1968: An Avalanche Named Killy
A controversial
sweep in alpine skiing
by John Gettings
Already the defending World Cup champion,
French skiing legend Jean-Claude Killy was well
on his way to his second straight Cup championship in 1968 when he took time
out to make Olympic history.
The brash 24-year-old dazzled the world
at the 1968 Winter Games in Grenoble, France, by
winning gold medals in all three Alpine skiing events. He was only the second
skier to ever accomplish that feat (Austria's Toni Sailer did it in 1956),
and since then no skier has won more than two Alpine events at any one Olympic
Games.
The sweep did not come without controversy, however. In
the slalom, Haakon Mjoen of Norway and Karl Schranz of Austria both posted
better times than Killy but were disqualified for missing gates.
The performance came amidst the anti-commercialism storm brewed by International
Olympic Committee president Avery Brundage. Frustrated
by the ski industry's pervasive advertising techniques, Brundage singled out
the Alpine ski organizations and the skiers themselves, for being too lenient
and compromising the concept of "amateur status."
Killy had been
criticized for allowing the company trademarks on his equipment to "inadvertently"
appear in post-race photographs in exchange for under-the-table payments.
By not attending the 1968 Alpine skiing medal ceremonies, Brundage
sent a clear message of his contempt.
Regardless, Killy's uncanny
brand of instinctive, speed-at-all-costs skiing single-handedly
rejuvenated France's national ski team, and his Olympic performance set the
tone for France's fourth-place finish and best-ever
medal haul (nine medals).
Killy's skiing triple crown in 1968 made
him the most recognized skier of his generation and cemented his place in
Winter Olympics history.
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