Crammond in the 6th) to become Italy’s first Winter Olympic Champion. Heaton won a second silver medal two decades after his first, while Crammond took the bronze.

Bibbia, who lived in St. Moritz and had seen the 1928 Winter Olympics there as a young boy, was originally only selected for the Italian bobsleigh teams, and was entered in the skeleton only shortly before the Games. His Olympic victory was his first win on the Cresta Run, but 230 more would follow, including 8 Grand Nationals.