FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1950

Coordinates: 39°11′10″N 106°49′08″W / 39.186°N 106.819°W / 39.186; -106.819
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FIS Alpine World Ski Championships
1950
Host cityAspen, Colorado
CountryUnited States
Nations14 [1]
Athletes108 [2]
Events6
OpeningFebruary 13, 1950
ClosingFebruary 18, 1950
Opened byHarry S. Truman
Main venueAjax Mountain

The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1950 were the 11th FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, held February 13–18 in the United States at Aspen, Colorado.[3]

These were the first world championships held outside of Europe, and the first official world championships not concurrent with the Olympics since 1939. The Giant slalom made its world championships debut and displaced the combined event, which returned to the program in 1954 as a "paper race," using the results of the three races (downhill, giant slalom, and slalom) through 1980.

At Aspen's Ajax Mountain,[4] Zeno Colò of Italy won the downhill[5] and giant slalom,[6] and just missed a sweep of the gold medals; he finished 0.3 seconds behind in the slalom, taking the silver. Austria dominated the women's races: Dagmar Rom won the giant slalom and slalom,[7] Trude Jochum-Beiser won gold in the downhill and silver in the GS, and Erika Mahringer took two silver medals, in the downhill and slalom.

Aspen was in its fourth year as a ski area; it opened in December 1946 with a single chairlift.

The Nordic world championships were also held in the U.S. in 1950, at Lake Placid, New York. Due to a lack of snow at Lake Placid, the cross-country events were moved to Rumford, Maine.

Men's competitions[edit]

Downhill[edit]

Saturday, February 18, 1950

In the final race of the championships, Colò descended the 2.1-mile (3.4 km) course
at an average speed of 53 mph (85 km/h) to win his second gold medal and third podium.[5][6]

Place Name Country Time Diff.
1st place, gold medalist(s) Zeno Colò  Italy 2:34.4
2nd place, silver medalist(s) James Couttet  France 2:35.7 + 1.3
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Egon Schöpf  Austria 2:36.3 + 1.9
4 Bernhard Perren   Switzerland 2:37.7 + 3.3
5 Christian Pravda  Austria 2:38.1 + 3.7
6 Jean Pazzi  France 2:38.6 + 4.2
7 Edi Mall  Austria 2:38.9 + 4.5
8 Hans Nogler  Austria 2:39.5 + 5.1
9 Rolf Olinger   Switzerland 2:39.7 + 5.3
10 Edy Rominger   Switzerland 2:40.3 + 5.9
11 Franz Gabl  Austria 2:41.1 + 6.7
12 Hans Senger  Austria 2:41.5 + 7.1

Giant slalom[edit]

Left-right: Zeno Colò, Fernand Grosjean and James Couttet after the giant slalom competition

Tuesday, February 14, 1950

In the first men's race, Colò averaged 40 mph (64 km/h) in the one-run event.
The course had 35 gates with a vertical drop of 1,600 feet (490 m).[8][9]

Place Name Country Time Diff.
1st place, gold medalist(s) Zeno Colò  Italy 1:54.4
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Fernand Grosjean   Switzerland 1:55.2 + 0.8
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) James Couttet  France 1:55.3 + 0.9
4 Henri Oreiller  France 1:55.8 + 1.4
5 Georges Schneider   Switzerland 1:55.9 + 1.5
6 Carlo Gartner  Italy 1:56.0 + 1.6
7 George Panisset  France 1:56.3 + 1.9
8 Guttorm Berge  Norway 1:56.5 + 2.1
9 Silvio Alverà  Italy 1:56.8 + 2.4
10 Jean Pazzi  France 1:57.0 + 2.6

Slalom[edit]

Thursday, February 16, 1950

Georges Schneider edged Colò by three-tenths of a second over two runs.
The 1,000-yard (910 m) course of 40 gates had a vertical drop of 700 feet (210 m).[10][11]

Place Name Country Time Diff.
1st place, gold medalist(s) Georges Schneider   Switzerland 2:06.4
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Zeno Colò  Italy 2:06.7 + 0.3
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Stein Eriksen  Norway 2:08.0 + 1.6
4 Jack Reddish  United States 2:08.4 + 2.0
T-5 Egon Schöpf  Austria 2:09.0 + 2.6
T-5 Ernest McCullough  Canada 2:09.0 + 2.6
T-5 James Couttet  France 2:09.0 + 2.6

Women's competitions[edit]

Downhill[edit]

Friday, February 17, 1950

Trude Jochum-Beiser, 22, won the final women's event, averaging nearly 50 mph (80 km/h).
She had given birth to her first child just four months earlier.[12]

Place Nation Athlete Time Diff.
1st place, gold medalist(s)  Austria Trude Jochum-Beiser 2:06.6
2nd place, silver medalist(s)  Austria Erika Mahringer 2:07.5 + 0.9
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)  France Georgette Miller-Thiollière 2:08.4 + 1.8
4  Austria Anneliese Schuh-Proxauf 2:08.6 + 2.0
5  United States Katy Rodolph 2:08.9 + 2.3
6  France Lucienne Schmith-Couttet 2:10.0 + 3.4

Giant slalom[edit]

Monday, February 13, 1950

In the first race of the championships, Rom averaged 30 mph (48 km/h) in the one-run event.
The course had 28 gates with an approximate vertical drop of 1,000 feet (300 m).[13]

Place Nation Athlete Time Diff.
1st place, gold medalist(s)  Austria Dagmar Rom 1:29.6
2nd place, silver medalist(s)  Austria Trude Jochum-Beiser 1:29.8 + 0.2
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)  France Lucienne Schmith-Couttet 1:30.0 + 0.4
4  Austria Erika Mahringer 1:31.8 + 2.2
5  Austria Anneliese Schuh-Proxauf 1:31.9 + 2.3
6  Austria Lydia Gstrein 1:32.7 + 3.1
7  Austria Resi Hammerer 1:33.1 + 3.5
8  United States Katy Rodolph 1:33.4 + 3.8
9  United States Andrea Mead 1:33.5 + 3.9
10  France Micheline Desmazières 1:33.8 + 4.2
11  Sweden Sarah Thomasson 1:34.1 + 4.5
12  Italy Celina Seghi 1:34.3 + 4.7
13  United States Suzy Harris-Rytting 1:36.2 + 6.6
14  Switzerland Olivia Ausoni 1:36.3 + 6.7
15  France Georgette Miller-Thiollière 1:36.9 + 7.3

Slalom[edit]

Wednesday, February 15, 1950

Rom, 21, won her second gold medal in as many events by the slimmest of margins over two runs.
The quarter-mile (400 m) course of 33 gates had a vertical drop of 495 feet (150 m).[7]

Place Nation Athlete Time Diff.
1st place, gold medalist(s)  Austria Dagmar Rom 1:47.8
2nd place, silver medalist(s)  Austria Erika Mahringer 1:47.9 + 0.1
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)  Italy Celina Seghi 1:49.5 + 1.7
4  Austria Anneliese Schuh-Proxauf 1:49.9 + 2.1
5  France Lucienne Schmith-Couttet 1:51.0 + 3.2
6  United States Andrea Mead 1:51.7 + 3.9

Medal Standings[edit]

Place Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  Austria 3 3 1 7
2  Italy 2 1 1 4
3   Switzerland 1 1 2
4  France 1 3 4
5  Norway 1 1

Video[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Aspen - a historical perspective" (PDF). U.S. Forest Service. p. 2. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  2. ^ "Russians officials witness 1950 world ski tournament". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah. INS. February 12, 1950. p. 4C.
  3. ^ de.wikipedia.org - Alpine Skiweltmeisterschaft 1950
  4. ^ "Aspen's courses to challenge skiers". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). (AP photo). February 12, 1950. p. 5.
  5. ^ a b "Colo of Italy wins downhill for second world ski title". Calgary Herald. Alberta. Associated Press. February 20, 1950. p. 20.
  6. ^ a b "Italian wins Downhill title". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. February 19, 1950. p. 13A.
  7. ^ a b "Blond ski co-ed wins in slalom". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. February 16, 1950. p. 17.
  8. ^ "Italian wins Giant Slalom". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. February 15, 1950. p. 12.
  9. ^ "Zeno Colo of Italy wins world championship in Giant Slalom race". Calgary Herald. Alberta. February 15, 1950. p. 26.
  10. ^ "World slalom title won by Swiss rider". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. February 17, 1950. p. 4-part 2.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ "Schneider of Switzerland wins world slalom title". Calgary Herald. Alberta. Associated Press. February 17, 1950. p. 29.
  12. ^ "Young mother wins ski title". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. February 18, 1950. p. 3-part 2.
  13. ^ Claasen, Harold (February 14, 1950). "21-year-old Austrian co-ed wins giant slalom race at Aspen". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. p. 12.

External links[edit]

39°11′10″N 106°49′08″W / 39.186°N 106.819°W / 39.186; -106.819